Court documents unsealed in the Bryan Kohberger murder case reveal chilling text messages and a 911 call from two surviving roommates of the four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in 2022.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the prosecuting attorney’s office in Latah County, Idaho, via email on Thursday night.
Why It Matters
Kohberger, 30, was arrested in December 2022, charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in the killings of students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on the morning of November 13, 2022.
A not-guilty plea was entered on Kohberger’s behalf. He’s scheduled to stand trial in August and is eligible for the death penalty if convicted of the murder charges.
What To Know
In a transcript of text messages unsealed on Thursday, a surviving roommate identified as “D.M.” texted roommate “B.F.” between 4:22 and 4:24 a.m. Pacific Time on the day of the killings to say that none of the victims were “answering” and that they were “confused.”
D.M. then texted the phone of Goncalves: “Kaylee … What’s going on.”
B.F. responded to D.M. to express similar confusion while saying that they saw Kernodle “wearing all black.” D.M. replied to say that they were “freaking out” before adding that they thought Kernodle was wearing something “like ski mask almost.”
“B.F I’m not kidding o am so freaked out,” D.M. wrote in a subsequent text, prompting B.F. to respond, “so am I.” The transcript ends with B.F. urging D.M. to “run” to meet them in their room.
In the 911 call transcript, one of the surviving roommates describes finding Kernodle unresponsive while also revealing that “some man” was spotted inside their house during the night.
“Um, one of our—one of the roommates who’s passed out and she was drunk last night and she’s not waking up,” the roommate told the 911 dispatcher during the call, which was made more than seven hours after the text messages. “Oh, and they saw some man in their house last night. Yeah.”
A short time later, authorities responded to the scene and discovered the bodies of all four victims.
What People Are Saying
District Judge Steven Hippler, presiding over the case, admonishing prosecutors and defense attorneys for filing too many documents under seal in a recent order: “The court will look with scrutiny on requests to seal documents simply because they purportedly contain facts that are not public but that nonetheless will likely come into evidence… This case has had the most use, or actually abuse, of sealed filings that I’ve ever seen.”
Kohberger defense attorney Anne Taylor, arguing in a motion that her client’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should exempt him from the death penalty: “Mr. Kohberger’s ASD prevents him from being sentenced to death in a manner that accords with the constitutional requirements of proportionality and reliability. Like juveniles and people with disabilities, he is insufficiently culpable to be sentenced to death, the aims of deterrence and retribution will not be satisfied by his execution.”
What Happens Next
Kohberger is scheduled to next appear in court on April 9. Jury selection in the case is expected to begin in late July, while the trial is slated to begin on August 11.
The post Bryan Kohberger Update as Text Messages, 911 Call From Roommates Released appeared first on Newsweek.
