- 2 days ago
In the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students — Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin — were killed in their off-campus home. The attack stunned the nation and shattered the sense of security in the quiet college town of Moscow, Idaho.
we explore the timeline of the crime, the intense investigation that followed, and the arrest of Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student now charged with the murders. Through digital forensics, surveillance footage, and court records, this documentary traces the events that led to one of the most widely followed criminal cases in recent memory.
we explore the timeline of the crime, the intense investigation that followed, and the arrest of Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student now charged with the murders. Through digital forensics, surveillance footage, and court records, this documentary traces the events that led to one of the most widely followed criminal cases in recent memory.
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00:00In the early hours of a November morning, four friends returned to the comfort of their off-campus home in a sleepy Idaho town.
00:08What started as a typical night full of fun, food, and laughter, quickly turned into something unimaginable.
00:19She's not going home. She's not waking up.
00:23Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:24By sunrise, the sense of safety that surrounded their small community had been shattered.
00:31Inside the home, the lives of those four bright young students had been taken, while two other roommates survived the night.
00:37It's literally what nightmares are made of. The boogeyman comes and snatches you out of your bedroom.
00:42You think it happens to other people. I'm telling you, if it can happen to us, it can happen to anybody.
00:47What do you do? You can't do a damn thing.
00:49The quiet town of Moscow, Idaho was suddenly thrown into the center of a mystery.
00:54That left residents shaken as the entire country watched.
00:58We cannot say that there's no threat to the community.
01:01We do not have a suspect at this time, and that individual is still out there.
01:05I don't know how you catch a criminal if you don't even know what you're looking for.
01:09Weeks later, a student from a neighboring college town would be arrested for the crime.
01:13His arrest would only spark more questions.
01:15What did you do it?
01:16As Brian Koberger appeared to be a total stranger, leaving no explanation as to why he targeted Madison Mogan, Zana Karnodal, Kaylee Gonsalves, and Ethan Chapin that morning.
01:27This day of court is not just for him, it's for everybody.
01:31We have some breaking news. Brian Koberger has accepted a plea deal.
01:35Just before his trial was set to begin, Brian confessed to the killings.
01:39Did you kill and murder Madison Mogan, Kaylee Gonsalves, Zana Karnodal, Ethan Chapin?
01:45Yes.
01:46Shocking the nation and dividing the victim's families over how the case ended.
01:51I think it's justice. Families that have been already through the most horrific thing they could ever imagine.
01:56This is anything but justice. I apologize to my daughter. I'm sorry, Kaylee.
02:00With his fate now sealed away behind bars, one question still stands above the rest.
02:05What would drive him to kill four innocent people he didn't even know inside their own home?
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04:54with his girlfriend, Zanna Kronodal.
04:57Hi, my name is Zanna Kronodal.
04:59Zanna was born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on July 5th, 2002.
05:04She taught me a lot of stuff.
05:06She taught me how to be a dad.
05:07She grew up in Post Falls, Idaho, and was a talented gymnast
05:11and all-around athlete through school,
05:13participating in volleyball, track, and soccer.
05:16Her friends and family remember her as so positive, funny,
05:20and loved by everyone who met her.
05:21Zanna was such a light in my life and so many others.
05:25She was so positive and lighthearted
05:27and understood the gift of life more than anyone I know.
05:29Not a lot of people possess that kind of talent
05:32to be able to light up a room like she did.
05:34I think you can see from her TikToks, you know,
05:36just how funny she was.
05:41Oh, .
05:42After graduating high school,
05:44Zanna enrolled at the University of Idaho,
05:47where she also joined a sorority.
05:49She was in her junior year
05:50and working on getting a degree in marketing.
05:52I love it at the University of Idaho.
05:54Hanging out with my friends all the time
05:56and being super involved in school events.
06:00Sometime during college,
06:02Zanna started dating Ethan,
06:03who she had been friends with for a while.
06:05By the summer of 2022,
06:07she had begun spending much of her time with his family.
06:09Friends and classmates remembered Ethan and Zanna
06:11as a loving couple who brought out the best in each other.
06:14Supporting one another through the ups and downs of college life.
06:22They were always so happy,
06:23and the way she would talk and smile about him
06:25was something I've never seen her do before.
06:27They had something so special in everyone around them.
06:29Him and Zanna were just like the most perfect couple you can imagine.
06:33Outside of school,
06:34Zanna worked as a server at the Mad Greek restaurant,
06:37alongside her friend and roommate, Madison May Mogan.
06:40Madison, who went by Maddie,
06:46was born on May 25th, 2001 in Eugene, Oregon.
06:51Madison was a great baby.
06:53I'm not going to say it was.
06:54Madison is absolutely amazing and always has been.
06:57Maddie's family remembers her for her offbeat
07:00and hilarious sense of humor that always kept people laughing and smiling.
07:03Bright and funny and just fun.
07:06She was a fun person to be around.
07:09She just had that genuine love.
07:13It's just impossible to describe.
07:15She was a senior at the University of Idaho,
07:18where she was a marketing major and was also a member of the same sorority as Anna.
07:23Maddie and Zanna lived together in a three-story home off campus on King Road
07:28with two other roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funk.
07:32This is actually King Street, where I've lived the past two years.
07:36They used to share the home with Maddie's long-time best friend,
07:40Kaylee Jade Gonsalves.
07:42Is this your place?
07:43Yeah.
