Chilling Revelations Surface in University of Idaho Murder Case as Trial Approaches

Recently uncovered details in the case of the University of Idaho stabbings highlight a haunting scenario, as two surviving roommates were contemplating a late-night snack just hours before a masked attacker struck. Judge Steven Hippler disclosed this information while ruling on a request to include the surviving roommates' texts and a 911 call as evidence in Bryan Kohberger's imminent murder trial.

Kohberger, 30, is facing four murder charges related to the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle on November 13, 2022. On the night of the incident, the two surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were in their home in Moscow, Idaho, when the stabbings occurred. The group of friends had returned from a night out and spent time together in Goncalves' room, where they discussed plans for food before deciding to go to bed instead.

At around 4 a.m., Mortensen heard noises and saw a figure in a ski mask passing her bedroom door. She reached out to all her roommates via text, but only Funke responded. The two girls expressed their fear over the absence of their other roommates. As Mortensen moved to join Funke, she discovered Kernodle's body, initially mistaking the scene for a drunken state.

It wasn't until later in the day when the police found the bodies of Goncalves, Mogen, Chapin, and Kernodle. A 911 call was made around noon after the grim discovery. Both Mortensen and Funke are expected to give testimony during Kohberger's trial, which is set to start on August 11 and is anticipated to last over three months.

In court, Kohberger's defense team argued against the inclusion of certain evidence, but the judge permitted specific texts and calls to be used, dismissing others as hearsay. Kohberger has entered a not guilty plea. At the time of the stabbings, he was a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University and was apprehended weeks later in Pennsylvania after DNA linked him to a knife sheath found at the crime scene.

As the trial looms, prosecutors have indicated their intention to seek the death penalty, countering the defense team's claims that Kohberger's autism spectrum disorder may lessen his culpability. The defense argues that executing someone with such a diagnosis would be cruel and unusual punishment, but prosecutors contend that the only mental condition barring capital punishment is an intellectual disability, which Kohberger does not possess.