New police documents released after Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing reveal strange events in Idaho students’ home before murders

Bryan Kohberger has officially been sentenced to life in prison for the murders of four University of Idaho students—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin—in 2022. Although he originally denied committing the crime, he later changed his plea to guilty as part of a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty. However, even after admitting guilt, Kohberger has not explained why he carried out the killings.

During the sentencing, Judge Steven Hippler acknowledged that while the court had finally confirmed who committed these brutal murders, the motive remains a mystery. The judge said he understood the public’s desire to know why Kohberger did it, but warned that dwelling on that question could give Kohberger the attention and power he doesn’t deserve.

Just hours after Kohberger was sentenced on July 23, police in Moscow, Idaho released hundreds of pages of investigative documents to the public. These files revealed strange and chilling events that happened before the murders and gave insight into how police worked to identify Kohberger.

One of the surviving roommates, Bethany Funke, told police during the investigation that about a month before the murders, her roommate Kaylee Goncalves had seen a man watching her while she was out walking her dog. Kaylee was so disturbed by the encounter that she told her friends and even called them to check if anyone would be home soon.

The documents also reveal that on November 4, just nine days before the attack, the students returned home to find their front door wide open and damaged. Xana Kernodle’s father later came by and fixed the door.

As part of their investigation, police followed several leads. One tipster reported a suspicious white man who went into a Walmart looking for a black ski mask that would cover his entire face. Another woman who lived near the victims said she and her daughter saw a nervous-looking man in their yard sometime before the murders—and she strongly believed it was Kohberger.

The break in the case came when investigators found a DNA sample on a knife sheath left at the crime scene. This DNA led them to Kohberger, a student at Washington State University. They were also able to trace his phone’s location, placing him near the victims’ house on the night of the murders.

With all this evidence, the case eventually closed with Kohberger receiving a life sentence. But even with justice served, many questions—especially the most important one: *why*—remain unanswered.