07:43Perfect.
07:43Do you know why we're here?
07:44I assume noise.
07:46Noise, yeah.
07:47Yeah.
07:47Big speaker right there?
07:48Yeah.
07:48But she had recently moved out ahead of her graduation.
07:52Kaylee was born in Concord, California on June 8th, 2001, but her family moved to
07:57Northern Idaho the following year.
07:59Her family says Kaylee was a bit of a goofball and loved to play pranks.
08:03Guys, I met Charlie D'Amelio, check!
08:08But she was serious when it came to her work,
08:10already having a full-time job while she was in high school.
08:13Kaylee's family described her as tough and fair,
08:15She was a little ornery too, so we'll miss that as well.
08:18saying she was the ultimate middle child.
08:20She was always competitive.
08:21There was never a day that she didn't want to race her brother because
08:24she was determined that girls were faster than boys.
08:28Kaylee met Maddie in the sixth grade,
08:31forging an unbreakable bond that made them the main characters
08:34in each other's childhood stories.
08:36They were inseparable from the sixth grade on.
08:38The two of them were a force not to be reckoned with.
08:41They were sisters.
08:42She was one of ours.
08:43After graduating high school together,
08:45Kaylee enrolled alongside Maddie at the University of Idaho.
08:49Kaylee was a senior majoring in general studies and was also part of a sorority.
08:54Ahead of graduation, Kaylee had moved back home with her family,
08:58preparing to start a new chapter in Austin, Texas, where she had a marketing job lined up.
09:03To symbolize her hard work throughout school and the bright future ahead of her,
09:07Kaylee had recently bought herself a 2016 Range Rover.
09:11Kaylee's mother Christy says her daughter couldn't wait to show Maddie her new car,
09:15so she decided to make the trip back to Moscow on Friday, November 11th.
09:19I remember her being super excited for that and, you know, showing Maddie and driving down there.
09:26She brought Murphy, her beloved golden doodle, along for the trip,
09:30planning to stay at the home with Maddie and Xana over the weekend.
09:33Ethan was also planning to hang out with Xana that Saturday,
09:36but first spent the evening taking his sister, Maisie, to a formal dance on campus.
09:40Later, at 8pm on Saturday, Xana and Ethan stopped by a party at his frat house,
09:46where they stayed for several hours. Just before 9pm, Kaylee posted a photo to Instagram,
09:51capturing herself smiling alongside Maddie, Xana, Ethan, Dylan, and Bethany.
09:56Kaylee wrote that she was one lucky girl to be surrounded by these people every day.
10:00At 10pm, Maddie and Kaylee went out to a sports bar called The Corner Club in downtown Moscow.
10:07The home on King Road sat empty as the clock struck midnight on Sunday, November 13th,
10:12as all four friends and the two other roommates, Dylan and Bethany, were still out for the night.
10:17Dylan and Bethany would be the first to make it home, getting back sometime before 1am.
10:22After leaving the bar downtown at 1.30am, Maddie and Kaylee stopped to get some food from the
10:27Grub Trucker's food truck, which was captured on a live stream on the business's Twitch account.
10:33Hello! Hi! Welcome back!
10:34Thanks, I think I would like the, um, the car run out.
10:41The live stream showed Kaylee and Maddie talking and laughing as they waited for their food
10:46at 1.42am. After getting their order about 10 minutes later, they got a ride back home through
10:52a car service, arriving there at 1.56am. Around 2am, Dylan and Bethany met up with Kaylee and Maddie on
10:59the third floor, where the group debated heading back out to the food truck for a late night snack.
11:04Dylan sent a message to an Uber driver she knew, checking on a possible ride. But in the end,
11:10the girls decided to call it a night and stay in. Around that time, Zanna and Ethan left the party
11:16and walked back to her house, which was just across the street. As the group turned in for the night,
11:22Zanna, Ethan, and Dylan were all on the second floor, with Kaylee and Maddie on the third.
11:27Bethany is believed to have been in her room on the first floor. Later on, Zanna placed a DoorDash order,
11:33which was dropped off at the house at 4am. Around that time, Dylan says she woke up after hearing
11:40what sounded like Kaylee playing with her dog in Maddie's room upstairs, which was right above
11:44hers. Soon after, she reported hearing someone who she thought was Kaylee say something along
11:50the lines of, there's someone here, in one of the neighboring rooms. However, police believe this
11:55may have been Zanna, as her phone data shows she was on TikTok at 4.12am. At 4.17am, security cameras
12:03near the home captured the sound of whimpering, a loud thud, and a dog barking. Dylan said she opened
12:11her door twice, hearing what sounded like crying coming from Zanna's room the second time. She also
12:16reported hearing a man saying, it's okay, I'm going to help you. When she opened her door a third time,
12:22she told police she saw a man, dressed head to toe in black, with a mask covering his mouth.
12:27She described the man as around 5 feet 10 inches, athletically built, with bushy eyebrows. She told
12:34police that she stood frozen in shock as the stranger walked past her room and left the home
12:39through the sliding glass door in the kitchen, which led back out to the patio. She quickly went
12:44back into her room and locked the door. Dylan has never explained why she didn't call 911, but a gag
12:49order placed on the case by a judge ahead of the trial had previously blocked witnesses from that
12:54night from speaking out. At 4.22am, Dylan texted Bethany, raising the alarm after she couldn't get
13:00a hold of the other roommates, and describing the man she had seen in black clothing. No one is
13:04answering, Dylan wrote. Yeah dude, WTF, Bethany responded. Zanna was wearing all black, Bethany added,
13:12seeming to imply that could have been who Dylan saw. I'm freaking out right now, Dylan replied. No,
13:18it's like a ski mask almost, like he had something over his forehead and mouth, Dylan described.
