Moscow Police Unveil Crime Scene Docs; One Victim Unrecognizable

Detailed Release of Confidential Documents

The Moscow Police Department recently made public hundreds of previously confidential documents related to the investigation into the murder of four University of Idaho students. This release occurred just hours after the killer, Bryan Kohberger, was sentenced to multiple life terms for his crimes. The documents offer a comprehensive look into the brutal nature of the crime scene, including detailed accounts from police officers who described the horrific conditions they encountered.

Insights from the Released Documents

The documents included a general summary of the case and over 300 "supplement" documents, some of which were merely lists of photos and evidence. These materials provide an in-depth view of the crime scene, highlighting the extreme violence that took place. Officers’ narratives described blood-soaked bedding and blankets, pools of blood on the floors, and traumatic injuries sustained by the victims.

Since the killings nearly three years ago, the details of the murders have remained largely out of the public eye. The records were released several hours after the sentencing hearing for 30-year-old Bryan Kohberger, who had earlier this month pleaded guilty to all charges to avoid the death penalty. Kohberger admitted to killing Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. He entered the off-campus home where the women lived early on Sunday, November 13, 2022, and stabbed the victims to death.

Accounts from the Scene

Numerous police statements described arriving at the scene at 1122 King Road to find distraught friends and roommates outside before entering the home, where they found the bodies of the four victims. One officer wrote about being unable to comprehend what he was seeing while trying to understand the nature of the injuries.

A friend who visited the house after receiving a call from surviving roommates described going over to the house with another friend. He entered the code to the front door and went up the stairs to Xana’s room on the second floor. Chapin and Kernodle, who were dating, were found in Kernodle’s bedroom. The friend reported the door was partially open, and when he entered, he initially thought the mess was from a drunken night out. However, he soon realized the severity of the situation when he noticed dried blood splatter across her bedroom.

He then told the surviving roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, to get out of the house and call 911. He grabbed a knife from a kitchen drawer and checked Kernodle’s closet to ensure no one else was there. He checked their pulses but found no signs of life, noting that both bodies had rigor mortis and were cold to the touch.

Descriptions of the Victims' Injuries

Kernodle, lying on her back, was covered in numerous wounds across her arms, hands, and face. Her boyfriend, Chapin, was still in bed with a blanket pulled over him. Investigators noted two large cuts to the back of his legs, which were deep into the tissue. On the third floor of the home, Goncalves and Mogen were in the same bed in Mogen’s room. Mogen had a wound on her face and upper body, according to officials.

In several police accounts, officers described the wounds to Goncalves’ face and upper body as so extreme that she was unrecognizable. Goncalves’ family stated she was stabbed 34 times. One officer’s report included information from the Spokane County Medical Examiner on each victim's cause of death.

Medical Findings and Weapon Details

Chapin was killed by a stab wound to the neck that severed his jugular vein, and subclavian vein and artery. Kernodle died from lacerations to her heart and lungs and had been stabbed more than 50 times. Most of her wounds were defensive, indicating she fought the killer. Mogen’s fatal injuries were lacerations to her liver and left lung. Mogen, Kernodle, and Chapin had only sharp-force wounds, according to the documents.

Goncalves had sharp and blunt force injuries, including a lung laceration, liver laceration, and severed subclavian vein and artery. The police report mentioned that the medical examiner noted the weapon used was single-edged, very sharp, and required a lot of force by the suspect.