Friend who found Idaho murder victims’ bodies speaks out for the first time
A friend who discovered the bodies of the Idaho murders victims has spoken about what happened for the first time, as they admitted it was 'our last day living as kids'.
On November 13 2022, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both aged 21, as well as 20-year-olds Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, were all found dead at their off-campus home in Idaho.
Bryan Kohberger has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and originally had pleaded not guilty to the crimes.
However, this week, it has been revealed that Kohberger has been offered a plea deal, which would mean he would spend the rest of his life in jail, but not receive the death penalty.
Advert
If the plea deal goes ahead (Kohberger is reported to have accepted it) he'd serve four consecutive life sentences as well as a maximum penalty of 10 years for the burglary charge.
Following the horrendous crimes, court documents explained what happened on the night in question.
Evidence reveals how Mogen, Mortensen, and Goncalves and another roommate, Bethany Funke, all gathered in Goncalves' room to discuss their night out, with the court order stating that they 'talked for a while before going to bed'. This was at around 2.00am.
"The roommates debated going out to a food truck for a late snack, prompting D.M. to send text at 2:10 a.m. to an Uber driver she knew to see if he was driving," it said.
"Ultimately, however, the girls decided to just go to bed."
At the time, both Kernodle and her boyfriend Chapin were still out partying.
With the killing spree understood to have taken place between 4.00am and 4.25am, the masked murderer fled shortly after - with another roommate, Dylan Mortensen, being the only person to have seen the intruder.
Speaking to PEOPLE, a friend of the four victims has opened up about the moment they discovered their bodies the next day.
Hunter Johnson and his girlfriend Emily Alandt were asked by Mortensen to come over to the house - which was just down the street from their accommodation - after reporting there had been some strange behaviour the night before.
At this point, Mortensen didn't realise her roommates had been killed in the property.
Johnson discovered the bodies of Kernodle and Chapin on the second floor.
“I was like, ‘What is going on?'” he said.
“'Is this real?' Then you realize the gravity of what you just walked into. At that moment, you don't really realize what you walked into until you really look at it and process it.
“That was our last day living as kids."
“Our innocence was gone,” added Alandt.
Johnson and Alandt are speaking out about what happened in a new Prime Video documentary series, One Night in Idaho: The College Murders, dropping on July 11.
Lucy Devine