Episode Transcript
Amanda: Hey there, all you true crime fans. I'm your host, Amanda Russell, and this is Colorado crime. If you're new here, I cover cases from coast to coast with a special emphasis on cases that happen right here in colorful, crime filled Colorado. If you're returning, thanks for being here. If you enjoy listening weekly, please leave a review on Apple podcasts. It really helps to push us to a larger audience. And don't forget to subscribe so you're notified each time I upload. Before we jump into this week's episode, I wanted to let you know that I have a big surprise coming next week. I don't want to give anything away, but make sure you don't miss next week's episode. It is a really special one to me, and I'm really looking forward to it. This week, we're going to discuss everything going on with the University of Idaho murders. There have been a ton of updates since the crime occurred. So without further ado, let's go back to the early morning of November 13, 2020, 211 22 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, is a home that's garnered national attention in the past two months. It is the scene of what some investigators have described as the worst crime scene they've ever been a part of. Four students were stabbed to death between 04:00 A.m. And 04:25 A.m.. The home was an off campus rental that had been rented to six people. Madison Mogan, Kayleigh Goncalvez, Zana Kernodal, Bethany Funk and Dylan Mortensen. The 6th person remains unnamed. The girls entered into a twelve month lease on June 5, 2022, just before their college semester began. The home was known around campus as a party house. There were several noise complaints and reports of people constantly coming and going. Honestly, it sounded like a really fun house filled with really fun people. It had three levels with six bedrooms and two bathrooms. According to Rentcollegepads.com, the lowest level had two bedrooms, the middle level had two bedrooms, and that's also where the kitchen and living room were located. And the top level had two bedrooms. And it featured a balcony that was attached to the master bedroom. The backside of the home featured multiple windows and a sliding glass door leading directly into the kitchen. The sleeping arrangements were as follows bethany slept on the lowest level, zanna and Dylan slept on the middle level, and Maddie and Kaylee slept on the top level. Let's chat for a second about who each of these young victims were. We'll start with Madison, who went by Maddie. Maddie was a 21 year old senior who was studying marketing and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She was living with her lifelong friend, Kaylee. Maddie had a pretty decent following on social media at the time of her death. Maddie's aunt was reported as saying, quote maddie exuded love she was kind, gentle, and oh, so fun. Maddie was smart and motivated. She often worked multiple jobs, did extremely well in school and somehow always prioritized time for her friends and family. First, Maddie was cherished by her family and we are all shattered. End quote. She was also dating someone named Jake Shreger and he was absolutely devastated by her death. Next was Kaylee Goncalvez. Hayley was also 21 at the time of her death. She was a senior who was set to graduate in December, just a few weeks after her murder. She was majoring in general studies in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences and was a member of the Alpha VI sorority. Kaylee was remembered by family as quote kaylee was, is and always will be our defender and protector. She is tough and fair, the ultimate middle child. She did absolutely everything she set her mind to. She didn't hold back on love, fights or life. Kaylee was the ultimate go getter and constantly wanted an adventure. End quote. The night of the murders, the two girls had gone out to a local bar called The Corner Club, where they danced, joke and did what best friends do they enjoyed what would be their last ever evening together. Around 140 a. M. The two girls stopped by a food truck. The grub truck grabbed some food and were driven home by a private party. Kaylee and her ex boyfriend Jack shared a dog, Murphy, who was also home. But let's go ahead and talk about the other roommates before we delve into the events that occurred that evening. Xanna Kernodl was a 20 year old junior who was studying marketing and was also a member of Pi Beta Phi with Maddie. Zana's sister told CNN, quote you rarely get to meet someone like Zana. She was so positive, funny, and was loved by everyone who met her. End quote. Zanna was a competitive gymnast and so is my daughter. I'm going to link a Go fund me in my Link tree if you're interested in donating. It's a scholarship endowment fund in Zanna's memory created by her family. Also staying at the house that evening was Xanna's boyfriend Ethan. Ethan Chapin was a 20 year old freshman student studying recreation, sports and tourism management and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He was actually a triplet. He had a brother and a sister and the three of them all attended University of Idaho