Madison Mogen, Kaylee Gonclaves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were all victims of a quadruple homicide that took place on November 13, 2022, about fifteen minutes away from the Idaho University campus.
A friend group from Idaho University decided to stay in a rental house together that was about fifteen minutes away from campus. This house was donated by the owner to the university for student usage. This area was particularly popular for students and families to stay at since it was conveniently close to the university. The group of six decided to stay the night in the three-floor house to spend some time together. These students were Kaylee Gonclaves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, Bethany Funke, and Dylan Mortensen.
How the Murder Happened
Bethany was sleeping on the first floor by herself with Dylan, Xana, and Ethan on the second floor and Kaylee, Madison, and their dog occupying the third floor. Dylan was in a room by herself, with Xana and Ethan being a couple they slept together. Kaylee and Madison also shared a room with the dog staying in the last room by itself. The house contained cameras on the exterior of the house so investigators could see exactly what time the suspect arrived and left. The murder took a total time of nine minutes seeing the suspect entering the house at 4:09 am and leaving at 4:18 am.
The suspect starts by entering the back sliding door on the first floor where Bethany is located, the suspect looks around but is never found looking in the room Bethany was staying in. He then goes upstairs to the third floor where he looks in the bedroom where the dog was staying and continues to find no one. The suspect enters Kaylee and Madison's room ten after which he awakens Dylan from the second floor, Dylan then goes upstairs to check out the sound but discovers nothing so she heads back to bed. The suspect then starts downstairs about three minutes later to the second floor of Xana and Ethan's room. The cameras pick up some cries and a thud about seventeen years later. Xana was later found on the floor dead in the room. Dylan hears the thud and looks out of her room to find the suspect walking past her and leaving through the back sliding door eighteen after. Dylan, terrified, went back to bed without checking anything with Bethany still asleep on the first floor. The girls called the police about eight hours later at eleven o'clock in the morning.
Evidence
The cameras on the house picked up multiple audio sounds during the time of the murder, one of them you can hear a man screaming Canvas's name and then seconds later you can hear a woman screaming and then a thud which is supposedly the killer throwing Xana since she was found dead on the floor. Dylan stated that she thought she heard a man say “It’s ok I'm here to help you” upstairs in Madison and Kaylee's room. The murder weapon was left behind which was a military-grade knife that was used to stab and kill all four of the victims. Bryan Kohberger’s DNA was found on the murder weapon in which he was located and arrested on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. Bryan Kohberger was a PhD student in criminology. Kohberger leaving behind the two roommates raises the question if the murder was planned or not, Dylan was not sure if Kohberger had seen her or if she had just gotten a lucky escape.
Aftermath of the Murder
The question of what to do with the house was left unanswered, some wanted to leave it as a sign of respect for the students and some felt uncomfortable with it staying up. The president of the college ultimately decided that it would be best if the house was demolished but in its place would be placed a memorial garden of the four victims.
Many people in the neighborhood expressed a feeling of uneasiness which caused many to leave the neighborhood or request police watch until events had settled down. Police cars have continued to monitor the neighborhood and Idaho campus for the safety of students. Many students decided to move back onto campus for fear of the crime reoccurring.
Current Standings of the Case
With the survivors receiving backlash and families still grieving the case has been dragging out. Kohberger has also been working to appeal the charges and finding further information has proved difficult. It was discovered that Kohberger had been in contact with one of the girls he killed via Instagram, Kohberger had been texting her but she never responded which supposedly led him to kill the friends out of plain hatred. Dylan is taking an active part in the case, craving justice for the murder of her friends and the trauma she faces. Bethany Funke is now in Nevada keeping it low and recovering from the trauma she faced. A trial date is unknown at this moment due to the little information investigators have received about the case, they are currently trying to dive more into Kohberger's lifestyle and motivating factors that led him to commit the crime, however, due to the hostility of the crime, the state of Idaho is seeking the death penalty.
A recent documentary has been released following the story of the Idaho college students.
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