Students who were in the house while four roommates were killed didn't call police for eight hours
A new Netflix documentary will look at a horrifying case in which four Idaho college students were murdered in their home, with two surviving students having been in the house whilst their friends were killed.
The true crime doc, called The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, covers the quadruple murder of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle in 2022.
This marks yet another Netflix true crime documentary that is sure to bring new eyes to a controversial case, following on from their incredibly popular entries about Mackenzie Shirilla, Taylor Parker, and ‘Lilithistruth’.
Warning: This article contains discussion of content that some readers may find distressing.
The four housemates were stabbed to death in their homes by Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old PhD student who was given four consecutive life sentences for his crimes and will likely die in prison.
Two students who lived in the home were present during the murders and survived, with one even seeing Kohberger leaving the house through her door.
Two students were present at the time of the murder, but didn’t call the police for eight hours
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Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen were housemates of the four students killed, and both survived Kohberger’s attack.
Dylan said that she woken up by a noise upstairs, initially believing it to be Kaylee playing with her dog after returning from a night out drinking. She then heard what she believes was Kaylee yelling that a man was in their home, and she locked her door out of fear. She heard Kohberger saying: “It's okay. I'm going to help you.”
She opened her door on the second floor shortly after and saw a man wearing all black and a mask leaving, which turned out to be Kohberger.
She texted Bethany, who lived on the first floor, and the two continued to panic as they couldn't reach Mogen, Kernodle, Chapin and Goncalves on the phone.
With Dylan's phone about to run out of battery, Bethany ran downstairs to stay with her and locked the door. They contacted a friend Emily Alandt, and she and her boyfriend Hunter Johnson with a panicked phone call hours later.
When Hunter and Emily arrived, Hunter found the bodies of Xana and Ethan and called the police.
Why Dylan and Bethany didn’t call police right away
Court documents and interviews in the Netflix documentary give insight into why the two housemates didn’t call anyone until later in the day, having seen a man break into the home and heard a scream.
Per unsealed court documents, Dylan told police that she didn’t call 911 because ‘she was intoxicated and didn't want to believe what was going on’.
Bethany said she believed it may have been a prank played by Chapin's fraternity brothers.
Speaking in the documentary Anthony Dahlinger, the Chief of Police for the local Moscow Police Department, 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.”
Both Dylan and Bethany gave emotional impact statements in court ahead of Kohberger’s sentencing. Dylan said: “What happened that night changed everything. Because of him four beautiful, genuine, compassionate people were taken from this world for no reason.
“He didn't just take their lives. He took the light they carried into every room. He took away how they made everyone feel safe, loved, and full of joy.”
The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare is available to watch on Netflix Wednesday, 29 July.
Topics: True Crime, Netflix, Bryan Kohberger, TV and Film, Documentaries
Michael Slavin