TRUE CRIME FRIDAY: Bryan Kohlberger

Yes, we know it’s Thursday… Ninetoes is on top of the current events with an update on alleged murderer Bryan Kohlberger and “The Case of Four Friends.”

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming at you with True Crime Friday. Today, we are going to look at what I call “The Case of the Four Friends. I have coffee in my system and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

These are the names I want you to remember: Kaylee Goncalves (21), Madison Mogen (21), Xana Kernodle (20), and Ethan Chapin (20). Four friends whose lives were cut short on the night of November 13, 2022. They were all fatally stabbed in an off-campus residence. The address was 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho. The residence has since been torn down.

Two of the women, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, lived in the apartment house (it was a three-story house that had six bedrooms, two to each floor). Kaylee Goncalves had moved out, but returned to show Madison her new car.

Two of the victims, Kernodle and Chapin, were at a Sigma Chi fraternity party and were there until 1:45 a.m. The other two, Goncalves and Mogen, had gone to a downtown sports bar, The Corner Club. They got there at 10:00 p.m. on November 12^th and stayed there until 1:30 a.m. on the 13^th. According to the two surviving roommates, everyone was home by 2:00 a.m.

Several phone calls were made from the phones of Goncalves (to her former long-time boyfriend) and Mogen’s phone to the same person between the hours of  2:22-2:52 a.m.

Security cameras near the home recorded the sound of whimpering, a loud thud, and a dog barking. This was around 4:17 a.m. One of the surviving roommates stated she opened her door around this time and saw a male figure dressed in all black, with a mask covering the lower portion of his face, walk by her. She said she was in a “frozen shock phase”, and she went back into her room and locked her door.

The four victims were stabbed to death in their rooms. They were not gagged or restrained, and they were all found in their beds: Goncalves and Mogen found in Mogen’s room, and Kernodle and Chapin found in Kernodle’s room.

A call was placed to 911 at 11:58 a.m., seven hours after the homicides occurred, for an unconscious person on the second floor. It was here that the victims were found. All were pronounced dead by noon.

The investigation into these deaths was conducted by the Moscow Police Department, the Idaho State Police, and the FBI. Altogether, 130 people worked on the case. On November 19, the Moscow police department requested that the public provide any video of the house that was taken on the night of the murders. A tip line and email were set up through the FBI, and 2700 tips were received. By December 24, 15,000 tips were received.

On December 15, after sifting through hundreds of tips, the police released a statement that they were looking through records of 22,000 fifth-generation Hyundai Elantras. A camera in the area has recorded a light colored Elantra circling the house around the time of the murders.

Investigators in nearby Pullman, Washington, began an investigation into a light colored Elantra owned by a Ph D. student and teacher’s assistant, Bryan Kohlberger. He had driven it home with his father to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania for the holidays. Investigators obtained cell phone data showing that Kohlberger’s phone was stopped connecting to its network around 2:48 a.m. on the night of the murders, and reconnected around 4:48 a.m. near Blaine, Idaho, which is just south of Moscow, Idaho.

Male DNA was collected from the murder scene as well as from a sheath for a K-bar knife. The sheath was found on Mogen’s bed. Using a public genealogy database, the investigators were able to make a familial match to the Kohlbergers. Investigators had gotten trash from outside of the Kohlberger residence, and upon further testing, the DNA was consistent with that which was found on the sheath.

Bryan Kohlberger was taken into custody at his parents’ home in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. A search of his vehicle turned up a knife, a pistol, and a black face mask.

On May 17, 2023, Bryan Kohlberger was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. Being that it was a federal case, the death penalty was on the table.

On June 30, 2025, Bryan Kohlberger confessed to the murders to spare himself the death penalty. He will be sentenced to four consecutive life terms as well as ten years for burglary. All of his appeals are forfeited as part of the plea deal.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.