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Transcript
00:00Welcome to TDS, The Dark Stories.
00:03This is where we don't just tell true crime stories.
00:06We uncover the fear, the grief, and the chilling questions left in their wake.
00:11Today's story isn't from decades ago.
00:14It's not buried in old files.
00:17It happened in the quiet town of Moscow, Idaho.
00:20Just in 2022, four vibrant young lives were taken,
00:25in their own home, while the world slept.
00:28Let's dive into the details and listen closely.
00:32It was a cold November morning, November 13th, 2022.
00:38Students at the University of Idaho were wrapping up their weekend.
00:42Finals loomed, Thanksgiving was near,
00:45but on King Road, inside a modest, off-campus house,
00:49horror was unfolding.
00:51Four students, Kayleigh Goncarves, Madison Mogan, Zahna Canodal,
00:55and Ethan Chapin were murdered in the sleigh hours of the morning.
01:00They were asleep, peaceful, until they weren't.
01:03The attacker used a fixed blade knife.
01:06No one heard a thing, except, perhaps, one of the surviving roommates,
01:10who later said she saw a masked figure pass silently through the house.
01:15A figure with bushy eyebrows, walking calmly toward the back door.
01:20The killer left behind no obvious trace,
01:24except for one small but crucial mistake.
01:28A tan leather knife sheath, found next to Madison's bed.
01:32Inside that sheath.
01:34DNA.
01:36As investigators combed through hours of surveillance,
01:39cell tower data, and tip-line calls,
01:42one thing kept showing up.
01:43A white Hyundai Elantra.
01:46Seen circling the area near the crime scene.
01:49That vehicle?
01:51It belonged to Brian Koberger.
01:53He was no stranger to crime,
01:55at least not academically.
01:57A PhD criminology student
01:59at nearby Washington State University,
02:02just eight miles from the victim's home.
02:05He studied killers.
02:07Now he was becoming one.
02:09Phone data placed him near the house
02:11twelve times in the weeks leading up to the murders,
02:14always late at night or early in the morning.
02:17And on the day of the crime,
02:19his phone went dark,
02:20completely off the network,
02:22during the time of the murders.
02:24But perhaps the most chilling part.
02:27After the murders,
02:28Koberger returned to the crime scene,
02:31around 9am.
02:33Almost like he couldn't help himself.
02:35Investigators retrieved DNA from the trash
02:37at his family's home in Pennsylvania.
02:39It matched the DNA on the knife sheath.
02:4399% match to Koberger's father.
02:46That was enough.
02:48On December 30th, 2022,
02:51Brian Koberger was arrested.
02:53He has pleaded not guilty.
02:55Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
02:57The trial is set for August 2025
03:00and will now be held in Boise.
03:03To this day, many questions remain.
03:05Why those victims?
03:07Was he stalking them?
03:08Did he know them?
03:10Was it a twisted fantasy fulfilled?
03:12Or is the story even darker than we realize?
03:17Okay, so today we're doing a deep dive
03:19into a case that I think
03:22is still very much on people's minds.
03:24Definitely.
03:25The Idaho student stabbings
03:26back in November 2022.
03:28It's a really heavy topic
03:30and there's just so much information out there.
03:33There really is.
03:34It was such a disturbing event.
03:36And yeah, trying to sort through everything
03:37can be, well, overwhelming.
03:40Right.
03:40So our aim today is to kind of focus things a bit.
03:43Look at the core details
03:44that have emerged from the investigation so far.
03:47Exactly.
03:47We want to hit the foundational stuff.
03:49We've pulled from a few places for this.
03:51Obviously, key parts of the Brett Payne affidavit.
03:53That's where investigators lay out their findings.
03:55Petrush will document that one.
03:56Yeah, and also some summaries
03:58like from Wikipedia, news reports,
04:00people, Fox 13, Seattle,
04:03Northeastern Global News had pieces.
04:06And even a Reddit thread we looked at
04:08where people were discussing,
04:09you know, potential defense strategies.
04:10So a real mix of sources.
04:13And the goal is to pull out the most,
04:15let's say, vital information.
04:17Yeah, exactly.
04:18The timeline of that night,
04:19the main evidence presented,
04:20and maybe some informed thoughts
04:22on where the defense might go with this.
04:24We're trying to get a clearer picture.
04:26Not necessarily every single tiny detail,
04:29but the stuff that really seems to matter
04:31as this moves forward.
04:33Okay, let's start with the timeline then.
