Madison Meeks – Opinion Editor 

mvm7037@psu.edu

MOSCOW, IDAHO – Four innocent University of Idaho students lost their lives in a tragic attack in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. 

So many questions about the University of Idaho slayings are currently unanswered. But here is what is currently known about the investigation. 

What happened leading up to the tragedy?

According to NBCNews, the University of Idaho students, seniors Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, junior Xana Kernodle, 20, and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, were tragically murdered in the early morning of November 13. Three of the four students, Goncalves, Mogen, and Kernodle, were all housemates living together off campus with two other roommates that were left unharmed. Kernodle’s boyfriend, Chapin, was staying the night of the murders at the off-campus residence.

As stated by NBCNews, on November 12, 2022, only a few hours before the tragic event “Starting around 9:00 p.m. Kernodle and Chapin are seen at a party at Chapin’s fraternity, Sigma Chi, a short walk from the King Road apartment house where the roommates lived, according to investigators.” Investigators also stated that around 10:00 p.m. that Goncalves and Mogen went to a sports bar in Moscow called The Corner Club. 

According to a food truck’s live stream, Mogen and Goncalves had been seen ordering food at the food truck around 1:00 a.m. the morning of November 13. According to NPR, investigators have stated that Chapin and Kernodle had returned to the apartment around 1:45 a.m. about 10 minutes before Goncalves and Mogen had returned. 

The next morning, the four University of Idaho were found dead in their rooms after a 9-1-1 call was made about an unconscious person. It has been revealed that the four murders had taken place on the second and third floors of the house. 

The Investigation: The Beginning 

The police were unable to arrest a suspect for about 8 weeks. As the investigation progressed, NBCNews stated that “preliminary autopsy results show that the four victims were likely attacked with a large knife and died sometime after 2 a.m. from multiple stab wounds, Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt says.” Investigators have stated that they have been unable to find the murder weapon, which appeared to be a large knife according to the preliminary autopsy results. 

Police had previously stated that the two other roommates were asleep in their rooms during the attack. Moscow police had stated multiple times during press conferences that the homicides were a “targeted attack.” Throughout parts of the investigation, police asked the public for information. Police have asked the public for any information they may have about what occurred during the approximately five hours between when Chapin and Kernodle were at the Sigma Chi party until the time that they arrived back at the apartment.

The White Hyundai Elantra

 The police then stated that they needed information about a white Hyundai Elantra that was made around the years 2011-2013. Though the investigators did not know the license plate of the car, they announced to the public that the person driving the car could have valuable information about the case. But according to NBCNews “They do not say whether they believe the driver is linked to the killer but say that person may have ‘critical information’ to share.” The families of the victims then shared through multiple interviews that they only learned about the white Hyundai Elantra from the news like the rest of the public. The families were being left in the dark about the investigation.

The Suspect 

On December 30, 2022, about eight horrible weeks after the quadruple homicide, police announced to the public that they had arrested a suspect in the case. 

According to NPR and NBCNews, 28-year-old Bryan Kohlberger, a resident of Pullman, Washington, and a current student at Washington State University finishing his doctoral degree in criminology, was apprehended by Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI in Albrightsville, PA. He was arrested on four counts of first-degree murder and burglary.

Investigators had stated that DNA evidence was a key to linking Kohlberger to the murders. In a news conference, the police stated that they believe that Kohlberger is the only suspect in the case. Kohlberger was being held in Monroe County, Pennsylvania until he waved his extraction to Idaho and returned to Idaho on January 4, 2023. Kohbergers appeared in court on January 12 in Idaho and has his next court date scheduled for June 26, 2023. 

The Affidavit

According to People Magazine, in the affidavit “a sheath of the knife used in the stabbings was left at the scene in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found. This is where detectives found DNA linking Kohberger, according to the affidavit. Agents took trash from Kohberger’s parent’s home in Pennsylvania to test for a DNA match, the document alleges.”

 A shocking revelation has also been made in the affidavit stating that one of the surviving roommates had said that they saw and described the killer to the police. Evidence besides the DNA has also been released stating that cell phone pings from Kohberger’s phone were connected to the crime scene. According to People Magazine, cell phone pings took place 12 times before the murders. The affidavit also stated that the white Hyundai Elantra, that the police were looking for, was spotted on security video leaving the area of the crime scene the night of the slayings. The same white Hyundai Elantra that police were searching for was taken from Kohberger’s parents’ house.  

There are so many questions about this tragic and horrifying crime that have currently not been answered. The one question on people’s minds is why did this happen? Why were these innocent lives taken? Did any of the victims know Kohberger? Justice hopefully will be brought to the victims and their families as the investigation enters its next stage: the court hearings.