The lead prosecutor in the University of Idaho quadrule murder case is sharing his chilling theory on why killer Bryan Kohberger spared a potential fifth victim.
Earlier this month, Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders of college students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in the early hours of November 13, 2022, at an off-campus student house in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger, 30, was handed four consecutive life sentences over the murders on July 23. He is expected to serve life in prison.
Following the sentencing, the Moscow Police Department unsealed hundreds of documents related to the case, including a statement by police officer Mitch Nunes, who wrote how surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen described seeing her roommates’ attacker. Nunes said Mortensen “peeked” out of her second-floor bedroom “and observed a male described as approximately 6-feet tall, slim build, with a black ski mask leave the second-floor patio area.” (Mortensen shared the same floor as Kernodle.)
In an interview with The Idaho Statesman published on Wednesday, July 30, Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson said it was highly likely that the assailant saw Mortensen, too, though he didn’t attempt to attack her.
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“From what Dylan described, I have a hard time imagining that the killer did not see Dylan,” he said.
Thompson theorized, “At that point, he’d been in the house probably longer than he planned, and he had killed more people than he planned. … It wouldn’t surprise us that the killer was scared at that point and decided they had to leave, not knowing if law enforcement already had been called.”
Mortensen delivered an emotional victim impact statement during Kohberger’s sentencing in Boise, Idaho, on July 23.
“What happened that night changed everything,” she said through tears, per CBS News. “Because of him, four beautiful, genuine, compassionate people were taken from this world for no reason.”
Mortensen continued, “What he did shattered me in places I didn’t know could break. I should have been figuring out who I was. I should have been having the college experience and starting to establish my future. Instead, I was forced to learn how to survive the unimaginable.”
Mortensen went on to describe the ongoing psychological effects of that fateful night, revealing that she is terrified of being alone and experiences regular panic attacks.
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“I can’t breathe, I can’t think, I can’t stop shaking. It’s far beyond anxiety. It’s my body reliving everything over and over again. My nervous system never got the message that it is over, and it won’t let me forget what he did to them,” she said.
Mortensen described Kohberger as a “hollow vessel, something less than human, a body without empathy, without remorse.” She added, “He chose destruction. He chose evil. He feels nothing. He tried to take everything from me: my friends, my safety, my identity, my future.”
A second surviving roommate, Bethany Funke, also wrote a statement that was read out by a friend. Funke described her guilt at not realizing what had happened sooner.
“I still carry so much regret and guilt for not knowing what happened and not calling [911] right away even though I understand it wouldn’t have changed anything, not even if the paramedics had been right outside the door,” she said, per CBS News and E! News.
