Tag Archives: idaho 4

May 15, 2025 · 10:14 pm

Should Dylan and Bethany testify in the Idaho 4 trial?

The time is ticking closer to what may be the trial of the century to date.Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke

When the State of Idaho vs. Bryan Kohberger presumably gets going in early August, it will be close to three years since Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were murdered in a rental home minutes from the main grounds of the University of Idaho. The quadruple slayings have not only gripped a good portion of the U.S. the last two and a half years, they have also garnered worldwide attention.

As another pre-trial hearing was winding down on May 15, one of the focal points the last two-and-half or so years has been the two young women who lived in the home at 1122 King Road along with three of the deceased roommates.

Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke were reportedly at home on two different floors when the killings took place.

First we were told the two had been asleep like everyone else supposedly in the home was when the killer/s struck. We later learned that the two had reportedly been texting and calling one another for a period of time prior to sunrise. If the latter is in fact true as phone records appear to indicate, wouldn’t they have some idea of what had tragically taken place on the second and third floors, respectively? Mortensen also told police she had seen a male figure in dark clothing and wearing a mask literally walk right by her as she carefully peered out her bedroom door on the second floor in the early morning hours.

While I have constantly said I do not believe either young woman was directly involved in the murders, I do feel one or both know more details than we have been told. If so, shouldn’t they be compelled to testify this August?

Even though the pair were interviewed by authorities (we know Mortensen was for sure, did they ever submit to a lie detector test if asked? If not, why was one never presented to them?

More interestingly, could it be one or both were not in the home at the time the four victims died? Phone records show the two conversing during what we believe was shortly after the killings took place, but were the two in fact in the home at the time? Could one or both have been nearby but not in fact inside the residence?

Finally, Mortensen claims to have seen a figure in the home with not only dark clothing and a mask, but bushy eyebrows. If the state will try and claim that figure was Kohberger, how reliable would Mortensen’s words be at trial? Reports are she was intoxicated at the time, so take what we’ve been told was her description of what she saw with a grain of salt.

While it is Kohberger and not the two young women on trial this August, Mortensen and Funke may well find themselves in the limelight once again.

So, should either side call the two to testify?

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July 31, 2023 · 9:26 pm

When did a quadruple murder of college students become comedy hour?

For those of us who’ve followed the Idaho 4 case closely over the last eight-plus months, the emotions have been far-ranging. I’ve been in journalism for more than three decades and this case baffles me to this day.

Many of us want to see a resolution to the case. That may or may not mean defendant Bryan Kohberger is convicted.

As I have said repeatedly, if in fact Kohberger is the person responsible and is convicted in a fair trial, by all means throw the book at him. If he had help (which I believe could be a strong possibility if he was involved, as I think it took more than one person to do this evil), those other people need to be held accountable. In the event he had nothing to do with it, he needs to be found not guilty at trial.

With all that to think about down the road at trial, I’d like to discuss something else with the case.

A group on Facebook known as University of Idaho Murders – Case Discussion (run by Alina Smith) has been getting a fair amount of attention of late and not necessarily good.

While I spent several months in that group, the light dawned in my head recently that this group was not the serious group it portrays itself to be. I would also seriously question that it has 222k members. My guess is more in the thousands, especially since many of the same people post again and again and again.

All that aside, what is most disturbing is that Ms. Smith has allowed her group to become open mic night for those auditioning for Comedy Central. Here are but a few of the most recent offerings to show up on their site. These include:

Hey, everyone enjoys humor at times whether it be a TV show, comedy club, telling jokes among family and friends etc. On the flip side of the coin, there is a right time and place for such stuff.

Given some family members of the four deceased students are known to visit the above group page, including a sister of one of the victims, wonder if they find the sophomore humor funny? My guess is the answer would be no.

What could be a solid discussion page on a case many of us are riveted to has turned into comedy, middle school drama and more. As you can see in one of the posts above, Ms. Smith is clearly aware of what is going on given she provided a response.

Thankfully, there are some other Idaho 4 discussion groups out there willing to stick to the case 99 percent of the time and ban such childish stuff. To those groups, I salute you and I know many other people do too.

How about that other group go back to focusing on the case itself, allow both sides of the case to be discussed in an adult manner, and we ultimately get a resolution for the four victims and their families?

Meantime, if you want some humor, go support the comedians at your local comedy club who I am sure would greatly appreciate it.

If you can’t run a serious Idaho 4 discussion page …. might be time to take it down.

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July 25, 2023 · 9:50 pm

Should Dylan and Bethany figure on testifying?

