Why Idaho murder victims' roommates waited nearly eight hours to call 911 after killings
It's been almost four years since four University of Idaho students were brutally killed in their off-campus residence, with the two survivors in the home calling 911 hours later.
Criminology student Bryan Kohberger was convicted of murdering the four young adults in 2022, and the case is the focus of new Netflix documentary The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, which is shedding new light.
Kohberger is believed to have entered the house at around 4am on November 13, 2022. He took the lives of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke also lived in the residence, and were at home at the time of the murders. After hearing a male voice, Mortensen attempted to call Kernodle, Goncalves and Mogen, but all calls went unanswered.
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Morsten then texted Funke saying she was 'freaking out' after seeing a man in the ski-mask, and the pair locked themselves in Funke's room. This is said to have happened around 4.20am, with the 911 call arriving at around 11.58am the next morning when their friends Emily Alandt and Hunter Johnson came over to the residence, and Kernodle was found unconscious, which is when the 911 call was made.
Why didn't the roommates call 911?
Questions were initially raised as to why the housemates didn't call authorities sooner. In the documentary, Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger who played a central role in the investigation, said: "We asked the question why did the roommates wait eight hours to call the police? There are so many reasons why you may not, people are in shock, it’s traumatic - I mean I can’t imagine, being of that age and being able to comprehend that this horrific thing just occurred."
In an earlier Prime documentary, titled One Night in Idaho, Alandt said: “I think it’s very important for everybody to know that ‘What if?’ doesn’t matter, because if they had known what was going on it would have been too late anyways."
In court, Mortensen said: “I just started bawling because I thought she had just like, I don’t even know, I thought maybe she was still just drunk and all asleep on the floor."
In court documents, Mortensen also said she did not ring the authorities after seeing the man in the ski-mask because 'she was intoxicated and didn't want to believe what was going on'.
Funke also reportedly believed that it may have been a member of a university fraternity playing a prank on them.
Earlier this week, it was alleged Kohberger had claimed he wanted to abandon his guilty plea and obtain a trial, as per the New York Times.
The statement, according to the outlet, said: “My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn."
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, Bryan Kohberger
Kiesha Dosanjh