Never-before-seen photo from Idaho murders crime scene shows how Byran Kohberger got inside

A newly obtained photo from the crime scene where four University of Idaho students lost their lives has shed light on how killer Bryan Kohberger is believed to have entered the off-campus home.

Kohberger, 30, is now serving four life sentences after pleading guilty to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen in November 2022.

The former criminology student admitted to stabbing the four victims to death, with investigators having determined that a DNA sample found on a knife sheath at the scene belonged to Kohberger.

The killer was not known to have had any prior connection to the four students, though Bill Thompson, the lead prosecutor on the case, has speculated that it was either Kaylee or Maddie, who was the intended 'target'.

Kohberger has never shared a motive for the killings (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)

Speaking to ABC News, Thompson said: "I personally feel that, for whatever reason, he targeted one of the young women on the third floor."

Kohberger is believed to have encountered Xana on the stairs of the home, Ethan on the second floor, and best friends Kaylee and Maddie on the third floor.

Now, a Freedom of Information Act submitted by 7-Investigates has resulted in the release of some crime scene photos which further paint a picture of what took place on the night of the murders.

One photo shows the way Kohberger is believed to have got inside; through a sliding glass door.

The image shows the door standing open, looking out onto a patio which sits just meters from a neighboring property. A set of footprints can be seen in the snow near the door, while crime scene tape cordons off the area.

Footsteps can be seen in the snow in the photo (KTVB)

Though Kohberger has pleaded guilty to killing the students, he has never offered up a reason for his crimes, or why he spared two of the other roommates who were living in the home at the time.

One of the surviving students, Dylan Mortensen, believes she saw Kohberger inside the property.

Moscow Police officer Mitch Nunes wrote in a report: "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."

While Kohberger has not laid out his motive, Thompson spoke to the Idaho Statesman about why he feels Kohberger spared Dylan's life, saying: "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."