04:34November 12th into the 13th, 2022.
04:37What investigators have pieced together?
04:39Right.
04:40So based on the affidavit and reports,
04:42you have Kaylee Goncaves and Madison Mogan.
04:45They were out on Saturday night, November 12th.
04:48At the Corner Club, right.
04:49Local bar.
04:50Yep.
04:50From about 10 p.m.
04:51until roughly 1.30 a.m.
04:54on Sunday the 13th.
04:55And then they hit the grub truck,
04:57the food truck.
04:57That's right.
04:57Around 1.41 a.m.
04:59There's actually video
05:00from the truck's Twitch stream
05:02showing them there.
05:03Wow.
05:03After that,
05:04the private party gave them a ride home.
05:06They got back to the King Road house
05:07around 1.56 a.m.
05:09Okay, and then Ethan Chapin
05:10and Zanacarnodal,
05:11they were out too.
05:12Yeah, they were at a party on campus,
05:14Sigma Chi fraternity.
05:15They got back to the house a bit earlier,
05:17around 1.45 a.m.
05:18So, the surviving roommates told police
05:21all four victims were home by 2.0 a.m.
05:24Correct.
05:25But the night wasn't over.
05:26There were those phone calls Kaylee made.
05:28Right.
05:28Between 2.26 and 2.52 a.m.,
05:31Kaylee made several calls to her ex-boyfriend.
05:34They went unanswered.
05:35And Madison Mogan did too,
05:36to the same person?
05:37Yes.
05:38Between 2.44 and 2.52 a.m.,
05:41also unanswered.
05:43Important to say, though,
05:44police looked into this.
05:45And cleared him, right.
05:46Yes.
05:46They determined he wasn't involved.
05:48Okay.
05:48Then later, around 4 a.m.,
05:51there's a DoorDash delivery.
05:52For Zanacarnodal, yeah.
05:53The driver confirmed this with investigators.
05:55And this is where things get really,
05:57really difficult,
05:57the timeline inside the house.
05:59Yeah.
06:00One of the surviving roommates,
06:02DM,
06:03she reported waking up around 4 a.m.
06:05What did she hear?
06:06Initially, she thought it was Kaylee
06:08playing with her dog.
06:10Kaylee and Madison's rooms were upstairs,
06:11on the third floor.
06:12Okay.
06:13But then, shortly after,
06:14DM said she heard someone
06:15who she thought was Kaylee say,
06:17there's someone here.
06:18But there's a detail about Zanacarnodal's phone,
06:20right?
06:21A forensic download showed Zanacarnodal
06:22was using TikTok around 4.12 a.m.
06:25So, it's possible she was the one who said that.
06:28We don't know for sure.
06:29Okay.
06:30So, DM hears this.
06:32Does she look?
06:33She looked at her bedroom door,
06:34didn't see anything the first time.
06:36Then she heard more.
06:37Yeah.
06:37She opened her door again later
06:38because she heard what sounded like crying
06:40from Zanacarnodal's room.
06:41Oh, man.
06:42And then she heard a male voice
06:43say something like,
06:44it's okay, I'm going to help you.
06:46And there was audio captured nearby, too.
06:48Yes, around 4.11 a.m.,
06:50a security camera at a neighbor's house,
06:52like, less than 50 feet away from Zanacarnodal's room.
06:55What did it pick up?
06:56It recorded distorted audio,
06:58sounds described as whimpering,
07:00a loud thud,
07:02and then a dog barking.
07:04Repeatedly.
07:04Okay, so DM opens her door a third time.
07:08And this time, she sees someone.
07:09This is a huge part of the affidavit.
07:11Absolutely.
07:13She described seeing a figure,
07:14dressed all in black,
07:15wearing a mask covering the mouth and nose.
07:17Any description.
07:18She said male, 5'10 or taller,
07:21not super muscular, but athletically built.
07:23And she specifically noted bushy eyebrows.
07:26And this person just walked past her.
07:28Walked past her, didn't engage,
07:30and then exited the house
07:31through the back sliding glass door.
07:33What did DM do then?
07:34She said she was in a frozen shock phase.
07:37Eventually, she locked herself in her room.
07:38And then, later that morning,
07:41the discovery.
07:42Yes.
07:43The four victims were found,
07:45stabbed to death,
07:47in their beds on the second and third floors.
07:49The 911 call, though,
07:50wasn't until much, much later.
07:51Not until 1158 AM,
07:54almost noon.
07:55It came from one of the surviving roommate's phones.
