Terror in the Hours Following the Idaho Student Murders Unfolds Among Remaining Roommates
In the wee hours of November 13, 2022, University of Idaho student Dylan Mortensen woke up to eerie noises in her off-campus house. After a rowdy night out, she and her roommates - including Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin - had returned home. The night turned into a terrifying ordeal with an onslaught of frantic texts and unanswered calls.
Three of Mortensen's roommates and Chapin were subsequently found gruesomely murdered inside the house the next morning, stabbed to death, with no trace of forced entry. Their killer would be identified as Bryan Kohberger, a criminology graduate student, who pleaded not guilty to the murders.
Remarkably, Mortensen and Bethany Funke were the only survivors from the three-story Moscow, Idaho, house. As Kohberger's trial draws near, over two years later, their account of the early morning hours provides enlightening insights.
Court documents reveal a chilling depiction of mystery and unease that night - strange sounds, unidentifiable voices, panicked texts, unanswered calls, and a shadowy figure in the hallway, all unfolding in a bustling college town that hadn't experienced a murder since 2015.
Much about Mortensen and Funke remains shrouded due to a gag order in the case. However, their phone activity and personal accounts, revealed in court documents, provide a glimpse into their harrowing experiences that fateful morning.
According to the affidavit, around 4 a.m., Mortensen heard unusual noises coming from upstairs, initially thinking Goncalves was playing with her dog. She then claimed to have heard Goncalves saying something ominous, followed by crying, and a male voice offering comfort. Mortensen caught a glimpse of a figure in black clothing with a mask before locking herself in her room.
Mortensen recalling a bushy eyebrow from the mysterious figure, but her memory was faint due to her recent waking from sleep and possibly still being under the influence of alcohol. The security camera picked up muffled voices and a loud thud around the same time.
In a series of frantic calls and texts, Mortensen tried to reach her roommates, to no avail. It is believed the roommates were killed between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. After eight hours of anxiety, Funke called 911 to report Kernodle unconscious at the residence.
While the defense argues that the roommates spent an unusual amount of time on their phones during the interval, a psychological expert suggests that fear and trauma can induce various response systems, and there's no single correct approach.
As the surviving roommates' testimony and text messages are set to be presented in court, the question of why they waited so long to call for help remains. Speculations include heightened amygdala responses, cognitive dissonance, and societal factors influencing women's reactions to fear. CNN's experts stress it's challenging to pinpoint one reason, as the situation and responses can be shaped by multiple factors.
[1] Enrichment Data {CNN} - The article explores the delay in calling 911 by Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, suggesting fear, societal conditioning, and cognitive processes as potential reasons. There is no indicated bias in the data.
- Despite being a criminology graduate student, Mortensen's roommate, Bryan Kohberger, pleaded not guilty to the gruesome murders of her three roommates and Ethan Chapin.
- As they waited for the trial, Mortensen and her roommate Bethany Funke remained the only survivors of the chilling incident that occurred on November 13, 2022, in their Moscow, Idaho, house.
- The affidavit indicates that Mortensen, who was 34 at the time, heard a male voice offering comfort to one of her roommates and saw a figure in black clothing with a mask before locking herself in her room, potentially providing crucial documentation for the case.
