Prime Video’s One Night in Idaho: The College Murders offers recent insight into the November 13, 2022, deaths of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — ultimately attempting to answer the query of Bryan Kohberger’s motivation.
The four-part docuseries, released on Friday, July 11, offered a breakdown of what happened when Kohberger broke right into a house in Moscow, Idaho, killing 4 of the six people within the 1122 King Road home by stabbing them to death. One Night in Idaho also features interviews from the families of the late Maddie and Ethan.
Kohberger was arrested in late December 2022, over a month after the murders, and initially entered a not guilty plea. Kohberger’s trial was set to start out next month.
Nonetheless, on July 2, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all 4 murders as a part of a deal that spared him from the opportunity of the death penalty, which was on the table had the case gone to trial. Kohberger signed a confession admitting to 4 counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He faces as much as 4 consecutive life sentences for the murders without the opportunity of parole and a 10-year sentence for the burglary. His sentencing hearing is about for later this month.
Keep scrolling for the largest revelations from the One Night in Idaho docuseries:
Who Found the Bodies?
Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen called friend Emily Alandt on the morning of November 13, claiming “something weird happened” in the home the previous night, but she didn’t know what. Emily and boyfriend Hunter Johnson went over to the King Road house to search out Dylan and second surviving roommate Bethany Funke outside. Hunter went into the home first, entering Xana’s room and immediately shooed everyone else out, telling them to call 911.
Hunter Johnson Courtesy of Prime Video
“Hunter had enough courage to inform them to call the police for not an actual reason. He worded it very nicely, he said, ‘Tell them there’s an unconscious person,’” Emily recalled. “Hunter saved all of us extreme trauma by not letting us know anything.”
Hunter eventually revealed that Xana and Ethan “didn’t have a pulse.”
The University of Idaho Alert
Initially, several of the deceased students’ friends were sitting outside of the King Road house hoping for answers — and the police apparently provided none. They were informed about Xana and Ethan being dead but had no answers about Maddie and Kaylee.
The University of Idaho issued a Vandal Alert — their emergency notification system — within the early afternoon on November 13, 2022, which revealed that the Moscow police were investigating “the death of 4 people” on King Road.
“A number of the girls began yelling on the police,” Ethan’s sister, Maizie Chapin, recalled. The police then confirmed to their friends that every one 4 were found dead.
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The Friends Had Weird Feelings
At 4 a.m. on November 13, 2022, friend David Berriochoa remembered pondering it was “eerily quiet” near King Road. “Normally, you’ll be able to see the last remnants of individuals leaving a celebration, however it was silent,” he added, noting that his “intuition” appeared to take hold.
Hunter and Emily had an identical experience.
“That is going to sound really weird, but that night, me and Emily woke up in the midst of the night,” Hunter recalled. Emily added, “As soon as I woke up, I saw Hunter locking the door. I don’t think I’ve ever locked that door.”
Hunter felt like there was something “pulling” him to lock the door.
Maddie’s Parents Were Kept within the Dark
Maddie’s mom, Karen Laramie, received a call from her daughter’s boyfriend, Jake Schriger, who told her about “a homicide” on the King Road house. The Moscow police department was allegedly not forthcoming with information, so Karen and her husband, Scott Laramie, drove to the university to see Maddie.
Karen Laramie Courtesy of Prime Video
“My whole time, my mindset was that we were going to choose up Maddie and Kaylee, and produce them home and console them and hug them and determine just what happened,” Karen said, explaining that originally thought something happened to Xana only. Once they made it to Moscow, Karen and Scott drove to the police department.
“Finally, they put us in somewhat room, they usually got here into the back door and opened this file. The officer explained, ‘There was a homicide in your daughter’s house and there are 4 victims,’” Karen recalled. “It just made no sense. He said, ‘Maddie was a victim.’”
How Maddie and Ethan’s Family Found Out About Kohberger
Each families received a call on the evening of December 29, 2022, telling them that somebody had been arrested for the murders.
