Tragic new details emerge about Idaho victims’ final hours as decision they almost made is revealed
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@kayleegoncalves
Heartbreaking new details have emerged about the four University of Idaho students who were tragically killed after a night out.
On November 13, 2022, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally murdered in their off-campus accommodation in Moscow, Idaho.
In the early hours of the morning, the four had returned home from a night out and were stabbed to death with an 'edged weapon'.
There were two other roommates in the home at the time - Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen - but they were left unharmed in the attack.
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The following month, Bryan Kohberger was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the killings, and has been charged with four counts of first degree murder and one count of burglary.
New details have started to unravel regarding what happened that night, and how one heartbreaking decision could have changed the devastating outcome.
Text messages and testimony from the two survivors have revealed that the group almost went back out on the night of the incident.
According to an order from Judge Steven Hippler, the four girls 'met up in Kaylee's bedroom and talked for a while before going to bed', meanwhile Xana had not yet returned home with her boyfriend, Ethan.
The girls discussed heading back out to get some food, but ultimately, decided to go to bed instead.
The order reads: "The roommates debated going out to a food truck for a late snack, prompting D.M. [Dylan Mortensen] to send text at 2:10 a.m. to an Uber driver she knew to see if he was driving. Ultimately, however, the girls decided to just go to bed."
Dylan - who survived the attack - went on to hear strange noises and crying - and when she went to investigate, she saw a person 'dressed in black with a ski mask on walking by her bedroom door'.
She is said to have texted all roommates, but only Bethany responded, with the pair discussing how concerned they were.
The pair decided to lock themselves in Bethany's bedroom, with the order explaining: "On her way, [D.M.] noticed Xana lying on the floor of her bedroom, with her head towards the wall and her feet toward to the door. D.M. thought Xana was drunk."
The two survivors reportedly spent eight hours trying to get in touch with the others, until they called for emergency services at noon the next day.
Kohberger was linked to the deaths after his DNA was found on a knife sheath, meanwhile CCTV footage showed a car similar to his own driving to and from the scene.
Kohberger's attorney Anne Taylor said her client was driving on the night of the murders but that he did not commit them.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
His trial is set for August, and if convicted, he could face the death penalty.