What Idaho Murderer Bryan Kohberger Told Police After He Was Arrested
How Bryan Kohberger’s Mom and Sister Reacted in Court to Idaho Murder Sentencing
Authorities have released chilling details about Bryan Kohberger’s initial police interview.
In Moscow Police Department documents submitted to court in July and obtained by E! News, Corporal Brett Payneâthe lead detective in the murder investigation of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapinâsaid Kohberger engaged in “small talk” about college sports following his arrest in December 2022.
“Kohberger stated he didn’t follow WSU football much but was a baseball fan,” Payne, who conducted the interview with ISP Detective Sergeant Darren Gilbertson, wrote in his report. “Kohberger then asked if it was OK to engage in small talk like we were, to which we replied it was.”
Kohberger told authoritiesâwho detained him at his parentsâ home in Pennsylvania after linking his car to the Idaho crime sceneâthat he had never been to the Pacific Northwest before moving to Washington State University for his PhD program, but had since formed a deep connection to the area.
âHe began to speak about the beauty of the environment and its relationship to God and a higher power,â the officer wrote. âWe spoke about this for some time and Kohberger said he was raised Christian but was always a skeptic except when confronted with the beauty of the natural world.â
During the interrogation, Payne said Kohberger also spoke about being a student of criminology and “how he became interested in criminal justice.” According to Payne, the WSU graduate student “stated he thought about being a police officer but did not want to make that commitment unless he was absolutely sure.”
“Kohberger then stated he understood why were engaging in small talk but would appreciate it if we explained to him what he was doing there,” Payne’s report read. “Det. Gilbertson asked Kohberger if he watched the news. Kohberger said ‘I watch the news.'”
Monroe County Correctional Facility via Getty Images
Payne continued, “Det. Gilbertson then said we were there because of what happened in November jut [sic] off the University of Idaho Campus. Det. Gilberston asked Kohberger if he knew what that was to which Kohberger replied ‘of course.'”
Payne said Kohberger told the investigators that he “was aware of a homicide because of a WSU alert he received” following the murders.
When asked if he wanted to discuss the incident, “Kohberger replied, âWell, I think I would need a lawyer,'” according to Payne.
After explaining to Kohberger that the interview would be about the killings, Payne said the then-28-year-old “sat back and said he had the utmost respect for law enforcement but stated it was a constitutional right to speak to an attorney.”
“Kohberger asked what specifically we wanted to talk to him about and the reason,” Payne recounted. “I told Kohberger he invoked his Fifth Amendment Rights and we were not going to ask him any further questions.”
Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images
Per the investigator, he and Gilbertson ended the interview shortly after Kohberger “asked again for the reason he was there but added he would like to talk to an attorney.”
More than two years after the interrogation, Kohbergerâwho waived his right to a speedy trialâconfessed to the killings as part of a plea deal he struck with prosecutors. At a July 23 sentencing, he received four consecutive life in prison sentences for the murders of Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin, who were all stabbed to death at an off-campus home in November 2022.
Kohberger opted not to speak during his sentencing, prompting presiding Judge Steven Hippler to call him “worst of the worst.”
âEven in pleading guilty, he has given nothing hinting at remorse or redemption, nothing suggesting a recognition, an understanding or even a regret for the pain that he has caused,” the judge told the courtroom. âTherefore, I will not attempt to speak about him further other than to simply sentencing him.”
For more on the investigation into Kohberger and the Idaho murders, keep reading.
Who Were Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle?
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were University of Idaho students who lived in an off-campus apartment.Â
On Nov. 12, 2022âthe night before their bodies were foundâGoncalves and Mogen were at a nearby sports bar, while Kernodle and Chapin were at the latterâs fraternity party. By 2 a.m. on Nov. 13, the four roommates and Chapin were back at the three-story rental house.
Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies at the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. She was expected to graduate in December before heading to Austin, Texas, for a job at a marketing firm, her friend Jordyn Quesnell told The New York Times.
Mogen, who was studying marketing, was best friends with Goncalves since the sixth grade. She had plans to move to Boise after graduation, family friend Jessie Frost shared with The Idaho Statesman.
Kernodle was a junior majoring in marketing, the University said at the time. She and Chapinâwho majored in recreation, sport and tourism managementâhad been dating since the spring, the roommatesâ neighbor Ellie McKnight told NBC News.
Were There Any Survivors?
Two roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, had been home at the time of the murders. In text messages that were unsealed March 6, 2025, Mortensen and Funke tried contacting their roommates on Nov. 13 after the former saw a masked man moving through the house, according to documents obtained by E! News.
“No one is answering,” Mortensen texted Funke at 4:22 a.m. “I’m rlly confused rn.”
She continued to reach out to their roommates, urging them to respond. “Pls answer,” she texted Goncalves at 4:32 a.m. and again at 10:23 a.m. “R u up??”
At 11:58 a.m., a 911 call was placed after Kernodle was found unresponsive, per an additional motion obtained by E! News. A woman named A1 in the transcript described the current situation to the operator.
“One of the roommates who’s passed out and she was drunk last night and she’s not waking up,” she said on the phone. “They saw some man in their house last night.”
Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images
Who Is Bryan Kohberger and How Was He Found?
Bryan Kohberger, who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, was a doctoral candidate at Washington State University. Over one month after the bodies of Gonclaves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin were discovered, Kohberger was taken into custody Dec. 30 in Monroe County, Penn. He was extradited to Idaho Jan. 4, 2023.
