In November 2022, the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students horrified residents of Moscow, a quiet college town that hadn’t reported a murder in five years.
The students – Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20 – were stabbed to death at a rental home on King Road near campus. Investigators worked for weeks to process the murder scene and connect a trail of evidence, while families, friends, a school and a community grieved.
Nearly seven weeks after the Nov. 12 murders, authorities arrested and charged Bryan Christopher Kohberger in Pennsylvania. The 28-year-old was a doctoral student in criminal justice at Washington State University, just over the state line, less than 10 miles from Moscow.
Court documents released days after Kohberger’s arrest detail the police investigation, using DNA samples, surveillance footage, cell phone tracking software, and a search of the trash at his family’s Pennsylvania home.
As of March 2025, Kohberger is being held without bail in the Ada County Jail in Boise, Idaho, awaiting a trial scheduled for August.
Read the latest story: Bryan Kohberger allegedly bought military-style knife in months before Idaho student stabbings
Here’s what is known about Kohberger’s past and the timeline of the investigation.
Bryan Koberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, listens during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., October 26, 2023. Kai Eiselein/Pool via REUTERS
Suspect moved to Washington state months before murder
Kohberger received an associate’s degree in psychology from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania in 2018, then graduated from DeSales University in Allentown, Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and graduate studies in June, the schools confirmed to USA TODAY.
“As a Catholic, Salesian community, we are devastated by this senseless tragedy,” DeSales University said in a statement. The school’s commencement program show he graduated with a master of arts in criminal justice. Over the summer, he moved to Pullman, Washington, to begin the doctoral program at Washington State.
Nov. 12, 2022: Students attend party
The Moscow Police Department reconstructed the evening before the four students were killed and said that between 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. PST, Chapin and Kernodle attended a party at Chapin’s fraternity house, Sigma Chi, on campus.
From 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., police said, friends Goncalves and Mogen were at The Corner Club, a sports bar in Moscow.
Nov. 13, 2022: Victims found dead
By 1 a.m., the students’ two surviving roommates had arrived home and gone to sleep. Police said the students slept through the murders and didn’t wake up until later in the morning.
After leaving the Corner Club, Goncalves and Mogen picked up food at the “Grub Truck” food truck, then got a ride home from “a private party,” police said. All four victims had returned to the rental house where Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle lived by 1:45 a.m.
Just before noon, the two surviving roommates woke up and had friends come to the home, believing a victim on the second floor had passed out and wasn’t waking, the police reported. A 911 call placed from the home on a roommate’s cellphone reported an unconscious person.
Authorities responded at 11:58 a.m. and found the four students, each stabbed multiple times, on the second and third floors of the residence.
A small frame remembering Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves sits in the snow outside of the residence where the four students were killed on November 13 in Moscow, Idaho, Nov. 30, 2022.
Nov. 17-19, 2022: Victims’ autopsies conducted
The Latah County Coroner said the four students were probably asleep when they were killed but that some had defensive wounds. The autopsy report said there was no sign of sexual assault. On Nov. 19, authorities asked the public to provide any video of the home the night of the murder.
Nov. 25-29, 2022: Search for white Hyundai Elantra
On Nov. 25, Moscow Police ask local law enforcement to search for white Elantras. Four days later, WSU police officers find a white Elantra registered to student Bryan Kohberger. Police announced to the public on Dec. 7 they were interested in speaking with a person in a white Hyundai Elantra seen in the immediate area.
Nov. 30, 2022: Students hold vigil at University of Idaho
Hundreds of students gathered for a vigil in honor of the four students, sponsored by the University of Idaho. “The only cure to pain is love – it’s the only thing that’s going to heal us. It’s the only thing that’s going to heal you,” said Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves.
Dec. 13-16, 2022: Sorting through vehicle information
Moscow police, searching for a Hyundai Elantra seen in the area, announced on Dec. 15 they were sorting through registrations for 22,000 registered Elantras from the model years 2011 to 2013.
Kohberger’s sedan was captured by a plate reader in Loma, Colorado, on Dec. 13. The car was stopped by law enforcement in Hancock County, Indiana, on Dec. 15. On Dec. 16, the car was seen on surveillance video in Albrightsville, Penn.
