College Murders Unraveled Through Cryptic Text Messages
On the tragic night when four Idaho college students were fatally stabbed in a shared off-campus residence, two of the surviving roommates were desperately trying to contact their friends, as revealed by excerpts from text messages found in recently released court documents. These filings provide new insights into the sequence of events that unfolded on November 13, 2022, at an off-campus student house near the University of Idaho in Moscow.
The court records, submitted by prosecutors last month and made public on Thursday, indicate that the victims – Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, and Madison Mogen – were believed to have arrived at the King Road address around 1:45 a.m. One of the surviving roommates messaged an Uber driver to transport them from a bar to the house at 2:10 a.m., while the other roommate was awake and texting at the same time.
At 4 a.m., Kernodle received a DoorDash delivery, and one roommate reported hearing Goncalves interacting with her dog shortly afterward. The roommate then recalled hearing what seemed like Goncalves saying, “there’s someone here” before a series of unsettling noises followed.
Around 4:17 a.m., a security camera near Kernodle’s room captured sounds of a barking dog, muffled voices, and a loud thud, as detailed in earlier court documents. By just before 4:30 a.m., both roommates were exchanging texts and calls, growing increasingly alarmed as their attempts to reach the victims went unanswered.
As panic and confusion mounted, the roommates texted each other about a mysterious figure in a ski mask and urged one another to seek safety. Despite the chilling exchanges not providing a complete narrative, they offer a glimpse into the tense atmosphere within the King Road residence after the tragic events had transpired.
Prosecutors have sought to introduce these text messages as evidence, arguing that they capture real-time reactions and emotional responses. The roommates described moments of fear and uncertainty as they tried to make sense of the unfolding situation, with one recounting hearing distressing sounds from Kernodle’s room and a male voice offering reassurance.
These cryptic messages shed light on the chaos and fear that gripped the college house on that fateful night, hinting at the harrowing events that occurred within its walls.
According to previously filed documents, the roommate recounted how she opened her door and spotted a man in black attire and a mask walking past her. She stood frozen in shock as he made his way towards the sliding glass door of the house, as detailed in an affidavit. The roommate mentioned that she did not recognize the man, describing him as over 5-foot-10 in height, not very muscular but athletically built with bushy eyebrows.
Prosecutors revealed that both surviving roommates are expected to testify in the upcoming capital murder trial, as indicated in recently unsealed court documents. The filings also included a redacted transcript of a 911 call placed at 11:58 a.m., around seven hours after the intruder was sighted, following the discovery of Kernodle’s unresponsive body.
The emergency call was made after a series of texts to the victims’ phones, a text exchange between one of the surviving roommates and her father, and another unidentified call. It was noted that the two surviving roommates were advised by someone at the scene to contact emergency dispatch, which they did. During the call, one of them reported their roommate being unresponsive after a night of heavy drinking, mentioning the presence of a man in their house the previous night.
Upon dispatch requesting information on the roommate’s breathing, it was revealed that she was not breathing, leading to suspicions of a homicide at the scene. The call for an ambulance response was issued, with multiple individuals present passing the phone around. The suspect, Kohberger, was arrested following a manhunt and indicted on multiple charges, including first-degree murder and burglary. If convicted, he could potentially face the death penalty in Idaho, with his trial scheduled to commence in August.