The clamor over the last few days is would defendant Bryan Kohberger come forward with an alibi for his whereabouts last Nov. 13, 2022 in the early morning hours. That is when four University of Idaho students were slain at 1122 King Road?

In the news over the last 24 hours, it was reported that Kohberger’s defense counsel, according to FOX News, “continues investigating and preparing his case.” His lawyers also said they have “[e]vidence corroborating” the suspect being at a location other than the crime scene at 1122 King Road in Moscow — an off-campus house where three of the four victims lived — when the murders occurred on Nov. 13, 2022.

So, those already thinking Kohberger is guilty and convicting him in the world of social media, obviously will not like the above response. They will simply say this is Kohberger’s team directly or indirectly saying he in fact has no alibi.

If you stop for a moment and put your commonsense thinking cap on, how many people in such a position would have their own alibi clad in stone?

Most people in the time frame authorities allege the murders took place (4-4:30 p.m. ish) would either be at home asleep, coming in from a very late night out on the town, going to or from a job or in fact working and so on. The idea that an individual would be able to clearly put forth an alibi is not as simple as it may seem.

With that in mind, you either think it is conceivable he did what he stands accused of or you think it is not possible he was close to 1122 King Road when the quadruple killings took place.

In wondering if Kohberger will get called by the defense to testify in his own behalf, I would say chances of that are slim to none now. Of course, things can always change as time goes by. It is important to keep in mind that if he would choose to get up on the stand, he opens himself up to a lot of potential cross-examination by prosecutors.

While it is highly unlikely Kohberger comes up with a detailed alibi or testifies in his own behalf, I would bet survivors Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke will end up on the witness stand when we get to the trial. That trial is slated to begin Oct. 2 as of now.

It was Mortensen in the PCA stating she was frozen in place after seeing a figure in dark clothes and a mask walk right by the outside of her second floor bedroom sometime between 4 ish – 4:30 ish a.m. Just down the hall from that room is where the bodies of tenant Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin were found deceased. One floor up, both Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were also discovered dead.

What Mortensen and Funke may know from that carnage will likely be questioned at the trial by lead defense attorney Anne Taylor and her team.

As I have repeatedly said, I’m not accusing either of taking part in the tragic killings. I do, however, think one or both know more than they have let on.

If you were the defense team and you get to call Mortensen and Funke to the stand under penalty for lying, what one question would you want either of them to answer?

Among questions I would have:

  • What did you see and hear while the murders were taking place?
  • Have you ever met or had multiple encounters with Bryan Kohberger?
  • Have there ever been illegal drugs in the home during your time there?
  • Is there anyone you can think of who’d want to hurt any of your roommates?
  • Did you see or hear/talk to any of the deceased when they first got home early that morning? If so, how did such discussions go?
  • Why did you wait close to eight hours before calling 9-1-1?
  • Are either of you friends with Emma Bailey or Demetrius Robinson?

Safe to say we are likely in for quite a trial.

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July 20, 2023 · 10:10 pm

Random attack or something more sinister?

The murders of four University of Idaho students last November continues to garner a fair amount of coverage and dialogue.

Given how heinous the killings were, many following the case will stay right with it through the trial and until a verdict is reached.

If alleged killer Bryan Kohberger goes on trial as scheduled Oct. 2 or even should it be delayed, one of the big focuses will be a motive.

So, do you think the alleged killer stalked and scoped out this home and one or more of the female residents in particular? Or, are you of the mindset that this was a random attack that could have happened at any number of other off-campus house rentals in Moscow?

For me, I do buy into the theory that this was a planned attack. My question, however, is who planned the attack and of course ultimately carried it out?

While some buy into the stalker theory and that Kohberger was fixated on one or more of the young women in the home, others see something different.

When it comes to my theories, I still lean towards the theory that this was either a drug deal gone bad or a drug hit. I can’t to this day get the words out of my mind when Maddie tells Kaylee as they walk in downtown Moscow that she told Adam (believed to be the bartender at the Corner Club) everything. I seriously doubt that was a conversation regarding boys. To me, it involved something much more sinister.

If you do not like the drug angle here, what about something starting the tragic chain of events when Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were at the food truck (pictured above) before heading home?

While ordering food, Goncalves seems to be pretty in control of herself. Looking at Mogen, it is rather clear she is drunk or on something as she looks like she’s going to stumble a time or two. Hey, nothing wrong with living it up in college. I’m simply saying that I am happy both young ladies were driven home and did not attempt to make the short drive from the truck to 1122 King Road.

