Bryan Kohberger bought a knife before University of Idaho killings, took a selfie hours later, court docs say

SPOKANE — Attorneys working to present their case in the murder trial of Bryan Kohberger this summer are zeroing in on the timeframe before and after four University of Idaho students were slain in an ambitious effort to convince a judge to discard or allow certain evidence.

A flurry of court records submitted this week is a potential preview to what will be presented in the August murder trial — Kohberger’s internet history, purchases, photos and witness descriptions are all setting the groundwork for whether the 30-year-old will face a quadruple murder conviction.

Internet searches

Kohberger’s internet activity before the killings shows Amazon purchases of a Ka-Bar military-style knife, much like the one used to kill Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin in a home near the University of Idaho campus in November 2022. He also purchased a knife sheath and a knife sharpener in the months before the homicides, prosecutors revealed in court records.

The former Washington State University criminology student’s DNA was found on a USMC knife sheath left under the bodies of one of the victims, according to the probable cause affidavit, although the defense has plans to argue the sheath was planted and his DNA does not prove he was at the crime scene.

Prosecutors are attempting to convince a judge the Ka-Bar searches and purchases from Amazon are relevant to trial, while the defense wants it thrown out for lack of relevancy, court records say. The knife used to kill the four students has never been found.

“Kohberger’s click activity which shows a purchase of a Ka-Bar knife and sheath before the homicides makes it more probable (than it would be without the evidence) that the KaBar sheath found at the crime scene was Bryan Kohberger’s,” Latah County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings wrote.

He also searched for a knife and a sheath following the homicides, because he “had a reason” to, Jennings said in the records.

‘Bushy eyebrows’

Among the filings, prosecutors have released a never-before-seen “selfie” photo of Kohberger in what appears to be a bathroom — he looks like he is wearing earbuds, is somewhat smiling and gesturing a thumbs-up. That photo, the state says, was taken about six hours after the students are believed to have been killed.

Releasing the photo was largely in an attempt to thwart the defense’s notion that Dylan Mortensen, a roommate, is an unreliable witness. Mortensen awoke after hearing noises upstairs, opened her door and watched a man walk by her room, she told investigators.

Mortensen said she was having trouble remembering everything because she was suffering from trauma, but she remembered a white man with bushy eyebrows, a lean “basketball”-like build and clad in a black mask.

“All I remember was seeing their eyebrows. And I don’t — I don’t remember what their eyes looked like, but I remember their eyebrows. I don’t remember the color the eyebrows were. I just remember, like, bushy eyebrows. That’s all I could think about,” Mortensen is quoted as telling investigators.

The defense doesn’t believe it should be allowed in trial to help identify Kohberger because it’s prejudicial and confusing, their filings say.

“She only saw the intruder briefly. Her recollection or lack thereof is filled with uncertainty, fuzziness, the influence of alcohol, dreaming, and sleepiness. She did not see the intruder well enough to describe him to a composite artist. After Mr. Kohberger was arrested, she did not recognize him from a photo,” Kohberger’s attorney Elisa Massoth wrote.

Because Mortensen is the only person alive to have seen the intruder that night, prosecutors instead believe her statements hold weight — she has relayed the same statement repeatedly, is believed to be credible and her descriptions are not confusing, they claim.

The “selfie” photo of Kohberger and his eyebrows makes his identity as the killer “more probable,” court records say.

“The State intends to introduce a photograph of Bryan Kohberger taken from his phone on November 13, 2022, only hours after the homicides at 10:31 a.m. … Whether or not Bryan Kohberger can be described as having “bushy eyebrows” is a factual determination to be decided by the jury,” Jennings wrote.

Text messages

The morning the students were killed, the two surviving roommates in the home were communicating back and forth via text message. Court records show the roommates had texted each other out of fear — one left her room and went downstairs to be with the other roommate, Bethany Funke, because she was scared. The police were called after neither of them heard from Kernodle, Chapin, Goncalves and Mogen, the prosecution says.

The defense disputes this narrative and claims it’s hearsay, according to court records.

“Neither of them left the house. Neither of them called friends, family or law enforcement for help. Instead, both have a substantial amount of activity beginning in earnest less than 4 hours after DM made her way to BF’s room. BF and DM communicate with friends and parents and DM is on social media,” Kohberger’s attorneys wrote in court filings, using initials to reference Mortensen and Funke.

The texts between the roommates read in part:

4:22:42 Mortensen to Goncalves: “Kaylee”

4:22:43 Mortensen to Goncalves: “What’s going on”

4:23:28 Funke to Mortensen: “Xana was wearing all black”

4:23:33 Mortensen to Funke: “I’m freaking out (right now)”

4:23:42 Mortensen to Funke: “No it’s like ski mask almost”

4:23:52 Mortensen to Funke: “Like he had soemtbinf over is for head and little nd mouth”

4:24:00 Mortensen to Funke: “Bethant I’m not kidding o am so freaked out”

4:24:07 Funke to Mortensen: “So am I”

4:24:11 Mortensen to Funke: “phone is going to die (expletive)”

4:24:14 Funke to Mortensen: “Come to my room”

4:24:22 Funke to Mortensen: “Run”

4:24:27 Funke to Mortensen: “Down here”

The pair then access social media accounts, call their family and try calling Kernodle, Chapin, Mogen and Goncalves again with no answer.

At 10:23 a.m., Mortensen texts Goncalves, “Pls answer,” “R u up” and “R u up??” with no response. More texts are sent between friends and roommates for the next few hours, court records say. The 911 call is made at 11:56 a.m. that day.

A Vandal alert warning students of a homicide at 1122 King Road came in two hours later.

Kohberger’s trial is set for August. He faces the death penalty if convicted.