together. He's described by his mother as a quote kind, loyal, loving son, brother, cousin and friend. End quote. Before the murders, Ethan and Zana spent the evening at a frat party. It's unclear if the two spent the entire night at the party or if there were other stops made, but ultimately they arrived home around 01:45 a.m.. As this is still an ongoing investigation, not a ton has been released, but we will discuss what has been so far. All six people were in their respective bedrooms. By 04:00 A.m., Kaylee had reached out to her ONAGHAN offagan boyfriend seven times between 02:26 a.m. And 02:52 A.m.. Her boyfriend was sleeping when the calls came through. Unfortunately, he didn't answer. Siena had ordered DoorDash around 04:00 A.m. And was scrolling through TikTok around 04:12 A.m.. Let's go ahead and take a look at the 18 page redacted probable cause affidavit. And again, a probable cause affidavit is just a summary of the evidence and the circumstances of the arrest. It's usually written by the arresting officer and then given to a judge to review. And redacted just means that some of the information was censored before being released to the public to protect the integrity of the investigation. The affidavit in this case was written by Police Officer Brett Payne. It gives an overview of his qualifications and what he saw that afternoon when he arrived on scene. This is by far the most conservative affidavit that I've ever seen. Most affidavits give a lot of detail regarding the scene and the bodies and so on and so forth. And I was actually really impressed by the lack of detail. I felt it served its purpose and explained why the suspect in custody is in fact in custody. So Officer Payne didn't arrive on scene until around 04:00 p.m.. The Idaho State Police forensic team was already on scene when he arrived. Officer Smith gave Officer Payne a walkthrough of the scene. He was originally there to assist with scene security and processing of a crime scene associated with four homicides. The two officers entered the home on the first level and went up a set of stairs to the second level. The two went towards the west bedroom of the home where Zanna and Ethan's bodies were found. Zanna's wounds appeared to have been caused by an edged weapon. Ethan was also in the room with Zanna. The affidavit says that Ethan's wounds were later determined by an autopsy. And this was a little confusing to me as it would imply that there weren't any apparent signs or the complete opposite, and his body was too ****** to identify where the blood came from. The two officers continued their walkthrough and headed towards the third floor of the home. This is where Kaylee and Maddie slept. The two continued to Maddie's room, where they found both Maddie and Kaylee in Maddie's bed. Deceased. Both had visible stab wounds. A tan leather knife sheath laid next to Maddie. The sheath don't the Kabar and US MC Insignia Cabar is a combat knife brand, and it's best known for its Cabar fighting utility knife, which is commonly described as a seven inch fixed blade, 1095 carbon steel clip point blade and leather washer handle. Basically, 1095 steel is very common steel for forging knives. And a clip point blade describes how the blade appears to have the front one third clipped off. It sort of has, like a curved point, if that makes sense. After the sheath was tested for DNA, it came back with a match to the suspect. Investigators spoke with the two surviving roommates, Bethany and Dylan. Dylan actually slept on the same floor as Anna and Ethan. And we learned upon the release of the affidavit that Dylan actually saw the suspect. She stated that she was woken up around 04:00 A.m. By what sounded like Kaylee playing with Murphy upstairs. A short time later, she heard what she described as someone saying, quote, there's someone here, end quote. Because Zanna's phone showed that she was scrolling TikTok at 04:12 A.m., it is believed that Zana said this and not Kaylee. Dylan got up, looked out the door, but saw nothing. So she got back into bed. She opened the door a second time when she thought she heard crying coming from Zanna's room. And a male voice say, quote, it's okay, I'm going to help you. End quote. Several minutes later, at 04:17 A.m., a security camera that was located on a neighboring property picked up what sounded like whispering, followed by a loud thud and a dog barking several times. This camera was located less than 50ft away from Xana's wall. There is a video circulating the Internet claiming that screams can be heard on security footage around the suspected time of the murders, but this has been proved to be false. Also, don't be a ****** person. Don't spread lies about the case. It's disgusting. No one appreciates it, and especially not the friends and family of the victims. So Dylan went on to open the door a third time, and this time she came face to face with the suspected killer. She stated that he was wearing black clothing and a mask that covered his mouth and nose. She described him as 510 or taller, not muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows. The suspect walked right past