A grim picture has emerged from the Idaho murders, revealing the brutal final moments of the four victims.
Newly unsealed court filings and autopsy reports show the chilling scale of the violence inflicted by Bryan Kohberger.
Over a span of roughly 15 minutes, the criminology PhD student turned killer stabbed his victims more than 150 times in total, leaving a trail of devastation that shook Moscow, Idaho.
Xana Kernodle’s Fight for Survival
Xana Kernodle, 20, was awake when Kohberger attacked her.
The autopsy revealed she suffered a staggering 67 stab wounds as she desperately tried to defend herself.
Her injuries included stab and incised wounds to the scalp, face, neck, chest, abdomen, back, and extremities, along with punctures to vital organs such as the heart, lungs, and jugular vein.
Remarkably, the report noted blood on the bottoms of her feet, suggesting she moved around while fending off the attack.
Kernodle’s cause of death was officially recorded as multiple sharp force injuries, accompanied by bruising and abrasions across her body.
The Attack on Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves
Kohberger first entered the student home at 1122 King Road, gaining access through a back sliding door.
Upstairs, he attacked best friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21, as they slept.
Goncalves suffered at least 38 stab wounds, along with blunt force injuries to the head.
Some wounds indicated the potential use of a second weapon, though its nature remains unknown.
Autopsy findings showed extensive trauma, including skull punctures, facial and nasal fractures, and hemorrhaging around the brain. Reports indicated her face was “unrecognizable,” highlighting the savagery of the attack.
Mogen suffered 28 stab and incised wounds, including injuries to her lungs, liver, and tongue.
Investigators found Kohberger’s brown leather Ka-Bar knife sheath next to her body, with DNA from the killer and blood from both Mogen and Goncalves.
Ethan Chapin and the Final Moments
After attacking Goncalves and Mogen, Kohberger encountered Bryan’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin in Xana Kernodle’s bedroom.
Chapin suffered multiple incised and stab wounds across his upper and lower extremities, head, neck, and chest, including perforations to the jugular and subclavian veins.
Like the others, he was killed in a matter of minutes.
The court filings provide the clearest insight yet into Kohberger’s violent spree, with bloodstains throughout the home showing the movement and positions of the victims during the attacks.
The Survivors’ Terrifying Ordeal
Two roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, survived the attack.
Mortensen saw a masked man dressed in black moving through the home and, along with Funke, tried in vain to reach their friends.
They hid until daylight and eventually called for help, uncovering the horrifying scene.
Arrest, Plea, and Sentencing
Kohberger was arrested six weeks later at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.
After over two years of legal proceedings, he pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in July, securing a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The plea came after a deal removed the death penalty from consideration.
He has never explained his motive, and investigators have found no connection between him and his victims.
Life Behind Bars
Now 31, Kohberger is confined to solitary at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
Reports indicate he has complained repeatedly about prison life, from meal issues to harassment from other inmates, and has threatened self-harm if moved to another unit.
Families Take Legal Action
The victims’ families have filed a lawsuit against Washington State University, where Kohberger studied and taught.
The suit alleges the murders could have been prevented if the university had acted on multiple complaints about his threatening and predatory behavior during the 2022 fall semester.
More than a dozen formal complaints reportedly went unaddressed, raising questions about institutional responsibility.
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