Prosecutors involved in the Bryan Kohberger case have detailed why they think the killer spared a roommate of the Idaho murder victims.
Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen were all found dead at their off-campus home in Idaho on November 13, 2022.
Kohberger was later charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in connection with their deaths.
The suspect initially pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, however, a plea deal saw him admit to the murders, which has resulted in him avoiding the death penalty.
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The plea agreement meant Kohberger was sentenced to ten years for the burglary charge, as well as four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts.
Dylan Mortensen lived on the same floor as Kernodle and Chapin in their shared Idaho house, but Kohberger did not attack her.
Mortensen said she got a sighting of the killer on that tragic November evening after hearing strange noises during the night.
Moscow Police officer Mitch Nunes wrote in a report released earlier this month: "She peeked out of her bedroom and observed a male described as approximately six-feet tall, slim build, with a black ski mask leave the second-floor patio area."
Prosecutor Bill Thompson spoke to the Idaho Statesman about why he feels Kohberger spared Dylan's life.
He said: "From what Dylan described, I have a hard time imagining that the killer did not see Dylan. At that point, he’d been in the house probably longer than he planned, and he had killed more people than he planned.
"It wouldn’t surprise us that the killer was scared at that point and decided they had to leave, not knowing if law enforcement already had been called."
Mortensen spoke at Kohberger's sentencing and detailed the horrible after effects the whole event has had on her.
"What he did shattered me in places I didn’t know could break," Mortensen, who turned 19 just before her friends were murdered, said.
"I couldn’t be alone. I had to sleep in my mom’s bed because I was too terrified to close my eyes. Terrified that if I blinked, someone might be there."
She continued: "It’s far beyond anxiety. It’s my body reliving everything over and over again. My nervous system never got the message that it is over, and it won’t let me forget what he did to them.
"People call me strong, they say I’m a survivor, but they don’t see what my new reality looks like. They don’t see the panic attacks, the hypervigilance, the exhaustion."
Topics: Bryan Kohberger, Crime, US News, True crime
Callum Jones