Dylan and out the sliding glass door, likely the door he entered. Dylan stood there frozen until the suspect left. Then she locked herself in her room until friends came over and police were called around 11:00 A.m.. And there's been a lot of speculation as to why Dylan didn't immediately call police. And I've seen so many different articles saying different things, but Dylan herself has not explained her actions, so I won't report anything. I'm sure she was scared, and it's actually a totally common trauma response to not trust what you saw. A latent footprint was found at the property during a second search, and it appeared to be similar to the shoe pattern of a van's. It was found just outside of Dylan's door, which is consistent with the path she described the suspect took with info police received from the roommates. It is believed that the crimes occurred between 04:00 A.m. And 04:25 A.m.. And let's think about that for a second. 25 minutes to brutally stab four people. Stabbing is a very physical and very exhausting way to inflict damage to another human. And I feel like that's a really small window to commit the crime. And I wonder why Dylan and Bethany were left alive. Was this a mistake, or did the suspect do this intentionally? After police reviewed surveillance footage from neighboring properties, it was released that police were looking for a 2011 to 2016 white Hyundai Elantra in connection to the quadruple homicide. It was announced in the affidavit that police actually narrowed down the car's year from 2011 to 2016 to actually 2014 to 2016. The suspect vehicle was seen multiple times before and after the murders. It was seen headed towards the Moscow residence around 03:26 A.m.. There were multiple sightings beginning at 03:29 A.m. And ending at 04:20 A.m.. The car was seen passing the 1122 King Road residence three times before the crime occurred. The car entered a fourth time, around 400 and 04:00 A.m. And not again until 04:20 A.m., leaving the area at a high rate of speed, headed away from Moscow and towards Pullman, Washington, another college town where Washington State University is located. When investigators looked into the surveillance footage from Washington State University, a car consistent with a description of the 2014 to 2016 white Hyundai Elantra was seen leaving the parking lot at 02:44 A.m. On November 13, 2022, and it was headed in the same direction as Moscow. The vehicle is seen again returning to the college at 05:25 A.m.. Several residential and commercial cameras picked up the white car as it traveled from one college town to the other. It was seen multiple times in route to 1122 King Road and again several times on the way back. On November 25, 2022, police made the announcement publicly to be on the lookout for the white car in question. Everyone was looking for this car, and it just so happened that a Washington State University police officer named Daniel Tenago had the idea to search the list of white Elantras registered to the students at WSU. Sure enough, the unnamed unknown suspect had a name. Brian Christopher Koberger was a PhD student at Washington state university's department of criminal justice and Criminology. He had a master's degree from DeSales University in criminal justice. And according to his driver's license, he was a six foot tall white male who weighed £185. And his picture shows he, in fact, has Bushy eyebrows. On August 21, 2022, months before the murders, he was detained as part of a traffic stop in Moscow, Idaho. He was the sole occupant of a white 2015 Hyundai Elantra with Pennsylvania license plates. License plates that were going to expire on November 30, 2022. License plates that Brian would renew in the state of Washington on November 18, 2022. And for a little reference, November 18 is just five days after the butchering of four innocent people took place. Four people he's accused of callously and calculatedly murdering on December 13, 2022, on his way home to spend Christmas with his family. Christmas that his alleged victims didn't get to spend with their families. Christmas that these poor families were left wondering who did this and why? Brian was seen by a license plate reader right here in Colorado, in Loma, actually, which is located on I 70, just about 60 miles from Utah. Brian was stopped two separate times in Indiana, both on the 15th. He was stopped first by Indiana State Police for following too closely, and then again by a Hannock County sheriff's deputy for the same offense. Body camera footage has been released, and police announced that they were trying to get footage of Brian's hands to see if he had any wounds. Both times, he was let off with a verbal warning. When he stopped, he was driving with his father, who flew into Washington to drive home with his son, a trip that was reportedly planned. The following day, the Koburgers had returned to their home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. That's not the only strange behavior from Brian. He was actually seen by an undercover officer throwing his trash in a neighbor's trash can in Pennsylvania. And it's been reported that he wore