Newly unsealed court documents have revealed the police theory of how suspected killer Bryan Kohberger fatally stabbed four University of Idaho students after creeping into their home late at night.
The affidavit written by Brett Payne, a police corporal in Moscow, Idaho, was made public on Thursday minutes before Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology PhD student at nearby Washington State University, was due to appear in court.
Cops believe the murders occurred between approximately 4am and 4.25am on November 13, and say one of the surviving roommates in the home at 1122 King Road came face-to-face with the masked killer, after hearing him tell a victim that he was ‘here to help’.
Slain were students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Two surviving roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, provided key information to cops, and are identified in the affidavit by their initials.
Victims Kaylee and Madison were found dead on the third floor, while Ethan and Xana were killed on the second floor, just down the hall from survivor Dylan’s room.
Based on new court filings, a graphic shows how the murders may have unfolded on November 13
Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger smiles at his attorney in court today as he is denied bail. Kohberger will return to court on January 12
Police say the suspect vehicle, a white Hyundai Elantra matching the car Kohberger drives, was first spotted on surveillance video entering the neighborhood at 3.29am, and circled the area three times before returning a fourth and final time at 4.04am.
At around 4am, Xana received a DoorDash order from a delivery driver, who came forward voluntarily and cooperated with police.
Dylan, whose room is on the second floor, told cops that she awoke at around 4am to noise that sounded like Kaylee playing with her dog in her third floor room.
Soon after that, Dylan believes she heard Kaylee say ‘there’s someone here’. However, police noted that Xana’s phone was active at 4.12pm, and speculate that it could have been her voice that Dylan heard.
On hearing the voice, Dylan opened her bedroom door and saw nothing. Then, hearing what she believed was crying from Xana’s room down the hall, Dylan opened the door again and heard a male voice saying ‘It’s ok, I’m going to help you.’
Xana was later found dead on her bedroom floor, while her boyfriend Ethan was stabbed to death in her bed.
Kohberger, 28, is accused of murdering Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on November 13 in the quiet, college town of Moscow, Idaho
At about 4.17am, a security camera next door picked up the sounds of voices or a whimper, a loud thud, and the sound of a dog barking ‘numerous times’.
Around this time, Dylan heard more crying opened her bedroom door for a third time and saw a chilling sight.
A man wearing black clothing, with a mask covering his nose and mouth, walked down the hallway and past Dylan as she stood in what the affidavit describes as a ‘frozen shock phase’.
The man walked toward the home’s rear sliding-glass door, and Dylan retreated into her bedroom and locked the door. She described the killer as at least 5-foot-10, athletically built but not very muscular, with bushy eyebrows.
The suspect vehicle was then seen departing the neighborhood at about 4.20 pm at a ‘a high rate of speed’.
Police say that among other evidence linking Kohberger to the murders, his DNA was found on the sheath of a Ka-Bar knife sheath found beside the bodies of Madison and Kaylee on the third floor.
The documents describe a tan, leather knife sheath with a button snap and ‘KA-BAR’ and USMC’ insignias being found at the scene. Above, a similar sheath that is available for purchase online on eBay
Cops have yet to indicate a potential motive in the murders, and so far no information has emerged that Kohberger knew any of the victims.
However, the affidavit states that cell phone data indicates he had visited the area of the King Road home at least 12 times prior to the murders, all but one of them either late at night or in the early morning.
Kohberger has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of burglary, and was denied bail during a brief hearing in Moscow on Thursday.
The grad student was arrested at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvania last week and agreed to be extradited to Idaho.
His attorney in Pennsylvania, Monroe County chief public defender Jason LaBar, said Kohberger was eager to be exonerated and described him as ‘an ordinary guy.’
He said Kohberger would be represented by the chief public defender in Idaho’s Kootenai County once in the state.