In the event you have seen the well-circulated video of Mogen and Goncalves at the food truck, there is a point in the video where Mogen angrily points her finger at a male subject behind her and her best friend KG.

Now, what was said to get Mogen so fired up? Did something happen earlier at the Corner Club bar to lead to this verbal altercation?

Once Goncalves and Mogen have their orders, off they go. A male subject does in fact follow them, at least that is until the video cuts out.

Yes, there has been a ton of speculation these last eight months on who the person or persons might be responsible in the deaths of Mogen, Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.

While I am not big on the term conspiracy theorist, I do believe the four deaths were planned to some degree and carried out by more than one individual. Could BK be involved? He absolutely could, Could others (possibly fellow U of I students) have had it in for the four or at least one or more and the others sadly were collateral damage? By all means that is a possibility.

As we inch a little closer to trial, don’t be shocked if there are a few twists and turns along the way.

With that in mind, do you think this was a random killing (s) or something much more sinister?

Photo credit: Daily Mail

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July 18, 2023 · 9:26 pm

Does Idaho have a strong case against Kohberger?

In looking 8 months back now at the murders of the four University of Idaho students and the arrest just before New Year’s Day of this year of 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger in Pennsylvania, where does the case stand?

While the targeted start date of the trial is Monday, Oct. 2, don’t be shocked if that gets pushed back by weeks or even into 2024.

So, with what you know now from media reports and other such sources, how strong of a case would you say Idaho has against the defendant?

In looking at the case to date, there are arguments for both sides to make that they should feel confident getting the verdict they want at the end of the day.

With that in mind, let’s look at both sides and what they have going for them.

Prosecution –

  • The state is leaning on the touch DNA it said it found on the knife sheath left behind by the killer/s. The sheath reportedly had touch DNA on the snap portion and was found in bed with victims Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. After testing was done, the state is quite confident that touch DNA belongs to none other than Kohberger. So, what defense will the defense literally put up against such evidence? My guess is they go the O.J. route like Simpson’s team did several decades ago during the trial of the century. Lead defense attorney Anne Taylor will call upon the experts she brings in to refute the touch DNA. Will her efforts be successful? Time of course will tell.
  • Look for prosecutors to also go after the pinging on Kohberger’s phone both before and after murders. They will try and convince the jury that Kohberger was stalking one or more of the female residents at 1122 King Road. He supposedly shut his phone off for a sizable period time leading up to, during, and shortly after the murders. Will a jury see such inactivity on the cell phone as one piece of the he’s guilty puzzle to fill in?
  • Prosecutors will also highlight his vehicle supposedly being spotted in the area of the crimes. Much like the cell phone matter, the state will go hard on the white Elantra being seen very close to the home not only the morning of the murders, but others points in time. It will be up to the defense to refute this. One argument could be BK was in fact in the area but that does not mean he entered the home and murdered four college students.
  • Finally, the state will focus in on allegations that BK stalked one or more of the women for months leading up to the killings. The state may or may not have phone or social media evidence that will back this up. Of course any such evidence would make it more difficult for the defense say that their client had no knowledge of or interaction with one or more of the women in the home.

Defense –

  • What will it take for BK’s team to win him a not guilty verdict or at the very least a mistrial and back to square one? One of the best arguments for the defense is that up to now and perhaps even once a trial is underway is no one has come forward to clearly say they saw Kohberger either commit the murders or for that matter be inside the home on Nov. 13, 2022. One of two surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen, who was on the second floor a short ways away from the room of victim Xana Kernodle, said she saw a masked figure with bushy eyebrows walk past her. The walk left her in a reported frozen state of shock. So, how many men for example in Idaho have bushy eyebrows? Translation is the state won’t get too far if it tries to say that was Kohberger who Mortensen spotted.
  • In questioning and even discrediting one or both roommates, the defense needs to walk a fine line when it comes to calling one or both survivors (Bethany Funke was the other one) to the witness stand. While Mortensen’s description of what she saw and heard is shaky at best, you do not want to come across as victim-shaming. Doing so could upset some or many on the jury panel. Even with that to think about, by all means the defense should call the two survivors to the stand. Mortensen especially has some things to answer to in terms of what she supposedly saw and heard, why she did not go check on Xana Kernodle only yards away from her when safe to do so and more.
  • Given this is a death penalty case, the state will have to prove even more so that it has the right guy. While the sentencing of guilt and the actual handing out of the sentence are two different things. know that the jury will likely demand even more proof that BK is the guy and not someone else. All the defense needs to do is plant a seed of doubt in the mind of one juror and we could end up back at square one as jurors gather and debate the final verdict.

