On Thursday, the arrest affidavit for Bryan Kohberger, who has been charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, was released to the public before his hearing in front of an Idaho judge. Kohberger was denied bail.
The 19-page document was full of shocking details that police successfully kept from the public for more than 30 days. Among the most shocking was the eyewitness account of Dylan Mortenson, one of the surviving roommates. According to the police narrative, Mortenson not only heard sounds of distress, but she also saw the killer leaving, although she did not call police at the time.
D.M.[Dylan Mortenson] stated she originally went to sleep in her bedroom on the southeast side of the seoond floor. D.M. stated she was awoken at approximately 4:00 a.m. by what she stated sounded like Goncalves playing with her dog in one of the upstairs bedrooms, which were located on the third floor. A short time later, D.M. said she heard who she thought was Goncalves say something to the effect of “there’s someone here.”
As the affidavit continued, shocking details emerged, including that Xana Kernodle may have been awake at the time of the murders as she had ordered DoorDash, which was delivered at 4 a.m. Cell phone records also show she may have been on TikTok at 4:12 a.m., in the middle of the attacks, according to police.
A review of records obtained from a forensic download of Kernodle’s phone showed this could also have been Kernodle as her cellular phone indicated she was likely awake and using the TikTok app at approximately 4:12 a.m. D.M. stated she looked out of her bedroom but did not see anything when she heard the comment about someone being in the house.
Mortenson reported that she checked outside her room but didn’t see anything. Then she heard sounds of distress. ”D.M. stated she opened her door a second time when she heard what she thought was crying coming from Kemodle’s room. D.M. then said she heard a male voice say something to the effect of ‘it’s ok, I’m going to help you.’”
D.M. stated she opened her door for the third time after she heard the crying and saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her. D.M. described the figure as 5′ 10″ or taller, male, not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows. The male walked past D.M. as she stood in a “frozen shock phase.” The male walked towards the back sliding glass door. D.M. locked herself in her room after seeing the male. D.M. did not state that she recognized the male. This leads investigators to believe that the murderer left the scene.
Based on Mortenson’s statements, police put the time of the murders between 4 a.m. and 4:20 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022. There is no information about why Mortenson did not immediately call the police, as they did not arrive on the scene until almost noon that day. The 911 call that was heavily reported on in the media has not been released.
This information is shocking, considering that the initial reports were that neither roommate had seen anything or heard anything related to the killings. It is possible that police did not want the suspect to know that there was an eyewitness. It is unknown if the killer saw Mortenson or not.
In the days after the murders, the public questioned if there was any evidence from surrounding cameras that would have caught signs of the attacks. Others speculated about Kaylee Goncalves’s dog, Murphy, and whether or not he alerted her to the attacker. The affidavit answered those questions in chilling detail.
At approximately 4:17 a.m., a security camera located at 1112 King Road, a residence immediately to the northwest of 1122 King Road, picked up distorted audio of what sounded like voices or a whimper followed by a loud thud. A dog can also be heard barking numerous times starting at 4:17 a.m. The security carnera is less than fifty feet from the west wall of Kernodle’s bedroom.
PJ Media will have more details on the affidavit’s contents in subsequent coverage. The full arrest affidavit can be read here.
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