13:23Come to my room, run, Bethany wrote. Court documents detail how Dylan opened her door
13:29and ran toward the staircase, catching a glimpse into Zanna's room for just a second. Dylan described
13:35seeing Zanna lying on the floor, but thought she was just drunk and had passed out after getting
13:40back from the party. Dylan made it to Bethany's room, where the two locked the door and kept calling
13:45and texting the rest of the group, but no one answered. Both roommates, who had been drinking
13:50that night, eventually fell asleep, only to wake up hours later to that same silence hanging over the
13:55house. At 11.50am, Dylan called her friend, Emily Allant, and her boyfriend, Hunter Johnson.
14:02Something weird happened last night. I don't really know
14:07if I was dreaming or not, but I'm really scared. Asking them to come over and check out the upstairs
14:14rooms. Hunter and Emily met Dylan and Bethany on the first floor before heading upstairs. I would say
14:20as soon as you get there, you know something's wrong. Once on the second floor, Hunter grabbed a
14:25knife from the kitchen, unsure what might be waiting behind the bedroom doors. Hunter led the way over to
14:30Zanna's room, finding that her door was still slightly cracked open. He pushed it open to find Zanna lying
14:35face up on the floor with blood around her, while Ethan laid unresponsive in her bed,
14:40facing the wall. Shaken, Hunter quickly rushed everyone away from the room and outside of the
14:45home, wanting to protect them from the traumatic scene, telling them he had found Zanna and Ethan
14:49unresponsive in the room, but not mentioning the blood he had seen. At 11.56am, Bethany placed the call
14:55to 911. 9-1-1 location of your emergency.
14:59Hi, something is happening. Something is happening in our house. We don't know what.
15:03What is the address of the emergency?
15:081-1-2-2.
15:16What is the rest of the address?
15:19Oh, Kings Road.
15:21Okay. And is that a house or an apartment?
15:25It's a house.
15:26Can you repeat the address to make sure that I have it right?
15:30I'll talk to you guys. We live at the White, so we're next to them.
15:35I need someone to repeat the address for verification.
15:37The address?
15:381-1-2-2, King Road.
15:42And tell me exactly what's going on.
15:43One of the roommates has passed out, and she was drunk last night, and she's not waking up.
15:52Okay.
15:52Oh, and they saw some man in their house last night.
15:56And are you with the patient? Okay, I need someone to keep the phone, stop passing it around.
16:01Can I just tell you what happened pretty much?
16:03What is going on currently? Is someone passed out right now?
16:07I don't really know, but pretty much at 4am.
16:10Okay, I need to know what's going on right now. If someone is passed out, can you find that out?
16:15Yeah, I'll come. Come on, but then you gotta go check.
16:19But we have to.
16:19She's so sad, Mom.
16:35She's not waking up.
16:39Okay, one moment. I'm getting home started that way.
16:42Is she breathing?
16:55No.
16:55Okay.
16:57Are you talking to the officer?
16:59Yes.
16:59Okay, I'm gonna let you go since she's there with you and can help you.
17:02Okay, thank you. Bye.
17:04When police arrived, they found Zanna and Ethan in her bedroom, confirming that they were dead.
17:10Maddie and Kaylee's bodies were discovered in her room on the third floor,
17:13with a sheath from a K-Bar combat knife on the bed next to them.
17:17Kaylee's dog was found safe and unharmed, locked in the second room on the third floor,
17:22which had been hers before she moved out.
17:24As the surviving roommates and their friends waited for answers outside of the home,
17:28the sight of police cars and crime tape drew other students to the scene,
17:32including Ethan's siblings, Hunter and Maisie.
17:34Hunter Johnson came up to me and I was like, where's Ethan and Zanna? And he's like,
17:38they're not here anymore. I was like, what do you mean they're not here anymore? He's like,
17:42I think they were murdered last night.
17:45At 2 p.m., the University of Idaho sent out an alert to all students,
17:49informing them of the homicides and urging them the shelter in place.
17:53Until investigators determined that there was no longer an act of threat.
17:56Authorities did not reveal, though, how the students died.
17:59Now this afternoon, when we talked to the coroner, she described a gruesome crime scene.
18:04The coroner's report found that all four victims were stabbed multiple times with a large knife,
18:09suffering fatal blows to the chest and upper body.
18:12And there was no sign of sexual assault.
18:14Police believe the suspect had used the K-Bar knife to attack the victims,
18:18carrying out the crime sometime between 4 a.m., when Zanna's DoorDash order was dropped off,
18:23and 4 20 a.m., when Dylan encountered the masked man in the hallway.
18:27The attack began in Maddie's room, where both girls were asleep in the bed.
18:30The suspect left the room, along with the knife sheath by Maddie's body,
18:34before heading downstairs, where he crossed paths with Zanna,
18:38attacking her before moving on to Ethan, who was still asleep in her bed.
18:41The four were stabbed multiple times, some had defensive wounds.
18:45Zanna's father later confirmed that she was found with deep cuts on her hands.
