Eight chilling details Netflix's Idaho Murders doc doesn't reveal including Bryan Kohberger injuries
Netflix recently released The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, which sheds new light on the horrifying murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 - although there are some details of the chilling story missing from the three-part doc.
Criminology student Bryan Kohberger was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. Weeks before his trial was set to begin in 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, plus 10 years for the burglary charge.
However, last week it was revealed that the killer is seeking to take back his guilty plea and overturn his conviction, as he told the New York Times: "My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn."
Kohberger spoke about the killings just days after committing the crime
In 2023, a neighbor of Kohberger made the chilling revelation that he had spoken about the horrific crimes just days after he committed them.
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"He brought it up in conversation," the neighbor, who remained unnamed, told CBS. "[He] asked if I had heard about the murders, which I did. And then he said, 'Yeah, seems like they have no leads. Seems like it was a crime of passion.'"
At the time, the neighbor said 'there weren't much details out' due to the fact it had only been a few days.
Kohberger was arrested on December 30, with the murders taking place on November 13, 2002.
Kohberger spoke to his mother for three hours after the killings
Digital forensics expert Heather Barnhart, who examined the killer's phone and hard drive, told PEOPLE that Kohberger spoke to his mother for 36 minutes at 6.17am, with the killings taking place at around 4.20am.
He then called her yet again at 8am, when he was making his way back to the crime scene. When he later returned to his residence, he took a selfie of himself, putting his thumbs up.
Upon his return, the bodies of the four students had not yet been found by their roommates. He remained for approximately 10 minutes.
He then spoke to her at 9am, for nine minutes, two minutes at 4.05pm, and then 96 minutes, at 5.53pm, which totaled more than three hours.
Kohberger's chilling Christmas Day search history days before his arrest
Heather also told PEOPLE that Kohberger researched serial killers for hours just five days before his arrest.
Killers he downloaded information on included John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Dennis Rader, and Danny Rolling - the latter of which murdered five college students in 1990, over a four day span.
Kohberg used the same weapon, a KA-BAR knife - and is also said to have entered the homes through glass doors during two of the killings.
The autopsy report
On November 17, preliminary autopsy results showed all four victims were attacked with a large knife.
Later, the cause of death was revealed as multiple sharp-force injuries. Each of the victims had multiple wounds, with Kernodle, who police believed tried to fight Kohberger off, suffering almost 70.
Goncalves and Kernodle were left 'completely unrecognizable' after their attack, police records state.
It's said that their roommate Mortensen, who identified the bodies, initially couldn't tell them apart due to the severity of the injuries.
Two women reported Kohberger for 'stalking' before the horrific murders
Before the killings, it was reported that two unrelated women had reported Kohberger for stalking. One of them was an employee at the Washington State University bookstore.
These instances are said to have happened months before the murders, with one girl working at the bookstore claiming he knew her hours, and 'knew personal details' she never told him. In police interviews obtained by PEOPLE, she said Kohberger came in and asked for her by name, although she had never told him this and was not wearing a name tag.
Both women also began receiving 'unexpected visits' at their residence.
The second woman, who was an undergraduate working at the criminology department, recalled locking up and seeing Kohberger walking outside. She also told police she hid in the bathroom when she saw him.
Elsewhere, she told police a neighbor had told her someone had tried to open the door to her home.
He may also have been stalking the victims
Goncalves thought she was being stalked before the killings, the documentary heard.
In the documentary, it was not stated that Kohberger allegedly visited the restaurant where both Kernodle and Mogen worked - a former employee said, although at that time, he was not acting suspiciously.
Mortensen also told police that their door had been found open weeks before the murders, and most chillingly, a source close to the investigation told PEOPLE allegedly had a picture of one of the victims on his device, with the source alleging he had more than one picture - claiming 'it was clear he was paying attention to her'.
The footage of Kohberger being handcuffed
The Netflix documentary shows footage of police arriving at the home where the murders took place.