Dec. 30, 2022: Kohberger’s arrest announced
The FBI and Pennsylvania State Police arrested Kohberger on a fugitive-from-justice warrant at a home in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Moscow police and Latah County prosecutors held a news conference that afternoon to announce he had been arrested.
Prosecutors and police said they were still seeking information from the public and urged anyone who had information about Kohberger or about the case to contact tipline@ci.moscow.id.us or 208-883-7180.
Jan. 3, 2023: Kohberger waives right to a hearing
In a brief afternoon appearance before a judge in a Pennsylvania courtroom, Kohberger declared his mental competency and signed an agreement waiving his right to an extradition hearing, the Pocono Record, a USA TODAY Network newspaper, reported. He briefly acknowledged his parents and two sisters before being escorted from the room.
Jan. 4, 2023: Kohberger extradited back to Idaho
Kohberger was flown by Pennsylvania State Police to a small airport near the Idaho border, where uniformed law enforcement officers were waiting. Kohberger was seen handcuffed, in a red jumpsuit being handed over to local authorities and escorted to a caravan of five vehicles.
Jan. 5, 2023: New facts emerge with documents released
Officials released a 19-page statement of facts used to obtain the arrest warrant for Kohberger. It details a timeline of what happened inside the King Road residence and states DNA found on a knife sheath in the home was connected to DNA collected at Kohberger’s family home in Pennsylvania.
Kohberger also made his first appearance in court in Moscow.
Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, is escorted to an extradition hearing at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., January 3, 2023. Matt Rourke/Pool via REUTERS
Feb. 28, 2023: Authorities unseal Pennsylvania search warrant
Authorities unseal a copy of the search warrant authorization for Pennsylvania State Police to search the Kohberger family home in late December. Documents show police seized the following items from Kohberger that night: four medical-style gloves, a white T-shirt, a Champion sweatshirt, a pair of size 13 Nike shoes, and black shorts, boxers and socks, all from Under Armour.
May 22, 2023: Arraignment
Kohberger is arraigned on charges he fatally stabbed the four students. On Kohberger’s behalf, Judge John Judge entered a “not guilty” plea in the four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. A preliminary hearing scheduled for June 26 was vacated. Kohberger is being held without bail in Idaho.
Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, Monday, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho, U.S. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. Zach Wilkinson/Pool via REUTERS
June 26, 2023: Seeking the death penalty
Idaho prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty in the case. Considering “all evidence currently known to the State, the State is compelled to file this notice of intent to seek the death penalty,” court documents state.
Sept. 1, 2023: Hearing scheduled
A trial date was originally scheduled for Oct. 2, 2023, but Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial in August and his defense attorney said the case required more time.
Bryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, is escorted into a courtroom to appear at a hearing in Latah County District Court, in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., September 13, 2023. Ted S. Warren/Pool via REUTERS
Dec. 28, 2023: Home demolished
During winter break at the University of Idaho, a demolition began of the home where the murders took place, over the objections of some of the victims’ family members.
Sept. 12, 2024
Idaho Supreme Court grants a request from Kohberger’s defense attorneys to move the trial venue to Boise, Idaho in Ada County, and to transfer Kohberger to the custody of the Ada County Sheriff.
Nov. 19, 2024
Judge denies motions by defense attorneys to strike the death penalty.
January 2025
Idaho Judge Steven Hippler ruled DNA evidence from the knife sheath and records from Kohberger’s cell phone and online accounts obtained through search warrants could be included at trial.
March 2025
Details released in March show the two surviving roommates, initially believed to be sleeping, were panicking when they believed a shadowy figure was in the home the night of the killings.
Authorities also released details on the 911 call.
Prosecutors in Latah County, Idaho asked a judge to let them present his online shopping patterns at trial, with evidence that he bought the military-style knife, a sheath and a sharpener on Amazon months before the deaths.
Aug. 11, 2025
Kohberger’s jury trial, expected to take three months, is scheduled before Judge Steven Hippler, according to court records.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The pivotal moments in University of Idaho murder case; see timeline
