Key theory emerges over why Idaho murderer Bryan Kohberger killed 'random' students
A forensic pathologist has suggested the way Bryan Kohberger murdered his victims indicates a possible motive for his crimes.
Kohberger, 31, is serving four life sentences for the murders of students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Kernodle's boyfriend Ethan Chapin in 2022.
Two other women, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were also in the Idaho house at the time but were able to hide and not be killed by the knife-wielding murderer.
Investigators were able to piece together when and how he committed the murders, but the motive behind the violent crimes has never been confirmed and Kohberger has never explained himself.
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Since he accepted a plea deal where he confessed his guilt in exchange for not receiving the death penalty the case never went to trial and his motives were never examined or questioned in court.
A forensic pathologist has told People she has a theory on Kohberger's motives based off the way he murdered his victims, arguing that he killed the women differently.
Dr Mary Jumbelic, former Chief Medical Examiner of Onondaga County, said that looking at unsealed court documents and autopsy reports showed a 'pattern of overkill by the perpetrator' towards the women Kohberger killed.
The forensic pathologist explained that the autopsy reports said Kernodle was stabbed 67 times, Goncalves was stabbed 38 times and Mogen was stabbed at least 28 times, while Chapin was stabbed 13 times.
She said that overkill was 'when the infliction of injuries exceeds the force necessary to cause death' and can be a sign of an 'intense emotional rage'.
The forensic pathologist added that with most of the wounds found on the head, neck and chest it 'indicates a strong motive and a need to dominate'.
The expert said the three women 'showed signs of defensive injuries on their hands and upper limbs', and they had suffered injuries of significant force.
Dr Jumbelic noted that during Kohberger's time as a criminology student he'd been cited several times for interactions he had with women.
Over the course of his first semester there were 13 formal complaints made about him, including from a divorced woman who said Kohberger told her he didn't want a relationship with 'broken women' and a deaf woman who said he asked her if she'd be 'comfortable procreating given the fact she had a disability'.
Staff said he made 'outspoken discriminatory comments which were homophobic, ableist, xenophobic and misogynistic in nature', and he would 'stare at people and stand uncomfortably close or "lean" over women, making them very uncomfortable'.
Because of Kohberger's behaviour the students had to take discrimination training, which was on 8 November, the following weekend Kohberger carried out the murders.
A timeline of the Idaho murders
12 November 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.
13 November 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.
17 November 2022
Preliminary autopsy results show all four victims were attacked with a large knife
7 December 2022
Police say they are looking to speak to any occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra from 2011-13.
30 December 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.
22 May 2023
Kohberger remains silent when asked to enter a plea during his arraignment. The judge enters a not guilty plea on his behalf.
26 June 2023
Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty.
28 December 2023
The King Road property where the murders took place is demolished to allow the community to heal.
17 April 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.
4 March 2025
Kohberger’s defence team say he exhibits traits of autism spectrum disorder, and putting him to death would be unconstitutional.
2 July 2025
Weeks before the trial is set to begin, Kohberger pleads guilty to burglary and four counts of first-degree murder.
23 July 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 gives a powerful statement in court, while 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’.
27 July 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: Bryan Kohberger, Crime, US News
Joe Harker