18:49She went down fighting.
18:51I believe so. It's upsetting to think about.
18:54Kaylee's parents shared that she also fought back against her attacker.
18:57There's evidence to show that she awakened and tried to get out of that situation.
19:02But the layout of the room left her with no clear way to escape.
19:05The way the bed was set up is what...
19:08She was trapped.
19:09She was trapped.
19:10She was struck in the face.
19:12Her nose was broken.
19:13The blows that he delivered to her would have killed her.
19:17If the knife wounds hadn't, the blows would have?
19:20Yeah.
19:21After leaving through the sliding glass door in the kitchen, detectives believed he gone
19:25into his car and drove away from the home.
19:27The knife that was used in the attacks has never been found.
19:30Officers quickly rolled out a robbery or a burglary
19:33after they didn't find anything missing from the home or any damage.
19:37At first, authorities weren't sure if they were dealing with one suspect or more.
19:41Is it possible there's more than one suspect?
19:43It certainly is possible.
19:45Wondering how anyone could kill the four victims without waking up the other roommates.
19:49I think this person went in very methodical.
19:52I think he was quick, was quiet, and he got in and he got hurt.
19:55Police did not find any evidence of someone forcing their way into the home,
19:59leading them to believe it had been a targeted attack.
20:02And how can you say it's a targeted attack if you don't have a suspect?
20:06Like I said, we take the totality of the situation with everything that comes in.
20:10At this time, I'm not going to expand upon that.
20:12Police kept quiet about the knife sheath, not wanting to tip off the suspect
20:16that a crucial piece of evidence had been left behind.
20:19Single source male DNA was found on the snap of that sheath,
20:23as well as blood from both Kaylee and Madison and other trace evidence.
20:28While also keeping the families and the public in the dark about a possible link to the killer.
20:33We've told the public very clearly from the beginning that we believe it was a targeted attack.
20:37You're going to have to trust us on that at this point,
20:39because we're not going to release why we think that.
20:42Law enforcement is kind of throwing around this term targeted.
20:45But we don't know what that means.
20:47It was a very popular house.
20:49So I know for a fact that people who weren't necessarily roommates of the house did have that code.
20:56I just look for everyone that lives here and we're not here right now.
20:59No one's here at all.
21:01No one's here at all.
21:02So no sign of force entry doesn't necessarily mean that they were invited.
21:05While investigators initially said there was no risk to the community,
21:09Moscow Police Chief James Fry would walk back that claim days later.
21:13We do not have a suspect at this time and that individual is still out there.
21:17We cannot say that there's no threat to the community.
21:20Please stay vigilant and be aware of your surroundings at all times.
21:24Fall break was scheduled to begin the next week on November 18th,
21:27but many students began leaving campus early, fearing for their own safety.
21:31The police could be more forthcoming about details.
21:35Especially since, you know, it happened so close to campus.
21:39There are so many people here that could be potential victims.
21:41On November 19th, police made a public plea for any surveillance footage from neighbors
21:47that might hold clues from that night.
21:49But crime here in Moscow has been rare.
21:51It's a place that hasn't seen a murder in seven years.
21:54And there are very few cameras in this area.
21:56The FBI set up tip lines by phone and email, sparking a flood of information.
22:01Within two days, investigators had received thousands of tips,
22:05totaling over 15,000 by Christmas Eve.
22:08I want to address several areas of speculation and misinformation that has circulated on social media.
22:15We do not believe the following individuals are involved in this crime.
22:19The two surviving roommates, a male seen at the grub truck food vendor downtown,
22:26a private party who provided rides home to Kaylee and Madison.
22:32Through surveillance footage collected from nearby homes and businesses,
22:35detectives learned that starting around 3.30 a.m.,
22:38a white Hyundai Elantra without a front license plate
22:41circled the victim's neighborhood in Moscow three times at about 4.04 a.m.
22:45The car pulled up on the street behind the King Road home and appeared to park nearby
22:49before finally speeding off around 4.20 a.m., nearly losing control while taking a corner.
22:55After driving away, police believe that the suspect got onto one of the few roads
22:59leading out of that part of Moscow, taking a highway that leads straight into Pullman,
23:03Washington, a small college town just across the border.
23:07Investigators began reviewing footage from cameras around Pullman, hoping to spot the car.
23:12Around 2.44 a.m., on the night of the killings, a white Hyundai Elantra was captured driving
23:17near Washington State University. Minutes later, at 2.53 a.m., the same car was seen heading toward
23:23the highway that connects Pullman to Moscow. Later that morning, around 5.25 a.m., the Elantra
23:29reappeared on multiple cameras around Pullman and the WSU campus. Surveillance then showed the vehicle
23:34making its way toward an apartment complex near the university. Investigators sifted through over
23:4022,000 vehicle records to identify the car, narrowing it down to models made between 2011
23:46and 2013, but eventually expanding their search through 2016. On November 25th, a BOLO, or Beyond
23:53the Lookout Bulletin, was sent to local law enforcement agencies. The footage and the details about the
23:58vehicle weren't released to the public at the time. Let us mourn our children and we can't when we know this
24:04person is out there. Just turn yourself in. On November 23rd, they obviously all were trying to
24:10keep Kaylee safe, you know, and be there for her as good friends. A tip about Kaylee having a stalker
24:14grabbed headlines, and so that's something obviously that we're looking at, but quickly turned into a
24:19dead end. At this point, there's really more questions than answers. As information slowly trickled
24:25out, Kaylee and Ethan's fathers publicly called on law enforcement in the University of Idaho to keep the
24:31families informed, feeling they had been left completely in the dark about their children's
24:35deaths. Somebody isn't communicating, there's nothing being released. It seems like they're
24:41trying to suppress the story, but hey, I could be wrong, and you officers, I apologize if I'm wrong.
