MOSCOW, Idaho — It’s been one year since four University of Idaho students were slain, stabbed to death in their beds in an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho.
A suspect – Bryan Kohberger – was arrested about seven weeks later. Kohberger, a 28-year-old Ph.D. criminology student at Washington State University, remains behind bars while he awaits trial.
While police believe they have the person responsible for the Nov. 13, 2022 deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, there is still much that has not been released about the case.
One year later, here is what we do and don’t know about the Moscow murders.
What happened the night of Nov. 12, 2022
The night before the murders, Nov. 12, 2022, Mogen and Goncalves went to a local bar and ate at a food truck before going home to the residence on King Road. Chapin and Kernodle went to a party at Chapin’s fraternity before returning to the King Road home.
At 2:47 a.m., Kohberger's phone left his residence and traveled south through Pullman before it stopped “reporting to the network” which investigators said is consistent with the phone being turned off.
At 2:50 a.m., Washington State University surveillance video captures a white 2015 Hyundai Elantra traveling toward SR 270, which connects Pullman to Moscow.
Multiple videos from the King Road neighborhood allegedly capture Kohberger's Elantra driving around several times about 40 minutes later.
At about 4 a.m., Kernodle received a DoorDash delivery, and phone records show she was using her phone and on TikTok.
At about this time, one of the roommates woke up to what sounded like Goncalves playing with her dog before hearing Goncalves say, “There’s someone here.”
The roommate said she looked outside her room after but did not see anything. The roommate reportedly later heard what sounded like crying from another victim’s bedroom and heard a male say something to the effect of "It's ok. I'm going to help you."
After hearing the crying, the roommate opened her door a third time and reportedly saw a man in “black clothing and a mask” walking toward her that she did not recognize. The roommate told investigators the man walked past her as she stood in a "frozen shock phase." She said she closed her door and locked it as the man left through a sliding door.
At 4:20 a.m., the Elantra was seen leaving the area at a high rate of speed on Palouse River Drive, which eventually leads to Pullman. Twenty-eight minutes later, Kohberger’s cellphone begins reporting to the network that provides coverage to Highway 95, south of Moscow.
DNA evidence obtained from a knife sheath found at the scene and from Kohberger's parents' house was tested at the Idaho State Lab, court documents said. The results showed the DNA from the parent's house was almost certainly from the father of the person whose DNA was on the knife sheath.
FBI agents tracked Kohberger from Washington state to eastern Pennsylvania for several days before he was arrested on Dec. 30. According to investigators, Kohberger and his father made the 2,500-mile road trip in a white Hyundai, the same make and model as a car spotted near the murder scene.
What was the motive?
The motive in the murders remains one of the biggest question marks in the case. Investigators have not revealed why Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle and Chapin were killed or how Kohberger may have known the victims.
Family of the victims said they did not know who Kohberger was when he was arrested.
However, cellphone data showed Kohberger’s phone was near the King Road house at least 12 times before Nov. 13, according to court documents.
Where is the murder weapon?
When Kohberger was arrested, police had not recovered a murder weapon. Investigators have still not released whether they have found one or not.
Who were the victims?
Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was a marketing major, a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, and worked at Mad Greek restaurant with Kernodle.
Mogen was using her marketing skills to run a social media campaign for the restaurant. She loved the color pink and planned to move to Boise after graduating this spring, family friend Jessie Frost told The Idaho Statesman.
She and Kaylee Goncalves had grown up together in Northern Idaho and were best friends.
Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho, was majoring in general studies at the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. She was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. Her family remembered her as the "ultimate middle child" and said she was “tough and fair” and “didn’t hold back on love, fights or life.”
Xana Kernodle, 20, was originally from Avondale, Ariz., but moved to Post Falls, Idaho.
She was a junior majoring in marketing at the College of Business and Economics. She was also a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
She worked as a server at the Mad Greek restaurant alongside Mogen. She loved her dog, Shoeshine, electronic dance music and going on family trips, according to an obituary in the Bonner County Daily Bee.
Kernodle was dating Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington.
Chapin was a triplet with a brother and a sister. He was a lifelong athlete who loved the NFL and country music. He played on the basketball and tennis teams at Mount Vernon High School.
Chapin started at the University of Idaho in 2021 and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. Both of his siblings attend the university and his brother was in the same fraternity. Chapin was majoring in recreation, sport and tourism management at the university.
When is Kohberger going to trial?
A grand jury indicted Kohberger in May on four counts of first-degree murder and burglary charges. He stood silent at his arraignment, leading a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
A trial date was originally set for October, but that was pushed back when Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial. A new trial date has not been set.
The most recent court development came last month when a judge denied Kohberger’s motion to dismiss the indictment. Kohberger’s attorneys claimed there was an error in jury instructions. While the judge said it was a creative argument, he said he was constrained by current law and unwilling to grant the motion.