07:58The call reported in an unconscious person.
08:00When police got there,
08:01what did they find initially?
08:03They said the front door was open,
08:04no obvious signs of forced entry.
08:07Nothing seemed to be missing right away.
08:09And Kaylee's dog?
08:10The dog was found alive inside the house,
08:12unharmed.
08:13Just devastating.
08:13All four pronounced dead at noon.
08:15And investigators believe the killings
08:17happened in a really short window.
08:19Yeah, they estimate between 4.00 AM
08:20and 4.25 AM.
08:22Just a 25-minute time frame.
08:24Such a tight window.
08:25Okay, let's shift to the evidence.
08:27The key findings from the investigation
08:29laid out in that affidavit.
08:30What really stands out?
08:31Well, probably the most talked about piece
08:33is the knife sheath.
08:35Where was it found?
08:36On the bed,
08:37right next to Madison Mogan's body.
08:39It was tan leather.
08:40Any markings on it?
08:41Yeah, it had Khabar,
08:43USMC,
08:44and the Marine Corps Eagle,
08:46Globe,
08:46and Anchor logo.
08:47And the DNA.
08:49That's the critical part.
08:50They found a single source of male DNA
08:52on the button snap of that sheath.
08:55Investigators say it's the suspect's profile.
08:58That feels like a very direct piece
08:59of physical evidence.
09:00It certainly is.
09:01And alongside that,
09:02you have the video evidence.
09:04Investigators did a huge canvas
09:06of security footage in the area.
09:08And that led them to the white car.
09:09Exactly.
09:10A white Hyundai Elantra
09:11seen on video multiple times
09:13near the King Road house
09:14between roughly 3.29 AM
09:17and 4.2 AM that morning.
09:19Okay, so the white Elantra
09:20becomes a major focus.
09:22How did they connect that car
09:23to Brian Koberger?
09:25It took a couple of weeks,
09:26but on November 29th,
09:27a police officer
09:28at Washington State University,
09:30which is just over the border,
09:31in Pullman, Washington.
09:32Right, not far from Moscow.
09:34Ran a query for white Elantras
09:35registered at WSU.
09:38And it came back
09:39with a 2015
09:40white Elantra Pennsylvania plates
09:42registered to Brian Koberger
09:44at an address near campus.
09:45So they had a name
09:46and an address
09:47that they find the car.
09:48Yep.
09:49Same day,
09:50another WSU officer
09:51found that specific Elantra,
09:53matching plates and all,
09:54in the parking lot
09:55of Koberger's apartment building.
09:57And they found he'd been
09:58in Moscow before,
10:00in that car.
10:01Yeah, it turns out
10:01he'd actually been stopped
10:02by Moscow police twice
10:04earlier in 2022,
10:06August and October,
10:07driving that same white Elantra,
10:09same PA plates.
10:10And he gave his phone number
10:11during one of those stops.
10:12He did.
10:13That became important later.
10:14Okay, so they have a suspect,
10:15a car link to him.
10:16Mm-hmm.
10:17What about his movements
10:18that night,
10:18the cell phone data?
10:20Right, this is another
10:20really significant part
10:21of the affidavit.
10:22They got warrants
10:23for cell tower data
10:24near the King Roadhouse
10:25around the time of the murders.
10:26What did Koberger's
10:27phone records show?
10:28His phone,
10:29the one linked to that
10:29number he gave police.
10:31Yeah.
10:31It was using cell towers
10:32near his apartment
10:33in Pullman
10:34around 2.42 a.m.
10:36on November 13th.
10:37Then the phone's activity
10:39showed it moving
10:39sort of southeast,
10:41then south through Pullman.
10:43But then at about 2.47 a.m.,
10:45it just stops reporting
10:46to the network.
10:47Stops completely.
10:48For how long?
10:49It doesn't ping a tower again
10:50until almost two hours later,
10:52around 4.48 a.m.
10:54And where was it then?
10:55It was connecting
10:56to tower south of Moscow
10:57down near a place
10:58called Blaine, Idaho.
11:00So there's a gap
11:00in the data
11:01right around the time
11:02investigators think
11:03the murders happened.
11:04Exactly.
11:05The affidavit suggests
11:06this is consistent
11:07with the phone
11:08either being turned off,
11:10put in airplane mode,
11:11or maybe being in an area
11:13with absolutely no service
11:14right then.
11:15Okay, and after it came back
11:16online around 4.48 a.m.