24:46Ethan's father further urged officials to speak the truth, share what they know, find the assailant,
24:52and protect the greater community, highlighting the emotional tool the silence was taking on the
24:56families. We're just trying to process it and have it hit national news. And the small college town,
25:02where students were left feeling on edge. Would you feel safe having a child living near or on campus?
25:08I would, but I say that knowing that many people would not. I'm in a different situation because
25:16of the information and the knowledge that I have of how the investigation is progressing. Just after
25:22midnight, on November 29th, a Washington State University campus officer searched vehicle records
25:27for white Hyundai Elantra's registered students, finding a 2015 model belonging to 28-year-old Brian
25:34Koberger. The vehicle was registered out of Pennsylvania, a state that doesn't require front
25:38license plates, which stood out to investigators because the suspect's car didn't have one.
25:43About half an hour later, another officer spotted the same Elantra parked at an apartment complex on
25:49campus. He ran the plates and confirmed it was the same car, now bearing Washington tags,
25:55on both the front and back. After looking at a copy of Brian's driver's license photo,
26:00authorities realized he matched the description given by the surviving roommate having the same
26:04build and bushy eyebrows. At the time, Brian was a 28-year-old PhD student in criminology at
26:11Washington State University, where he was also working as a teaching assistant. To his classmates,
26:17he was gregarious, but people from his hometown in Pennsylvania described him as an outcast,
26:22having been bullied throughout school growing up. An online post believed to have been written by a
26:27teenage Brian, he revealed struggles with emotional numbness and a neurological condition called visual
26:33snow, creating a constant static in his vision, similar to what you would see in a TV. He described
26:39feeling like an organic sack of meat with no self-worth, observing his life like a video game he could
26:45control without remorse. Despite battling a heroin addiction, Brian had seemed to turn his life
26:51around, expressing interest in counseling offenders and studying the minds of criminals. Brian's curiosity
26:58reportedly deepened online during his time at DeSales University, where he was pursuing his graduate
27:04degree before transferring to WSU. In Reddit posts believed to have been written by him, he asked convicted
27:10criminals to take part in a survey, exploring how emotions and past experiences influence their
27:15decisions to commit crimes. The questionnaire asked criminals about how they felt before, during,
27:20and after their offenses, and whether they experienced remorse. In the months before the killings in Moscow,
27:26faculty had begun expressing concern over his behavior and his role as a teaching assistant. He was
27:32described as being rude, hostile, and dismissive toward the women in the class, and was sometimes condescending.
27:38When police looked into Brian's vehicle registration, they realized they already had his phone number
27:42on file from a traffic stop back in August of that same year. Using the number, officers pulled his
27:48cell phone records, hoping to trace his movements. Starting July 9, 2022, Brian's phone started pinging
27:55near the victim's home, logging 23 connections by November 7, always between 10 pm and 4 am. According to
28:02investigators, his cell phone dropped off the network near Pullman at 2 47 am the night of the crime in Moscow,
28:09and didn't reconnect until 4 48 am near Blaine, Idaho, which is about 20 miles south of Moscow. Authorities
28:16believe Brian had turned his phone off before carrying out the attack, powering it back on after driving away.
28:21From there, the defendant's phone activity tracks heading back north towards Pullman, Washington,
28:27towards his apartment where he arrived at approximately 5 30 in the morning.
28:31Investigators say the cell phone records indicate that Brian had returned to the house on King Road
28:36around 9 am that morning, where he lingered for about 10 minutes before driving back to his dorm.
28:41After getting back to his apartment, prosecutors say Brian took a selfie in his bathroom around 9 am,
28:47giving a thumbs up to the camera. Shortly after, Brian's phone connected to the network about 30
28:52miles south in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, where detectives say he was seen on camera at several
28:57businesses. The area marks where the Clearwater and Snake Rivers meet, raising questions about whether
29:02he may have dumped evidence. On November 18, just five days after the crime, DMV records show that
29:08Brian changed his vehicle registration from his home state of Pennsylvania to Washington, having just
29:13moved into his apartment on campus in Pullman that August. During a traffic stop near Washington State
29:18University in October, an officer's body camera captured Brian's Pennsylvania registration,
29:24showing that it was set to expire on November 30, 2022. The same footage revealed that Brian had
29:31changed his insurance information in July of that year, listing the address of his apartment in
29:35Pullman. He had also been issued a Washington driver's license, replacing his Pennsylvania one.
29:41Prosecutors would later theorize that Brian carried off the killings just before his vehicle
29:45registration expired, believing he could quietly update it in a new state, along with the rest of
29:50his identifiable information after the crime, without raising suspicion. We want to start by
29:56extending our deepest condolences to all the families impacted by this tragedy. On November 30,
30:03the victim's families and classmates gathered at the University of Idaho for a candlelight visual in
30:07honor of Kaylee, Ethan, Maddie, and Zanna. Zanna Kernodle. It's hard that we are without these four
30:14beautiful kids with us tonight. Ethan Chapin. That that's the most important message that we have
30:22for you and your families, is to make sure that you spend as much time as possible with those people,
30:28because time is precious and it's something you can't get back. Kaylee's father highlighted the close
30:33bond between his daughter and Maddie. They've been friends since sixth grade. They came here together.