surgical gloves for weeks before the murders. He also applied to the Pullman, Washington Police Department in the fall of 2022, and he had a post on Reddit asking people who had committed serious crimes what their emotional and psychological traits were that influenced their decision making when committing their crimes. And it is still available on Reddit if you want to read it. I'm not linking it. It's too eerie of a look into the mind of someone who would go on to be accused of committing some of the most terrible crimes in Idaho's history. Let's talk about Brian's cell phone activity on the day of the murders. His phone registered that it was at his apartment at 02:42 A.m.. At 02:47 A.m., the cell phone shows tower access from a tower southeast of his apartment. This is consistent with the movement of the white Elantra, and it was traveling in the direction towards Moscow. Just seconds later, the phone stops accessing any tower data. And this would imply that the user either turned off their phone or put the phone into airplane mode. The phone doesn't report any activity until 04:48 A.m. Near Blaine, Idaho. At 05:30 A.m., the phone indicated that it was traveling back to Brian's apartment. And at 09:00 A.m., Brian's phone is on the move again. This time, it's headed back towards Moscow. He makes it to his destination, literally the scene of the crime. At 09:12 A.m., his phone continued to access towers that would provide coverage to 1122 King Road until 09:21 A.m., and then it traveled back to his apartment and was there by 09:32 A.m.. Why did he realize he left the knife sheath behind? Was he just curious to see if people had discovered what he'd done yet? Or was it simply a coincidence, and he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Multiple times? His phone shows that he was in the area prior to the murders, beginning at 12:36 p.m.. He's seen doing some grocery shopping. And then his phone is near the crime scene again at 05:32 p.m. And 05:36 P.m.. Then, from 05:36 p.m. To 08:30 p.m.. The phone stopped reporting. Was he watching the house during this time? Was he following the victims? What was he doing there? Also, I want to talk about one more thing before we move on from the phone. According to the phone records that police were able to obtain, brian's phone was in the area twelve times before the murders. Twelve, one, two. And all but one of them occurred late at night or early in the morning. He was watching that house like a hawk. He knew the ins and outs, the people coming and going, how busy it was. He knew his target, allegedly. This is all speculation, of course. Lastly, aside from the car, how is Brian connected to the crime? Remember that knife sheath? Well, DNA was found on the snap. Trash was recovered from Brian's parents Pennsylvania home, and familial DNA was used from Brian's dad to connect Brian. Once trash is set outside of a residence, it's considered abandoned property and a search warrant isn't needed. Brian was seen throwing away his trash in his neighbor's trash can. So they were able to get his dad's and bam. Brian Christopher Koberger was arrested at his parents Pennsylvania home on December 30, 2022, around 03:00 A.m.. He was held in Pennsylvania until he waived his extradition trial and was transferred to Idaho. He has had two court appearances since he arrived. The latest occurred on January 12, 2023. During that appearance, Brian waived his right to a speedy trial. And now a preliminary trial is scheduled for June 26, 2023 at 09:00 A.m.. At that hearing, Idaho prosecutor Bill Thomas will present evidence showing there's enough to go to trial. If that happens, the case will bound over to district court, where felony proceedings are heard. And that's when Brian can enter a plea, whether guilty or not guilty. If he pleads guilty, a sentencing hearing will be scheduled. But if he pleads not guilty, the prosecution and the defense will then prepare for trial. What do you guys think? Did Brian commit the crimes he's been accused of? If so, did he act alone? Clearly, I think he did it allegedly. I think he's too confident, and he totally gives me Ted Bundy vibes. As always, I will keep you up to date as this plays out in the judicial system. And remember, if you're interested in donating to the Xannadal Scholarship endowment, please check my linktree. It's in my instagram bio. Or you can search Colorado Crime Pod on Linkedtree and find it there. Thank you guys so much for tuning in this week. I'm so excited for next week's surprise. I hope you guys are, too. Our case next week actually involves Idaho as well. If you have any case requests or suggestions, please send them my way. If you haven't already, please subscribe so you can be notified every time I upload. Please leave me a review on Apple podcast. It really does help to push our podcast to more listeners. New episodes are released every Friday at 10:30, a.m. Mountain Standard Time. Please follow me on Instagram at Colorado Crime Pod for info on next week's episode, as well as other true crime happenings. I hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are, and as always, stay safe.