Bryan Kohberger Ada County Sheriff’s Office/Mega
“The officer said, ‘Don’t tell anyone, but now we have a suspect in custody,’” Karen recalled.
The Gag Orders Shifted Focus
Each episode of the docuseries shared a disclaimer in the beginning of every episode, explaining that there was a gag order in place which restricted “certain individuals closely involved within the case from speaking publicly.” (The gag order will presumably be lifted following Kohberger’s sentencing hearing.)
Journalist Lauren Paterson explained within the docuseries that the gag order stopped investigators, and the police stopped talking to the press. “For this reason, the main target completely shifted to Bryan Kohberger,” she said.
Kohberger’s Online Activity
Several of Kohberger’s former classmates from DeSales University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degree in criminal justice, spoke out within the docuseries. (Kohberger was pursuing a Ph.D in criminology at Washington State University in Pullman ahead of the murders.)
“He’s an odd ball. He is wise but he’s like a robot,” former classmate Josh Ferraro said. “Purely based off the very fact of his social inability to perform in a standard human manner, I can absolutely see someone like him be involved in something like this.”
Kohberger went to Reddit with a survey for his graduate studies, searching for research regarding the motivation behind certain crimes. This resurfaced online following his arrest — and in addition appeared to reply some questions in a Facebook group regarding the Idaho murders.
The docuseries explained that following the deaths, a Facebook group with 1000’s of web sleuths began discussing the case. Someday, an account with the name Pappa Rodger joined the group and “immediately” caught the eye of admins Kristine Cameron and Alina Smith “due to questions he was asking and just how creepy overall he was.” Each women were quick to clock the similarities between the posts and Kohberger’s research study shared on Reddit. The Pappa Rodger Facebook account also speculated a couple of knife sheath being left on the scene weeks before that information had been made public. (Police arrested Kohberger after finding his DNA on a military style Ka-Bar knife sheath left within the King Road house.)
Following the arrest, the Pappa Rodger account — who had a profile photo that looked eerily just like Kohberger — and its subsequent posts were deleted.
Bryan Kohberger, accused of murder, attends a hearing on cameras within the courtroom along with his attorney Anne Taylor in Latah County District Court on September 13, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images
Kohberger’s Automotive Was Initially Ruled Out
The Idaho State Police sent an email to the Washington State University Police Department revealing that they were on the lookout for a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra 4D.
Police Chief Gary Jenkins stated that at considered one of the “graduate student housing complexes,” they found a white Hyundai Elantra with Pennsylvania plates registered to Kohberger — however it was a 2015 model.
“Moscow PD wanted us to search for a white Elantra that was between 2011 and 2013, this automobile was not between those years,” Chief Jenkins said. “They didn’t submit it as a result in Moscow PD.”
Maddie’s Yellow Sweatshirt
Photos of Maddie shared following her death almost all the time had her in a yellow cropped Idaho sweatshirt — and it was considered one of the one things her parents got back.
“I still have the yellow sweater she was wearing that day. The sleeves are still rolled up,” Karen said. “So, I discovered this sweatshirt once we went down. It was the primary family weekend and Maddie really wanted this sweatshirt. … Super glad we got that back.”
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Dylan’s Memory of November 12
Emily said that “a number of weeks” after the deaths, Dylan shared her version of that night.
“She heard Kaylee and Maddie come home and she or he heard them chit chatting on the couch for some time. The couch was on the wall of her bedroom. She was just about sleeping through it,” Emily said. “Dylan said that she remembered hearing crying.”
Dylan told Emily that she “closed the door” to her bedroom and began calling the opposite roommates.
“Eventually, she just decided to go for it. She made a run for it in Bethany’s room down within the basement,” Emily continued, noting that Bethany didn’t hear anything Mortensen did. In order that they went to sleep. Emily said “within the morning,” Mortensen realized that it wasn’t “a dream.”