30:39They eventually get into the same apartment together. And in the end, they died together
30:43in the same room, in the same bed. Kaylee Gonzalez.
30:49Madison Mogan.
30:51Today's update is the first descriptive tip that we've received in several days. Detectives now want
31:04to speak with anyone who is inside a white Hyundai Elantra that was near this home on King Road.
31:11On December 7, authorities released surveillance footage of the vehicle to the public,
31:15asking for any additional information. Thanks to these tips and leads, we know that vehicle was there.
31:21So the occupant is someone we want to talk to. While not mentioning that Brian had been identified
31:26as a potential suspect. Down about the white car from a press release? Yes. Did they send you the
31:31press release? No. As weeks went by with no arrests, the families in the entire community
31:36grew increasingly anxious for answers. It's been more than a month and there's not even any suspect
31:41information that's been released. While police remain tight-lipped, quietly zeroing in on their suspect.
31:46Law enforcement at this point had been accessing information about him. We're trying to find him.
31:51Brian left Washington for the holiday break, driving his car back to his parents' home in the
31:56Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. His father flew out to Washington just to make the drive back with him.
32:01Along the way, Brian was pulled over twice within five miles for tailgating.
32:06The stops were believed to be part of an FBI surveillance operation, but law enforcement
32:16has firmly denied that. Two days after arriving home on December 19th, Brian was fired from his
32:21teaching assistant job with the university citing poor behavior and performance. That same day,
32:27police got a hit on the DNA from the knife sheath linking it to someone in the Koberger family,
32:32but they still needed more evidence to confirm it was Brian. Over the holiday break, investigators
32:37watched Brian closely at his family's house where they say they saw him wearing surgical gloves and
32:42putting trash into his neighbor's bins. Detectives collected some of the trash and sent it off for
32:47forensic testing. On December 27th, officials said they found DNA on a piece of trash, a q-tip,
32:53that had been used by the father of the person who left their sample on the knife sheath next to
32:58Maddie's body. Just days later, on December 30th, a major break in the murders of four
33:03University of Idaho students. We believe we have our guy, the one that committed these murders.
33:08Brian was arrested at his parents' home. On a warrant for murders of Ethan, Zena, Madison,
33:15and Kaylee. No arrest will ever bring back these young students. However, we do believe justice will
33:22be found through the criminal process. Authorities say they found him in the kitchen
33:27while packing trash in his Ziploc bags. A search of the house turned up a knife,
33:31which was not their murder weapon. A pistol, a black mask, laptops, dark clothes, and shoes.
33:38Also finding ID cards hidden inside a glove in a box. Searches of his apartment and campus office
33:44turned up almost nothing. As prosecutors say Brian, who did a pre-doctorate study on crime scene
33:51processing, had thoroughly cleaned both spaces. When Brian's car was seized in Pennsylvania,
33:57prosecutors say that the interior had been taken apart and meticulously cleaned. A bucket of cleaning
34:02supplies was found sitting right next to it. Investigators discovered that Brian had been
34:06watching videos about Ted Bundy over the break at his parents' home, days before his arrest. He took
34:11a selfie wearing a black hood, not only resembling Bundy's appearance in one of the videos, but also
34:16matching the description of the suspect seen at the Moscow home. On January 3rd, 2023,
34:24Brian agreed to be extradited to Idaho to face charges. The next day, he was flown to Pullman,
34:29Washington, then driven to the county jail in Moscow, where he was held without bail.
34:35With the killer now behind bars for their deaths, Ethan, Zanna, Maddie, and Kaylee were all honored at
34:40the University of Idaho's commencement ceremony on May 13th, 2023. Seeing all those graduation photos,
34:46we just, they should be here. Kaylee's four siblings received her diploma on her behalf.
34:52Kaylee Jade Gonsalves has been recommended to receive a posthumous bachelor's degree.
34:58Her family will receive the diploma of the University of Idaho. While Maddie's parents were presented with
35:05hers. I hereby confer upon Madison May Mogan, posthumous degree earned. They didn't just give it to
35:11her because they were trying to be nice. She earned all those credits. She got that degree. And yeah,
35:18we're so proud of her still. Days later, Brian was indicted by a grand jury on May 17th on four counts
35:25of first degree murder and one count of felony burglary. During his arraignment on May 22nd,
35:30Brian stayed silent in court, refusing to enter a plea. Your Honor, we will be standing silent. His attorney
35:36told the judge that he was standing silent, which is an uncommon legal tactic in Idaho that defendants
35:42can use to avoid having to take a stance on their own guilt or innocence. As Brian stood in silence,
35:48the judge was required to enter not guilty pleas on all charges on his behalf. Brian was denied bond
35:53and remained in jail. On June 26th, the Laetal County Prosecutor's Office announced that it would
35:59seek the death penalty. The house where the crime took place was donated to the University of Idaho,
36:04which later tore it down on December 28th of that year. The University said demolishing the home
36:09would help the community move forward by removing the grim reminder of that night. This is a next step
36:14toward healing for our community. We have not made it a secret since the time that the house was given
36:18to us that our intent was to demolish the house. A decision that Ethan's parents supported as their
36:24two other children still attended the school. However, Kaylee's father questioned the decision,
36:29saying it risked destroying one of the most critical pieces of evidence before a trial could even
36:34take place. On September 9th, 2024, the judge agreed to a change of venue, allowing the trial to take
36:49place in Boise, Idaho, where fewer potential jurors were familiar with the case. That same month, during
36:54a DUI arrest, police body camera footage captured a DoorDash driver recounting how she had delivered food
37:00to the home on King Road around 4 a.m. the night of the killings, where she claimed to have seen Brian.