As for how authorities connected him to the killings? DNA was found on a knife sheath that was left at the crime scene, prosecutors revealed in June 2023 court documents, per NBC News.
When the DNA didn’t match anyone in the FBI database, authorities ran the DNA through public ancestry websites to create a list of potential suspects, according to the filings. After learning that Kohberger had driven to his parents’ home in Monroe County, local officials then went through their trash and found DNA that tied him to that found on the sheath.
Photo by Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images
What Was Kohbergerâs Initial Defense?
At the moment, a motive for the attack has not been detailed and a gag order prevents many involved in the case from speaking publicly, NBC News reported. However, the unsealed documents provided some insight into their initial arguments.
Kohberger’s attorneys argued in a motion obtained by E! News to strike the death penalty that Kohbergerâwho initially faced death penalty if found guilty on all countsâhas autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”
His defense argued that Kohbereger “displays extremely rigid thinking, perseverates on specific topics, processes information on a piecemeal basis, struggles to plan ahead, and demonstrates little insight into his own behaviors and emotions.”
“Due to his ASD, Mr. Kohberger simply cannot comport himself in a manner that aligns with societal expectations of normalcy,” the motion said. “This creates an unconscionable risk that he will be executed because of his disability rather than his culpability.”
Ted S. Warren – Pool/Getty Images
Where Was the Trial Set?
Initially, Kohberger had a judge enter a not-guilty plea to the first-degree murder charges on his behalf after remaining silent at his May 2023 arraignment. Although his trial was set to begin Oct. 2, 2023, Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial in August 2023.Â
His trial dateâwhich was scheduled to take place in Ada County, more than 300 miles from Latah County, where the killings took placeâwas set to begin Aug. 11, 2025.
Latah County Judge John Judge previously ruled in favor of the transfer request made by Kohberger’s defense in September 2024 based on “presumed prejudice” if the trial remained in Latah County.Â
Ada County Judge Steven Hippler denied the defense’s request to suppress key DNA and other evidence, including cell phone and email records, surveillance footage, past Amazon purchases and DNA evidence in the trial.
Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images
What Was the Verdict in the Trial?
Kohberger’s murder trial was abruptly canceled after he took a plea deal from prosecutors on June 30, 2025. In accepting the deal, Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to four counts of murder and one count of burglary, as well as waive his rights to appeal and ask for a more lenient prison sentence.
He entered his guilty plea on July 2, 2025, confirming with a “yes” after the judge asked if he killed all four victims “willingly, unlawfully, deliberately and with premeditation and malice with forethought.”
NBC News
Did Kohberger Take a Selfie After the Murders?
A selfie Kohberger took the morning after the murders took place was introduced in March 2025. The photograph, which sees him in front of a shower showing a thumbs up, displays how he may fit the description a witness identified as “D.M.” gave in filings, who said the perpetrator had “bushy eyebrows.”
Steve Gonclaves, the father of victim Kaylee, later reacted to the image calling it a “trophy” in an interview with Fox and Friends.Â
“I know the timeline, I know that he had just returned to the crime scene and he had come back,” Gonclaves said. “He had realized that nobody had called 911.”
As he put it, “To him, thatâs his little trophy to let him know like, âHey, I got away with it, nobodyâs on me.ââ
Monroe County Correctional Facil/UPI/Shutterstock
What Did Kohberger Google Before the Murders?
In a 2025 Dateline documentary about the murders, a former classmate of Kohbergerâs detailed a âpeculiarâ text she received from him after making his acquaintance at a party.Â
âI definitely felt a little obligated to chat with him, because to me, he seemed a little awkward,â the studentâidentified as Hollyâexplained. âKind of like you might expect for a PhD student who didn’t know anyone at the party and was maybe trying his best to kind of get out there and be social and make friends.â
The following day, Holly said she received a text from him, which she described as overly formal.Â
âHey, I am pretty sure we spoke about hiking trips yesterday,â Bryanâs text from July 10, 2022 at 1:19 p.m., read, per Dateline. âI really enjoy that activity, so please let me know. Thanks!â
Elsewhere in the Dateline documentary, Kohbergerâs browsing history was found to have included searches for Ted Bundy, Britney Spearsâ song âCriminal,â and the term âUniversity of Idaho Murders.â
Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images
Did Kohberger Confess to Killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle?
After accepting a plea deal that would spare him from the death penalty, Kohberger changed his plea to guilty in the murders of Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin, as well as one count of burglary, at a July 2, 2025 hearing in Idaho.
When judge Hippler questioned Kohberger if he killed each victim “willingly, unlawfully, deliberately and with premeditation and malice with forethought,” he replied with a firm, “Yes” for each.Â
In taking the plea deal, Kohberger has waived his right to appeal or ask for a more lenient prison sentence, according to Hippler.
Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images
How Long Is Kohberger’s Prison Sentence?Â
Though the families of Goncalves and Kernodle each slammed the decision to issue a plea deal, therby taking the death penalty off the table, Kohberger was officially sentenced to life in prison July 23, 2025.Â
Judge Hippler sentenced Kohberger to four life termsâto be served consecutivelyâwithout the possibility of parole for each count of first-degree murder, along with a $50,000 fine for each count and a $5,000 civil penalty to be paid to each of the victims’ families. He also gave Kohberger 10 years and imposed a fine of $50,000 on the burglary count.
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