11:18Between about 4.50
11:20and 5.26 a.m.,
11:21the phone's location data
11:23is consistent
11:23with travel south
11:24down Highway 95
11:25towards Genesee, Idaho,
11:27and then heading west
11:28back towards Pullman.
11:30So the phone appears
11:30to leave the area
11:31after the estimated
11:32time of the murders.
11:33That's what the data
11:34suggests, yes.
11:35Did they find evidence
11:36his phone had been
11:37near the victim's house
11:38before that night?
11:39They did.
11:40Investigators found
11:41his phone had connected
11:42to cell towers,
11:43providing service
11:44to the King Road area
11:45at least 12 times
11:47between June 2022
11:49and the night
11:50of the murders.
11:5012 times, wow.
11:52Yeah.
11:53They also noted
11:53it briefly connected
11:54to a Moscow tower
11:55the day after the murders,
11:57November 14th.
11:58But they don't think
11:59the phone was actually
12:00in Moscow that day.
12:01And it hasn't connected
12:02to any Moscow towers
12:03since then.
12:04So the investigator's
12:05conclusion in the affidavit
12:07is pretty direct
12:08about this phone activity.
12:09Yes.
12:10They state clearly
12:10that they believe
12:11his phone activity
12:12during those early
12:13morning hours,
12:14specifically the gap
12:15when it wasn't reporting,
12:17is consistent with him
12:18attempting to conceal
12:19his location
12:20during the homicides.
12:21Okay.
12:22That's a lot of detail
12:23from the prosecution
12:23side, essentially.
12:24Right.
12:25Let's switch gears.
12:26The defense.
12:27What might their strategy
12:28look like?
12:28We saw that Reddit discussion.
12:30Yeah.
12:30What kind of ideas
12:31were floating around?
12:31Well, common theme
12:32was the idea
12:33of tunnel vision.
12:34Meaning?
12:35Arguing that police
12:36maybe zeroed in
12:37on Koberger too quickly,
12:39potentially missing
12:39other leads or suspects.
12:41You know,
12:41they follow up on everything.
12:43That makes sense
12:43as a potential
12:44defense angle.
12:45What else?
12:46His reported OCD
12:47came up.
12:49Some speculated
12:49the defense
12:50might try to use that
12:51to explain
12:52certain behaviors,
12:53like maybe
12:54the extensive
12:55driving patterns
12:56shown by the cell data.
12:57Could it be related
12:58to compulsive behavior
12:59rather than stalking
13:01or planning?
13:02Hmm.
13:02Interesting.
13:03What about
13:04the physical evidence?
13:05The sheath?
13:06Oh, yeah.
13:07Definitely expect them
13:08to challenge
13:08the DNA evidence.
13:09How strong
13:10is the match,
13:11really?
13:11Is touch DNA
13:12reliable enough
13:14on its own?
13:15Could it have gotten there
13:15some other way?
13:16Secondary transfer?
13:17Was the chain of custody
13:18perfect?
13:19So questioning
13:19the link between the DNA
13:21and him actually being
13:22the perpetrator?
13:23And also things like
13:24the footprints found
13:25at the scene reports
13:25said they were from
13:26common shoes,
13:27like vans.
13:28Not exactly unique.
13:29And the crime scene itself.
13:31Potential contamination
13:32is almost always raised
13:33in cases like this.
13:34Was the scene
13:35secured properly?
13:36Could evidence
13:37have been compromised?
13:38House being known
13:38as a party house
13:39was mentioned too,
13:40right?
13:40Yeah, the idea
13:41that it wasn't
13:42exactly Fort Knox.
13:44Lots of people
13:44might have come
13:45and gone over time.
13:46Could someone else
13:47have had access
13:47or a reason
13:48to be there?
13:49And the car?
13:51The Elantra?
13:52There was some
13:52initial confusion
13:53in early reports
13:54about the exact model year.
13:55The defense might try
13:56to exploit any
13:57inconsistencies there,
13:59suggesting maybe
13:59the car scene
14:00wasn't definitively his.
14:02Okay, and the cell phone data.
14:04How could they
14:04counter that?
14:05They'll likely argue
14:06it's not precise GPS.
14:07Yes, cell tower data
14:09gives you a general area,
14:10not an exact pinpoint,
14:11and they'll emphasize
14:13that gap.
14:14The phone being off
14:15or in airplane mode
14:16means you don't know
14:17while it was.
14:18It doesn't prove
14:19he was at the house.
14:20So trying to create doubt
14:21about what the data
14:22actually shows.