However, there was no footage of the killer's arrest or police interrogation. In fact, this footage has never been made public, as according to the US Sun, investigators were 'unaware any footage existed'.
"The State has disclosed all items it is aware of relating to ‘the search and arrest of Bryan Kohberger in Pennsylvania,'" a court filing, obtained by the outlet, read.
"The State is unaware of any ‘body cam and dash cam footage’ beyond what has been disclosed and, on information and belief, understands there is no body cam footage."
Pennsylvania State Police began its body-worn camera rollout as a pilot in 2023, after the arrest.
However, the outlet says that these videos do exist, stating that a police filing reveals: "The interview was recorded on the built-in video system."
Kohberger's 'unexplained injuries' days after the murder
Kohberger missed or was late to a number of his WSU classes following the heinous acts, with his classmates noticing him covered in injuries, including cuts on his hands.
They described these as similar to 'cat scratches' and said he tried to cover them with band aids.
Students recall Kohberger giving different excuses such as boxing and a number of accidents.
A timeline of the Idaho murders
November 12 2022
Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, attend a party at Chapin’s fraternity Sigma Chi. Meanwhile, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, go to sports bar the Corner Club.
November 13 2022
1.45am - Kernodle and Chapin return home to their house on King Road
1.56am - Goncalves and Mogen arrive home
2.44am - Kohberger’s Hyundai sedan is spotted by a CCTV camera at Washington State University. Shortly afterwards, the car is seen again heading towards a road that connects Pullman, Washington, to Moscow, Idaho, where the victims live.
4am - Bryan Kohberger is believed to have entered the property
4.17am - A security camera reveals the sound of a barking dog, voices and what sounds like a thud. At some point around this time, their housemate Dylan Mortensen is awoken and hears a male voice say: “It's OK, Kaylee, I'm here for you.” She later hears crying and sees a masked man in the property.
4.19am - Mortensen attempts to call Kernodle, Goncalves and Mogen, but all calls go unanswered. She started texting Bethany Funke, saying she’s ‘freaking out’ after seeing a man in a ‘ski mask’. Mortensen joins Funke in her room and they lock themselves in.
11.58am - After Mortensen calls her friend Emily Alandt, she and her boyfriend Hunter Johnson come over to the King Road property. Johnson discovers Chapin and Kernodle's bodies and calls 911.
November 17 2022
Preliminary autopsy results show all four victims were attacked with a large knife
December 7 2022
Police say they are looking to speak to any occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra from 2011-13.
December 30 2022
Kohberger is arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. Police later reveal they used DNA on a knife sheath to link him to the crime scene, and tracked his car and phone across the area.
May 22 2023
Kohberger remains silent when asked to enter a plea during his arraignment. The judge enters a not guilty plea on his behalf.
June 26 2023
Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty.
December 28 2023
The King Road property where the murders took place is demolished to allow the community to heal.
April 17 2024
Kohberger’s defence team claims in court documents that phone mast data shows Kohberger was miles away from Moscow, Idaho at the time of the murders.
March 4 2025
Kohberger’s defence team say he exhibits traits of autism spectrum disorder, and putting him to death would be unconstitutional.
July 2 2025
Weeks before the trial is set to begin, Kohberger pleads guilty to burglary and four counts of first-degree murder.
July 23 2025
Kohberger is sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, plus 10 years for the burglary charge.
He comes face to face with the families of his victims for the first time, who read out impact statements.
Goncalves' sister Alivea tells him that if her sister hadn’t been sleeping when he attacked, ‘Kaylee would've kicked your f**king a**’.
Meanwhile, Mortensen says she’s suffered from debilitating panic attacks since the night of the murders, telling Kohberger he has taken away her ‘ability to trust the world’.
July 27 2026
Kohberger announces he is seeking to take back his guilty plea and overturn his conviction.
He tells the New York Times: “My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn.”
Topics: True crime, Netflix, Bryan Kohberger
Kiesha Dosanjh