The two surviving roommates of the four Idaho college students who were fatally stabbed in November 2022 frantically texted each other after one of them saw a masked man in their home around the time investigators believe the killings occurred, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, is accused of killing Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. The killings and the lack of a suspect sent shockwaves through the town of Moscow for weeks before Kohberger, a criminology graduate student, was arrested in December 2022. A judge entered a “not guilty” plea on Kohberger’s behalf in May 2023.
The victims’ roommates have said all the occupants of the rental house near the University of Idaho campus were home and asleep or in their rooms by 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022. Investigators believe the students were killed between 4 and 4:20 a.m. based on surveillance video and phone records from roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke. More than 7 hours later, police responded to an emotional 911 call from the home after Kernodle was discovered unresponsive.
Mortensen, identified in the court documents by her initials, attempted to call Funke, Kernodle, Goncalves, Mogen and Chapin between 4:19 and 4:24 a.m., all of which went unanswered. Prosecutors said Mortensen told a grand jury she heard noises in the residence and saw an unknown man in their home.
In text messages to Funke, Mortensen said “no one is answering” and mentioned a man wearing something over his head like a ski mask.
“I’m freaking out rn,” Mortensen wrote.
“So am I,” Funke later replied.
The revelations come after a loss for Kohberger’s defense team last week. Judge Steven Hippler ruled DNA and records from Kohberger’s cell phone and online accounts, which investigators got through search warrants, could be presented at trial, according to court documents released Feb. 28.
Details of the killing and the investigation have been hard to come by as the case remains under gag order despite a push my media organizations to lift it. But Hippler on Monday said the prosecution and defense have a “pervasive practice” of trying to seal entire documents in the case and warned attorneys to find less restrictive methods to protect sensitive information going forward, like using initials or making redacted versions public.
Mortensen said in a previous statement that sometime after 4:00 a.m. she heard what sounded like Goncalves playing with her dog on the third floor and saying something like “there’s someone here.” Mortensen looked out of her bedroom and didn’t see anything.
Mortensen thought she heard crying coming from Kernodle’s room and opened her door a second time. She said she then heard a male voice say “something to the effect of ‘It’s OK, I’m going to help you.’”
Mortensen told police she opened her door a third time and saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking toward her, she later tells police. The masked person walked past her as she stood in “frozen shock” then walked toward the back sliding glass door, Mortensen said. She then locked herself in her bedroom.
After Mortensen texted Funke about the masked man, Funke told her to run to her room, saying its “better than being alone.” Mortensen tried to reach Goncalves and Kernodle unsuccessfully again, begging Goncalves to “pls answer” in a text message at 4:32 a.m.
Prosecutors said Mortensen woke up later that morning and realized she still had not heard from her roommates, prompting her to text Goncalves and Mogen asking if they were up at 10:23 a.m.
Sometime later, two of the roommates friends arrived. One of the friends – identified as “H.J.” – found Kernodle unresponsive and told Funke and Mortensen to call 911.
The voices of the dispatcher, two women and four men can be heard on the call as well as “heaving breathing and crying,” according to court filings. One woman told the dispatcher that “something happened in our house” but said they don’t know what.
“One of the roommates who’s passed out and she was drunk last night and she’s not waking up,” another woman later said. “Oh, and they saw some man in their house last night.”
A man identified as “Evan” tells Funke or Mortensen to talk to the dispatcher, who asked about a defibrillator. At 11:58 a.m., authorities responded to the 911 call from the residence. The dispatcher moved to end the call after the callers indicated first responders had arrived and a fourth man can be heard saying “I think we have a homicide,” according to the transcript.
Kohberger’s trial is expected to begin on Aug. 11 after a few more scheduled pre-trial hearings, according to court records. He faces one count of burglary and four counts of murder.
Prosecutors have said they will pursue the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. The state expects both Mortensen and Funke to testify, according to court documents.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Jennifer Borresen and Stephen J. Beard, USA TODAY

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