Autopsy reports reveal disturbing new details about the final moments and injuries of the University of Idaho stabbing victims

Newly released court documents are offering a clearer picture of what happened in the final moments of four University of Idaho students who were killed in November 2022, after previously sealed filings and investigative materials became public.

The documents, first reported by People, outline how Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were attacked inside their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. The filings include summaries of autopsy findings and investigative observations that authorities say help reconstruct the sequence of events during the early morning hours of the attack.

Goncalves and Mogen, close friends, were found together in Mogen’s bedroom. Chapin and Kernodle, who were dating, were found in Kernodle’s room. Investigators determined that three of the students were likely asleep when they were attacked, while evidence suggests Kernodle was awake and attempted to defend herself. The court records indicate that she moved within her room during the struggle, a detail prosecutors say underscores the chaos of those moments.

Kernodle’s father, Jeffrey Kernodle, has previously spoken about his daughter’s strength. “Bruises, torn by the knife. “She’s a tough kid. Whatever she wanted to do, she could do it,” he told Arizona Family in an earlier interview after learning she fought back.

The filings also revisit key pieces of evidence that led investigators to Bryan Kohberger, who was arrested weeks after the killings. Among the most significant was a knife sheath found at the scene that contained DNA later linked to Kohberger. Investigators say he had purchased the knife months earlier and left the sheath behind during the attack.

Two other roommates were inside the house at the time but were not physically harmed. One of them, Dylan Mortensen, told police she briefly came face-to-face with a man inside the home before he left. In her statement, she described the person as having “bushy eyebrows,” a detail that became part of the broader investigative picture.

Earlier this month, a large release of Idaho State Police files, including thousands of documents and images, was briefly made public before some materials were removed. The release nonetheless provided new insight into how law enforcement pieced together the case and built the evidence against Kohberger.

In July, Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders. The plea agreement spared him the death penalty and resulted in a sentence of life in prison. The deal has been controversial. Some family members of the victims have expressed frustration that a trial will not take place, saying they hoped it would provide answers about motive and accountability.

Kohberger is currently being held at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna. As the legal case concludes, the newly unsealed documents are prompting renewed public attention to the victims’ lives, the investigation, and the lasting impact on their families and the community.

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