MOSCOW, Idaho — Thursday marks three years since a group of college students in Idaho were stabbed to death in an off-campus home.
It’s a story that has spanned national headlines for years. So many people wanting answers to two questions: who would kill them and why?
Bryan Kohberger is currently serving life in prison for the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin.
Kohberger was a Ph.D. student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University at the time of the stabbings. It’s unclear how he knew the students, if at all.
Two roommates were home at the time of the murders.
The four were attending the University of Idaho in Moscow.
Their killer is in solitary confinement at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. He’s never shared a motive for the murders, but experts believe that Kaylee Goncalves may have been the intended target due to the extent of her injuries.
The latest
A judge ruled Thursday that Kohberger must pay for the urns of two of his victims.
As part of the plea deal, he was required to pay around $29,000 in restitution to the victims’ families.
The funds were also meant to cover funeral expenses. However, the Goncalves and Mogen families requested an additional combined $3,000 for the urns.
The judge ruled in their favor.
Kohberger wasn’t present at the hearing last week, but his attorney said he didn’t have the funds to pay for the original amount – let alone more.
The judge noted that Kohberger received a ‘five-figure’ sum of donations to his jail fund from family, friends, and the public – so he was skeptical of the claim.
Who were the students?
Madison Mogen
Maddie was 21 years old and from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
She was majoring in marketing in the College of Business and Economics and a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
Maddie worked at Mad Greek Restaurant in Moscow when she wasn’t attending classes. She worked there with Xana Kernodle, who was also murdered.
Kaylee Goncalves
Kaylee was a 21-year-old from Rathdrum, Idaho.
She was majoring in general studies in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. According to her obituary, Kaylee was studying to become an elementary school teacher.
She joined the Alpha Phi sorority while at the University of Idaho.
Xana Kernodle
Xana grew up in Post Falls, Idaho. She played volleyball, track, and soccer in high school, according to her obituary.
Xana was majoring in marketing in the College of Business and Economics and a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
She worked part-time at Mad Greek Restaurant in Moscow when she wasn’t attending classes. She worked there with Madison Mogen, who was also murdered.
Ethan Chapin
Ethan died just two weeks after his 20th birthday. He was raised in Conway, Washington. He was born a triplet. His siblings, Hunter and Maizie, also attended the University of Idaho.
He started college in 2021 and rushed the Sigma Chi fraternity with his brother Hunter.
Ethan was majoring in recreation, sport, and tourism management in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, according to a news release from the university.
The plea deal
Kohberger was sentenced over the summer after taking a plea deal. In exchange for pleading guilty, the death penalty was taken off the table – something that prosecutors said they’d push for if the case went to trial. Kohberger was sentenced on July 23, 2025 to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
In October, KIRO 7 learned that one of Kohberger’s sisters, Amanda, could’ve testified as a witness against him. The information came to light in newly unsealed documents.
The state’s amended witness list was filed on June 25 – and Kohberger took the plea just days later on July 2.
There are about 180 names on the witness list for the prosecution, including Amanda’s. She’s the only family member of his whose name is listed for both the defense and prosecution.
Per the documents, Kohberger’s mother, father, and other sister, Melissa, were also on the list of 56 people that his team may have called on to testify.
The murders
Prosecutors say the deaths happened somewhere between 4:00 a.m. and 4:17 a.m. on November 13, 2022.
According to court documents, phone logs show one of the surviving roommates tried to call three of the victims around 4:19 a.m., but nobody answered. The two shared a chilling text exchange that you can read here. They eventually locked themselves into a room.
One of the roommates opened her door and heard a man’s voice say, “It’s okay; I’m going to help you.”
The figure was dressed in black clothing and a mask that covered his mouth and nose, walking towards her. Documents state she stood ‘frozen in shock’ as he walked past her.
She later told authorities she did not immediately call 911 after seeing a masked stranger in the house because she “was intoxicated and didn’t want to believe what was going on.”
The two surviving roommates then locked themselves in a bedroom and spent several hours trying to contact their other housemates.
The following morning, when they still had not heard anything from the other housemates, they called some friends for help.
Documents state that one of the friends found Chapin and Kernodle without pulses. He told the others to exit the home, and one of the roommates called 911 around noon, requesting aid for an “unconscious person.”
All four students were pronounced dead that afternoon.
In July, the Moscow Police Department released over 300 police report files regarding the University of Idaho murders case.
One of the first reports details the scene that the police walked into.
Xana and Ethan were found in a room with deep stab wounds. The document says it appears Xana fought back, as she had deep defensive wounds.
Kaylee and Madison were found elsewhere in the home. Documents say Kaylee had the most severe injuries, and that she was “unrecognizable.”
Madison, Xana and Ethan all had sharp force wounds, police wrote in their report from the medical examiner. Kaylee had those as well, but was the only one who had asphyxial injuries and blunt force injuries.
Connecting Kohberger to the crime
Investigators connected Kohberger to the murders through a combination of DNA evidence, surveillance footage, and cellphone data.
According to investigators, a Ka-Bar sheath was found next to one of the victims that allegedly had a “statistical match” to Kohberger’s DNA.
Investigators used genetic genealogy to trace this DNA to Kohberger. They secretly retrieved trash from his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he was staying for the holidays, and a Q-tip found there contained DNA that matched the father of the person whose DNA was on the sheath.
Prosecutors later revealed evidence involving Kohberger’s Amazon shopping history, which showed that he apparently purchased a Ka-Bar knife, sheath and sharpener in March 2022, just eight months before the murders.
Police say surveillance video showed Kohberger driving by the victims’ home three times before the murders. Police also say that Kohberger’s phone pinged near the victims’ home over a dozen times before the murders.
Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania in December – two months after the murders.
The students’ legacies live on
A place of healing now sits on the University of Idaho campus in honor of Kaylee, Maddie, Ethan and Xana.
The Vandal Healing Garden opened in August of 2024.
The memorial features a metal centerpiece engraved with their names.
Former roommate Ashlin Couch created the Made With Kindness Foundation to honor Xana, Maddie, and Kaylee.
“Good friendship is something to cherish in this world and I am lucky to have had Maddie, Kaylee and Xana’s throughout some of the best and hardest years of our lives. The endless laughter and crazy times with them are memories I will never forget and cherish forever. The Maddie Kaylee, and Xana Scholarship fund will give us the opportunity to help support the lives of college students and spread kindness and compassion. This foundation is meant to be something as beautiful as the souls of these girls,” she shared on the website.
His parents created the Ethan’s Smile Foundation in his memory. People can purchase a variety of items on the website or donate directly to the foundation. The money goes towards scholarships for students to achieve their dreams.
“Join us in celebrating Ethan’s life by empowering the next generation to reach for the stars through the gift of education,” the website states.
To date, the foundation has awarded 83 scholarships and more than $105,000 to students in the community.
His fraternity created a memorial scholarship fund in Ethan’s honor.
“This Memorial Scholarship will be presented annually to a deserving undergraduate member of the Gamma Eta Chapter — forever recognizing the legacy of our brother,” the fraternity’s website states.
There’s also a three-day basketball tournament held in Skagit Valley that is held in his honor.
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