Tag Archives: idaho

Will Kohberger get another day in court?

It seems like it has been ages since we last heard the name Bryan Kohberger.

Turn back the clock to a year ago, and it was Kohberger taking a guilty plea to avoid the death penalty in the 2022 deaths of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.

The four University of Idaho students were found dead in November 2022 in the home that the three women rented. Chapin, the boyfriend of Kernodle, had been spending the night there when the four were discovered on Nov. 13. Two other women, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, were not harmed despite living in the home.

While I wrote extensively on this case, visited the home twice in 2023 (outside of course), and talked to some neighbors about the case, I always thought Kohberger was somehow involved. That said, I have never believed one individual carried out these heinous crimes.

My thought was always that multiple people were involved, drugs were involved, and that Mortensen and Funke knew more than they let on.

While I admit to being a crime news junkie, this case took on special interest to me.

Kohberger grew up in the same region of the country (Pennsylvania) that I did. He graduated from the same community college I did, though many years later. Having visited the home twice, seen multiple pictures and videos of the inside/outside of the home, and thinking numerous times about how challenging it would be for one individual to take out four young adults in such a short time frame, I never felt we got the true story.

So, we fast-forward to late July of 2026, and Kohberger, who was a grad student at nearby Washington State University in Pullman, wants another day in court, claiming he wants post-conviction relief. Among his arguments is that he had bad legal counsel.

Whether or not an Idaho judge grants the request remains to be seen. It is safe to say that Kohberger and any new legal counsel will have to climb a rather large hill to get a trial.

That said, who thought O.J. Simpson would walk free one day with all the evidence against him?

You can learn more about Kohberger’s request at: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402266004112.

(Photo by Dave Thomas)

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Dialing up 1122 King Road again

It has been a little more than a year since I blogged on the tragic deaths of four University of Idaho students in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.

More work responsibilities, moving for the first time in 13 years, doing some traveling, and more took up a good chunk of my time over the last year. While things can still be quite hectic at times, I feel I’m in a good enough position now to shoot out some blog posts once again. The case has also picked up recently, meaning there is more news out there to discuss.

I will in an upcoming post talk about the reported knife purchase on Amazon by the defendant a number of months prior to the deaths. For now, I wanted to discuss the 911 call made that morning from 1122 King Road by the two surviving roommates and at least one friend of the victims. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1p6tPIYrTM

With the 911 call in mind, here are a few thoughts:

  • I go back-and-forth on whether it is truly authentic or was staged. Let’s face it, Dylan and Bethany have had much shade thrown their way over the last two-plus years. Some of it is off the charts ridiculous and some of it is warranted.
  • The 911 operator has taken some flack online for seeming to be uncaring and quite frankly cold. To her defense, she is trained to remain calm and collected during such calls. Given how many times the phone was being passed around at the home that morning, you can’t blame the operator for getting a little tough with the young adults.
  • Hunter says at one point to the young women to get out of the area by Xana’s bedroom. With that in mind, he obviously saw all the carnage in the room. This was obviously more than a young woman passed out from drugs, too much drinking etc.
  • During this call, there is ZERO mention of the two victims on the third floor. It is safe to assume if their vehicles were in the front driveway, both Maddie and Kaylee would be upstairs or nearby. When you find out one of your roommates is not waking up, why no effort to go check on the two upstairs or at least summons them for help? After hearing the entire released 911 call, the fact no one went up to the third floor during that time period bothers me.
  • Assuming the 911 call is introduced at trial, I can see the jury having numerous questions about it. Which side that may favor is up for debate.

What are your thoughts on the 911 call and do you think it could sway the jury one way or the other?

Until next time….

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