A disturbing murder scene in the early morning of November 13th, 2022 shook the nation with its tragic and odd occurrence in Moscow, Idaho. Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were all brutally stabbed to death between 4:00-4:30 AM on November 13th. They were all students that attended the University of Idaho. The three girls had lived in the home that they were all found in; Chapin was spending his night with his girlfriend, Kernodle. It was an off-campus residence for the three girls; two other roommates besides the deceased lived there. The two other roommates were not harmed during the events.
Just before the murders, the four were out and about around 1 AM grabbing food in downtown Moscow. There was footage of this occurring through a Twitch livestream. From there, the four proceed to get an Uber ride back to their home. An affidavit was provided as evidence through the case from one of the surviving roommates. It said they thought Goncalves was playing around with her dog, until later on they thought they heard Goncalves (later changed to Kernodle) say someone was there in the house. Later on, whimpering was heard and altogether, the affidavit said that the man, who was dressed in all black, had entered their house calmly walked out of it. Despite 911 calls being made later into the day, the students were pronounced dead at noon the same day.
But the real question isn’t simply just why. It’s a curiosity to delve into the mind of the accused murderer: Bryan Kohberger. Kohberger is a college student that attended Washington State University, almost 7 miles away from the University of Idaho. He studies criminology and was considered aloof, off-putting, and intense while in classes. He had just earned his PhD in criminology in December in his first semester. Kohberger seems to be a temperamental man. He argued a lot with his classmates about strange topics when discussing serial killers and/or murders. Most of those he argued with were women. However, enough with Kohberger’s cold personality in school surroundings. What is his connection with these four UI students and what were his motive(s)?
It is noted that throughout the night, footage was found in surrounding homes near the scene that a white Hyundai Elantra went around the home several times before and after the murders. That wasn’t the first night a white Hyundai Elantra was spotted near there before, however. Spottings can date as far back as August, with around a total of 12 visits before the murders happened. It was ruled that it was a quadruple homicide and that Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary, noting that the murders were premeditated with malice aforethought. However, the connection between the students and this man isn’t well known as of yet. Recent news of the event show Kohberger is scheduled to have a preliminary court hearing in June for trial-proceeding evidence.
