One year has passed since the horrific Idaho murders, and in that time, two surviving roommates have provided a glimpse into what happened before and shortly after the gruesome murders.
Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen survived the November 13, 2022, slayings of their roommates Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, at their rental house in Moscow, Idaho. Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, was also killed.
An arrest was made over a month later, on December 30. Bryan Kohberger, 28, who at the time was a doctoral candidate at Washington State University (WSU) in nearby Pullman, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.
Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, listens during his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. In the year since the killings, roommates Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen have revealed information about the suspected killer. Getty
Kohberger stood silent during his arraignment, meaning he didn’t plead guilty or not guilty, requiring the judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. A lawyer who previously represented Kohberger said he is “eager to be exonerated.” Kohberger has been held in jail since his extradition to Idaho in early January.
In the year since the killings, the surviving roommates have both revealed information about what happened in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022.
What Bethany Funke revealed:
Funke was staying in the basement of the house at the time of the murders and allegedly didn’t witness the horrors bestowed upon her roommates.
According to a probable cause affidavit, both Funke and Mortensen “were inside the King Road Residence at the time of the homicides and were roommates to the victims.”
Funke had also seen Chapin and Kernodle at a fraternity house for several hours late November 12 into the early morning hours of November 13.
Funke met with Kohberger’s defense team earlier this year in Nevada after the lawyers attempted to subpoena Funke to attend a preliminary hearing in Idaho to testify as she had information unique to her that was “exculpatory to the defendant.”
Funke told police that Chapin and Kernodle returned home at about 1:45 a.m. She also told police that Chapin didn’t live at the house and that their other roommates returned home at around 2:00 a.m. and were asleep or in their rooms by 4:00 a.m.
What Dylan Mortensen revealed:
Mortensen has told police the most descriptive information—since she encountered the suspected killer on his way out of the house.
Mortensen opened her bedroom door on the second floor of the house several times shortly after 4 a.m. Mortensen told police that she was awoken by what she thought was Goncalves playing with her dog in one of the third-floor bedrooms. Later on, Mortensen said she thought she heard Goncalves say something along the lines of “There’s someone here.” Mortensen peeked out of her bedroom again when she thought she heard crying from Kernodle’s room and a male voice saying something sounding like, “It’s ok, I’m going to help you.”
When Mortensen opened her door a third time, she saw a male figure clad in black clothing and wearing a mask over his mouth and nose.
Mortensen told police that she stood in a “frozen shock phase” as the figure walked past her and out the sliding door that allowed access to the second- and third-floor bedrooms. She described the man as having bushy eyebrows.
Mortensen also told investigators that she heard Goncalves’ dog barking throughout the night.
Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told Newsweek that Mortensen’s information was important to the investigation.
“She gives us insight as to the girls, meaning Maddy and Kaylee, being killed first and then Xana and Ethan later,” Coffindaffer said. “It makes it clear from her timelines and the reflections of what she shared and of course what she saw.”
Coffindaffer said Mortensen’s eyewitness account to the suspect also alerted investigators that there was one male perpetrator.
“[Mortensen dialed down all those questions: one perpetrator, a male perpetrator, and gave a general description matching Bryan Kohberger,” Coffindaffer said.
Kohberger’s trial has been delayed, and it is unclear when it will start.