37:19The footage, released by Pullman police through a public records request, fueled media speculation that
37:24the driver could be the prosecution's surprise witness, potentially placing Brian near the scene
37:30just minutes before the crime. In March 2025, court documents filed by the prosecution revealed that
37:35Brian had purchased a K-Bar knife, which came with the sheath, from Amazon in March of 2022.
37:41After the crime, records show Brian searched online for a K-Bar knife sheath, suggesting he was trying to
37:47replace the one he left next to Maddie's body. Though Brian was arrested in late 2022, the court process
37:52stretched over nearly two and a half years because of numerous legal motions, pre-trial hearings and
37:58delays. We are not prepared to go to trial in this case. Many of which were pushed by the defense.
38:04You know, we were just in the court, you know, a few weeks ago and we got a little bit of time to talk
38:09to, um, Thompson. He said it could be three years before you guys have any answers and I was just like,
38:15wow, wow, that's, that's hard to hear. What do you think about all this time that has passed
38:23from the time of the crime to the fact that we have not been to trial yet? I don't have a lot
38:28of comments on that. I would say that I feel like the legal system is not about the victims and I'll
38:33leave it at that. Brian's trial was set to begin on August 11th, 2025, but was completely avoided after
38:40the defense reached out to the prosecution to set up a plea deal. The deal took the death sentence
38:45off the table, giving Brian four consecutive life sentences plus another 10 years for burglary
38:51with no possibility of appeal. On July 2nd, Brian pled guilty to the killings of Zanna, Maddie, Ethan,
38:58and Kaylee. Did you on November 13th, 2022, uh, kill and murder Madison Mogan, a human being? Yes.
39:10Did you honor about that same date in, uh, Moscow, Idaho, um, kill and murder Kaylee
39:16Gonzalez, a human being? Yes. And did you on that same date in Moscow, Idaho,
39:22kill and murder Zanna Kurnado, Kurnado, pardon me, a human being? Yes. Again in, uh,
39:28Latak County, Idaho, did you, uh, kill and murder Ethan Chapin, a human being? Yes.
39:34Admitting they were premeditated. And that he then killed intentionally, willfully,
39:40deliberately with premeditation and with malice forethought, Maddie Mogan, Kaylee Gonzalez,
39:48Ethan Chapin, and Zanna Kurnado. His signed confession did not include
39:52any explanation for why he committed the crime. The question everybody wants answered
39:59is why. An Amazon Prime documentary released after Brian's conviction explores a theory that
40:05he was inspired by Elliot Roger, the self-proclaimed incel who killed six people and injured 14 others
40:11during a 2014 rampage around a small college town near UC Santa Barbara. Roger had expressed a desire
40:18to walk into a sorority house and kill every girl he saw, but was unable to get inside during the
40:23attack. Classmates say Brian studied Roger's case during his criminology coursework. Experts have
40:28noted parallels in the cases, not just in the victims, but in the quiet resentment they believe
40:33may have been building beneath the surface for both killers. They're just two girls that were always
40:37happy, always filming. I think maybe he just seen that happiness and there's something in him that
40:43was jealous of the fact that two people could love each other and be like the best friends,
40:49you know, got him thinking about why do they have this great life and I don't. Brian is set to be
40:54sentenced on July 23rd, 2025, where the judge will determine the final terms of his punishment.
41:00His plea deal prevents any increase to his life sentences, allowing only a possible reduction at
41:06the judge's discretion. In the aftermath of the plea deal, Ethan's mother and Maddie's parents
41:11expressed support for the agreement. I really don't care what happens to the guy. He's off the streets
41:16and he can't hurt any more kids. Saying it finally gave their families a chance at some much needed
41:21closure. You don't have to torture families that have been already through the most horrific thing
41:27they could ever imagine. After a long and painful wait, 962 days ago, we lost our Maddie. We are
41:33grateful to the prosecutor, Bill Thompson. Thank you for all your dedicated, diligent, and tireless
41:39commitment to justice and the successful outcome reached today. We support the plea agreement 100%.
41:46Zanna's father voiced disappointment, saying he felt the deal didn't truly hold Brian accountable.
41:52Kaylee's father strongly opposed the plea deal. Steve, did your opinion of the Latah County
41:57prosecutor change after hearing him lay out the case that he would have presented? No, no. Just
42:03furthermore, he had the strongest case and it was a case given to him by the FBI agents,
42:07and he just let it slip through his fingers. And urged prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
42:12I'm sorry, Kaylee. I'm truly sorry that I didn't get you a prosecutor who really believed what happened
42:23to you could only be fixed. You killed four people and to take one life or four seems like pretty
42:30simple math. Some little plea deal that you made in the back alley isn't good enough. It's not good
42:36enough. Her father, Steve, said that even though Brian would be locked up for the rest of his days,
42:40he would still get to live, unlike Kaylee and the others. While the families might not agree on the legal
42:46outcome, they remain united in honoring Maddie, Zanna, Kaylee and Ethan for the lives they lived,
42:52not just how they were taken. He's not important other than what he did and being held accountable.
