6 Shocking New Details Of Idaho College Murders
Four college students in Idaho were brutally murdered in 2022. The act of violence shocked the country. Even more shocking was that the murderers were allegedly committed by one person in less than twenty minutes. The case is finally going to trial this summer. Six shocking new details came out about the murders in a new TV show. Keep reading for the latest.
Idaho College Murders
Four college students were found murdered in the early hours of November 13, 2022. The murders took place in Moscow, a small town in Idaho that’s home to the University of Idaho. All four of the victims – Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin – were students at the school. The three girls were roommates at an off-campus rental house. Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were dating.
Two other roommates in the house at the time of the murders were unharmed. Authorities haven’t identified them, but use the initials B.F. and D.M. in court documents. One of the surviving roommates saw the alleged killer as they were leaving and helped identify them.
The Suspect
The small college town was rocked by the murders. The police quickly assured the residents of Moscow that the danger was over, though they didn’t yet have a suspect. On December 30, 2022, they arrested Bryan Kohberger, a PH.D. student and teaching assistant at the nearby Washington State University.
The police declined to reveal a motive. A gag order prevented a lot of details about the murders from coming out. Until now.
Shocking New Details
There has been a lot of speculation about the Idaho college murders, including motive, and whether there was a connection between the victims and their alleged killer. But not a lot of information was available because of the gag order.
Some details have been released since the murders. The alleged killer’s cell phone was turned off during the crime. However, the phone previously pinged at a cell phone tower near the crime scene several times in the months before the murders. That led the public to believe that Bryan Kohberger possibly stalked the home prior to the killings.
Now that the trial is about to start this summer, a renewed interest in the case lead to new details coming out. Dateline aired a two-hour episode on Friday, May 9, that revealed more about the killings.
1. Intended Target Revealed
Shortly after the murders, the father of Kaylee Goncalves said he believed she was the intended target. The police said when the murders happened that they weren’t sure if one of the victims was the target, or the house in general.
But according to Dateline, the police now believe that Madison Mogen was the intended target. They believe that because the killer went to her room first and she was the first victim. Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were best friends since grade school and were sleeping in the same bed in Mogen’s room.
2. Photos Found On Suspect’s Device
A photo was released in March of suspect Bryan Kohberger taking a thumbs-up selfie hours after the murders. But that wasn’t the only disturbing thing reportedly found on his cell phone.
KOHBERGER SELFIE! 👀🤳 Police say Bryan Kohberger took this HOURS AFTER THE MURDERS of the four University of Idaho students… @CourtTV #Idaho4
What do YOU think?? pic.twitter.com/2Z1nMowIFs— Julie Grant (@JulieCourtTV) March 20, 2025
The Dateline episode revealed that the accused killer had photos of random women on the device. The women were friends with the three female victims. The significance of this wasn’t clear, but it seemed to indicate there was some kind of connection between the murderer and the victims.
3. Bryan Kohberger’s Damning Amazon Searches
When Bryan Kohberger was arrested, the police filed for search warrants to determine his internet activity. One of those search warrants was for Amazon. It was revealed in the latest court filings that the accused murderer bought a Ka-Bar knife, which is the type of knife suspected in the murders.
A weapon was never found but the killer did leave behind a knife sheath found next to the first victim, Madison Mogen. Bryan Kohberger’s DNA was found on the sheath.
4. One Victim Ran For Her Life
Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were murdered on the third floor of the rented home. Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found dead on the second floor. If the killer’s target was Madison Mogen, why did the killer go after the others on another floor? That’s one question that true crime junkies have been asking in online forums.
Only one person alive knows the answer. But the police speculated that Xana Kernodle may have heard something happening on the floor above her and went to check. The authorities believe that the killer chased Kernodle down the stairs and ultimately murdered her in her room. They know she was awake at the time of the killings because she received a Door Dash order and was on social media moments before authorities think the killings started.
The Dateline episode also revealed that the killer left a bloody imprint on a chair in Xana Kernodle’s room.
5. Ethan Chapin Was Brutally Attacked
Ethan Chapin was staying with his girlfriend, Xana Kernodle, on that fateful night. They were reportedly both murdered in Kernodle’s room. According to the new information, Ethan Chapin was found murdered in the bed. It’s believed he was either asleep or passed out drunk when he was murdered.
Gruesome new details revealed that the killer severed Chapin’s legs at some point in the attack, though it’s unclear why. Kaylee Goncalves’s father revealed in an interview with NewsNation that his daughter was brutally beaten in addition to being stabbed.
6. Surviving Roommate Saw One Victim Dead
The surviving victims have received a lot of judgment for their behavior after the murders. They didn’t know their roommates were dead and didn’t call 911 until the next afternoon. The roommate who saw the killer got a lot of hate for not calling 911 immediately.
The police revealed recently that D.M., the roommate who saw the killer, also saw Xana Kernodle’s dead body. She told the police that she saw Kernodle on the floor of her room but thought she was passed out. Neither of the surviving roommates had any reason to think that four of their roommates had been brutally murdered in the middle of the night.
The Idaho murder trial begins on August 11, 2025, and is expected to last three months. The trial will be livestreamed via court cameras.
The new Dateline episode about the murders is available to watch on Peacock.
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