Texts, 911 call unsealed in Kohberger’s case reveal new details about Idaho homicides

MOSCOW (Idaho Statesman) — Text messages from two surviving roommates in the University of Idaho student homicides and a transcript of the 911 call — both unsealed by the court Thursday afternoon — shed new insights into the morning when four college students were stabbed to death in November 2022.

The texts between the female roommates, whom the Idaho Statesman is not identifying by name, revealed that the second-floor roommate saw someone wearing all black and a ski mask or head covering, and texted the first-floor roommate between 4:22 and 4:24 a.m., according to the prosecution’s court filings.

“I’m not kidding. (I) am so freaked out,” she wrote.

“So am I,” the other responded.

“Come to my room / Run / Down here”

Later that morning, a 911 call sent police to the off-campus home on King Road in Moscow to discover four students stabbed to death. After a nearly seven-week manhunt, suspect Bryan Kohberger, a former Washington State University graduate student, was arrested. He now faces four counts of first-degree murder.

The four victims were U of I undergraduates Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington.

The three women lived in the off-campus home with the two other young women, who went physically unharmed in the early morning attack. Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend and stayed over for the night.

The surviving roommates and two unidentified friends called 911 on Nov. 13, 2022, to report that “something happened” in their house the night before and that one of their roommates was passed out and not waking up, according to the unsealed court filing.

“Oh, and they saw some man in their house last night,” one of the unidentified friends interjected, according to a transcript of the 911 call.

After exchanging texts — the timing was right around the stabbing deaths, which occurred between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m., according to police — the second-floor roommate went downstairs to join the other surviving roommate. The two women fell asleep, according to a recent legal filing from Kohberger’s defense.

By 10:20 the next morning, the roommates still hadn’t heard from either Goncalves or Mogen, texting them to see if they were awake.

“Pls answer,” the second-floor roommate texted Goncalves.

“R u up,” a message to Mogen read.

“R u up??” read another to Goncalves.

Almost two hours later, at 11:58 a.m., the 911 call was placed, police said. Throughout the chaotic phone call, the phone was passed back and forth between the roommates and friends as they tried to answer questions from the dispatcher.

“Hi, something is happening. Something happened in our house. We don’t know what. We have …” the 911 call began, according to the transcript.

Moments after police arrived, one of the emergency responders told dispatch, “I think we have a homicide,” according to the transcript.

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