Newly released court documents reveal text messages exchanged between the two surviving roommates in the Idaho student killings, showing their alarm over a masked man in their home hours before calling 911. The messages, unsealed Thursday, provide critical details about the timeline of the November 2022 attack, in which four University of Idaho students were brutally stabbed to death.
The texts, sent between Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, show Mortensen attempting to contact the victims shortly after 4 a.m., around the time prosecutors believe the murders occurred. "No one is answering," Mortensen wrote to Funke at 4:22 a.m. She followed with another message: "I'm really confused rn." Funke responded: "Ya dude wtf" and noted that Xana Kernodle was wearing all black that night.
Mortensen then described seeing a man in a ski mask inside the home, a chilling moment she had previously recounted in grand jury testimony. "No, it's like a ski mask almost," she texted. Funke replied: "Stfu" before Mortensen continued: "Like he had [something] over his forehead and little nd mouth. I'm not kidding [I] am so freaked out." Funke, sensing the urgency, urged her friend to leave her room: "Run."
Despite their fear, the surviving roommates did not immediately call 911. Instead, according to the court documents, Mortensen continued trying to reach her roommates later in the morning. At 10:23 a.m., she sent Goncalves a text: "Ru up??" When there was no response, a 911 call was finally made more than an hour later. The newly unsealed transcript of the call captures chaotic and fragmented responses from the surviving roommates and another unnamed friend.
They initially described Kernodle as unconscious, mentioning that she had been drinking the night before. They then struggled to give their address. The dispatcher ended the call when emergency responders arrived, without gathering a full account of the night's events.
Prosecutors argue that these text messages help establish the sequence of events leading up to the murders. However, Kohberger's defense team has pushed back, pointing to alleged inconsistencies in the surviving roommates' interviews with law enforcement. Kohberger, who was arrested nearly two months after the killings, has pleaded not guilty and faces the death penalty if convicted. His trial is scheduled to begin in August.
The prosecution's case largely hinges on DNA evidence, including a sample taken from a knife sheath found at the crime scene, which investigators say is a statistical match to Kohberger. Kohberger's attorneys have filed a motion to remove the death penalty, citing the overwhelming amount of discovery material they claim cannot be reviewed in time for trial. They argue that eliminating the death penalty would streamline the case and reduce the need for additional legal motions.