If I was on the jury and asked to vote as of today, my vote would be NOT guilty.

That does not mean BK did not do it…. I just do not have enough hardcore evidence to send the man to his impending death.

With that thought in mind, would you convict if on the jury and the vote was today?

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June 27, 2023 · 11:25 am

Idaho to seek death penalty against Kohberger

News came out Monday that Idaho was moving forward in seeking the death penalty against alleged killer Bryan Kohberger.

The Pennsylvania native is charged with four counts of felony murder and one count of burglary. This of course stems from the Nov. 13, 2022 deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. If convicted, Kohberger could be sentenced to lethal injection or another form of death in Idaho.

While we all want justice for the four victims and their families, I must admit I was a little stunned with much of the social media reaction to Monday’s news.

If you looked at Facebook in particular, you would have seen sharks in the water circling an injured seal pup or other form of marine life. To say Monday afternoon and evening was a feeding frenzy in some of the Facebook chat groups dedicated to the Idaho 4 case would be a clear understatement.

I get the emotion that stems from this case, particularly given the brutality with which the four victims met their demise. Anyone with a heart would want the killer/s to pay the ultimate price for what they did.

It is important to remember that Kohberger is innocent until proven guilty, though you may not know that from some of the reactions to this case on social media. For some, Kohberger is guilty until proven innocent. News flash!! That is NOT how our system works and we should all be thankful for that. This is not the days of the Old West and the posse strings someone up in some town be they guilty or perceived guilty.

If the person in custody now did these crimes, by all means they should pay with their life. In the event they had help, we need to double down and focus on finding who else was involved.

I’ve argued from day one that one person doing this horrific act was possible…. but more unlikely. I still stand by the notion that there was more than one individual involved. Perhaps strangers to the four victims, perhaps fellow students.

At the end of the day, justice will come to the Idaho 4 and their loved ones.

In the meantime, let us remember that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a jury of their peers.

Until then, let us tone down the lynch mob mentality.

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June 22, 2023 · 3:55 am

Where are the toxicology reports on the Idaho 4?

When four University of Idaho students were murdered last Nov. 13 in an off-campus home in Moscow, the town was beyond shocked.

Such tragedies do not happen in places such as Moscow more times than not. Perhaps the occasional traffic fatality, drug overdose etc. would befall a town that is about 25,000 in population. But a quadruple murder? No, such things are not typical of a place like this town in Northwest Idaho.

Flash-forward a little more than seven months later and there seem to be more questions than answers.

While 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger remains in a Moscow jail, charged with four felony counts of murder a single count of burglary, this is far from a slam dunk case.

Yes, I bought into the police and media narrative early on that this was a case of a stalker seeking his prey in the form of one or more young college women. While that still may end up being what pans out, I turned more towards something along the lines of a targeted hit on one or more of the individuals killed that early November morning.

While I still have plenty of questions related to this case, one that continues to stand out to me is why have there been no toxicology reports released on the four victims?

Yes, such reports tend to be more commonplace when death is due to a vehicle accident or something similar.

Why would the state want toxicology reports on four young adults who were stabbed to death?

Stop for a minute and think about the possibility one or more of the victims may have been drugged prior to being killed. Does it sound far-fetched? Yes, to some it may. To others, however, the thought that one or more of the victims could be an easier target and not as able to defend themselves if drugged is a possibility.

It is not uncommon for toxicology reports to be released anywhere from four to six months following a death.

Now, you may argue that this case involving four deaths would take longer to divulge such reports. Flip to the other side of the coin and you’d think if anything there would be more effort and speed to get such news out there to the public. Among the reasons to do this would be to quell any wild rumors etc.

While understand the need to have a gag order in place for such a high-profile case, the gag order in the Idaho 4 deaths seems to go beyond the norm.

From not releasing the toxicology reports to not making public the 911 call at 11:58 a.m. on Nov. 13 and more, there are many questions to still be answered.

If we discover no toxicology tests were done on Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, should that be a concern? It would seem any medical examiner looking to get all the facts possible would order toxicology reports for murder victims. Finding out if there were in fact drugs of any kind in their systems could prove relevant to the case.

With no toxicology reports in the Idaho 4 case made public, we’re left to wonder if in fact they were done at all.

In the event they were not done, it would be yet one more chapter in a case that continues to have more questions than answers seven months out.

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