42:57Maddie May Day was created by her parents as a way to honor her legacy of kindness.
43:02We just wanted to have her birthday, May 25th, be a day that we celebrate and that makes people's
43:10lives better in the name of Maddie May. The day encourages people to spread joy through random
43:15acts of compassion. The event is hosted in part by the Made with Kindness Foundation,
43:20a non-profit created in honor of Maddie and Kaylee by close family friends. I want people to remember
43:26the beautiful souls that they were. Everybody who knew Maddie and Kaylee just knew they were just like
43:31sparks of energy and just beautiful inside and out. The foundation also honors Zanna through its
43:36programs which provide scholarships. It's going to be really fun to be part of this scholarship
43:41committee. Read what they have to say, what's in their hearts, and be able to give them back
43:45something. And promote campus safety initiatives to support students and communities nationwide.
43:51We've just had so much love from so many different people that want to be able to give that back to
43:55those communities that have helped us. Kaylee's loved ones also created Kaylee Jade Day, celebrated every
44:01June 8th on her birthday. The day encourages self-care, whether it's buying flowers, spending time
44:07outside, or unplugging from screens as a tribute to Kaylee's joyful, light-hearted spirit. We are going
44:14to go to a couple different locations. We're doing this Pay It Forward campaign and we're actually driving
44:21her car. Her sister welcomed the baby girl with the middle name Maddie Kaye. Obviously Maddie Kaye is after
44:27Maddie and Kaylee. Kaylee's niece recently met Murphy, her beloved golden doodle, now living with her ex
44:33boyfriend with whom she shared custody. Zanna's family established the Zanna Kernodle Scholarship
44:39Endowment at the University of Idaho, a permanent fund supporting students who share her love of
44:44learning and commitment to the community. Zanna's family matched initial donations to help get it off the
44:50ground. Ethan's family started the Ethan Smile Foundation, a non-profit that awards college scholarships
44:56to students. The foundation helps fund the scholarships by selling the smile to a bulb blend
45:02created in his honor. We've created something that is good, that Ethan would love. He loved people,
45:09he loved a great adventure, and he was inclusive. His mother Stacy wrote the children's book,
45:15The Boy Who Wore Blue, sharing his story of kindness and acceptance. This tale, the story of The Boy Who
45:21Wore Blue is a message for everyone, including you. Life is short, so give it your best. Be happy,
45:27smile, and encourage the rest. In 2023, Ethan's brother Hunter became the first recipient of the Ethan
45:34Chapin Memorial Scholarship, created by his fraternity brothers and family to honor his memory and support
45:41students. And that's five thousand dollars to a Sigma Chi every single year, which is incredible. I don't
45:46think there's a better way to honor Ethan than to just help some more people. The following year,
45:51a memorial garden was created on campus at the University of Idaho in honor of Zanna, Ethan,
45:57Maddie, and Kaylee. While life can be short, no vandal is alone nor forgotten. Do more of what you love
46:03to honor Kaylee. Spread that love with random acts of kindness for Maddie. Be silly and do something
46:08spontaneous and fun to honor Zanna and tell stories with an abundance of laughter to live life like Ethan.
46:14Filled with plants and peaceful walkways, the garden serves as a place where their spirit and legacy
46:20continue to inspire kindness, resilience, and community connection. Their names are there. They're
46:26they're never going anywhere. These lasting tributes will help ensure their memories are kept alive,
46:31reflecting the light each of them brought into the world. I think just like living our lives like
46:36Zanna would want us to. I know that she would want us to talk about the life that she lived and to be
46:42her voice right now. The memories that we shared, we don't do it lightly because they are very private
46:49memories and sometimes it feels like I'm giving away a part of them. But I do it for the importance
46:55to realize how great of a loss it is. I miss him every single day.
47:03And I always will. His truck is still downstairs. Yeah, his Jeep is here. I talk to him every day.
47:09When I when I'm cleaning this Jeep, I constantly have a conversation. I know he can see it. Do you
47:13wake up some mornings and wonder if it's all real? It's been two years. It's real and faith
47:20is really the basis of how you get up every morning when you have a loss this this deep.
47:26It's not easy. It's got to keep going, you know. Brian Koberger will spend the rest of his life
47:32behind bars for taking their lives. But the answers many hoped would come with his guilty plea
47:36never did. The question of why he targeted Madison Mogan, Zanna Kornodel, Kaley Gonzalez,
47:42and Ethan Chapin still lingers with no clear explanation. And with not all the victim's family
47:48in agreement over the plea deal, it raises another difficult question. Was justice truly served
47:54when not everybody feels that it was? For some, the plea deal offered a path toward closure
47:59after a long and painful court process. For others, it left unanswered questions and a sense of loss
48:06that can't be erased by a life sentence or even four. What happened inside the house on King Road that
48:11night may never fully be revealed. The details locked away with the silent killer. But despite the
48:17unclear details of their deaths, the legacies of Kaley, Ethan, Zanna, and Maddie live on carried by
48:24those who loved the most during their time on Earth.
48:36for anyone's.
48:51Thanks for watching, and make sure to subscribe to The Vacant Mind.
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