14:23Right, and interestingly,
14:25some people in that discussion
14:26brought up the surviving roommates.
14:28So.
14:28Just questioning the timeline,
14:30the delay in calling 911,
14:32not necessarily accusing them,
14:33but maybe using it
14:34to muddy the waters
14:35or suggest things
14:36aren't as clear-cut
14:37as the prosecution presents.
14:39It sounds like
14:39the overall strategy
14:40might be about
14:41chipping away
14:41at the prosecution's narrative.
14:43Yeah, pretty much.
14:44Frame the evidence differently,
14:46highlight inconsistencies,
14:48introduce alternative possibilities,
14:50anything to create
14:52that reasonable doubt
14:52for the jury.
14:53Makes sense.
14:53Okay, let's just quickly
14:55cover the legal side.
14:56Koberger was arrested
14:57way over in Pennsylvania,
14:59end of December 2022.
15:01That's right, December 30th.
15:02He was charged
15:03with four counts
15:04of first-degree murder
15:05plus one count
15:06of felony burglary.
15:08And the prosecution
15:08is seeking the death penalty.
15:10They are.
15:11They've made that clear.
15:12There was a challenge
15:12to that from the defense,
15:14wasn't there?
15:14Based on autism.
15:16Yes, his lawyers argued
15:17the death penalty
15:18would be cruel
15:19and unusual punishment
15:20for someone
15:21with autism spectrum disorder.
15:23How did that turn out?
15:24The judge denied that request.
15:26In Idaho,
15:27ASD can be considered
15:28a mitigating factor
15:29at sentencing,
15:30but it doesn't automatically
15:31rule out the death penalty.
15:32And Idaho has that
15:33unusual situation
15:34with the insanity defense, right?
15:36It does.
15:36It's one of only four states
15:38without a traditional
15:38insanity defense.
15:40You can't plead not guilty
15:41by reason of insanity.
15:42So how does mental state
15:44play a role then?
15:45It's still relevant
15:45for two things.
15:47Competency to stand trial,
15:48basically.
15:49Does the defendant
15:50understand the charges
15:50and can they assist
15:51in their defense?
15:53Koberger was found competent.
15:55Okay.
15:55And the second thing?
15:56It can be used
15:57as a mitigating factor
15:58during sentencing
15:59if he's convicted.
16:00You know,
16:00arguing for a lesser sentence
16:02based on mental state.
16:03Got it.
16:04And the trial itself
16:05isn't happening in Moscow?
16:07No, they got to change
16:07a venue.
16:08It's scheduled to start
16:09August 11th, 2025
16:10down in Boise, Idaho.
16:13Judge Stephen Hippler
16:14is presiding.
16:15August 2025.
16:17Still a ways off.
16:18And the house itself,
16:19it's gone now.
16:21Yeah, that was kind
16:22of controversial,
16:23but the King Roadhouse
16:24was demolished
16:24back in December 2023.
16:26Okay.
16:27One last point,
16:27forensic genealogy.
16:29That played a role here.
16:30It was widely reported,
16:31yeah.
16:31That the DNA
16:32from the sheath
16:32was linked to Koberger
16:33using familial DNA.
16:35Specifically,
16:36DNA recovered from trash
16:38discarded by his father.
16:39And the match was strong.
16:40Reports said
16:41over 99% probability.
16:43It's a powerful technique.
16:45Though some experts
16:45questioned
16:46if it was absolutely
16:47needed here.
16:48Right.
16:49Some suggested
16:49that given the other evidence,
16:51like the car and cell data
16:52pointing towards him,
16:53maybe traditional investigation
16:55would have gotten there anyway.
16:56And its general usefulness
16:57in all homicides
16:58is still debated sometimes.
17:00And there was that detail
17:01about Koberger
17:02possibly knowing
17:03about trash privacy laws
17:05since he was studying criminology.
17:07Yeah.
17:08Reports mention
17:08he might have known
17:09discarded trash
17:10doesn't have privacy protections.
17:11And there were even allegations
17:12he tried to hide
17:13his family's trash
17:14in neighbors' bins
17:15before the arrest.
17:16Just adds another layer,
17:17doesn't it?
17:18It certainly does.
17:19Okay.
17:19So,
17:19wrapping this deep dive up,
17:21we've walked through
17:22that incredibly detailed timeline.
17:25We've looked at the key evidence
17:26from the affidavit,
17:28the sheath,
17:28the DNA,
17:29the car,
17:29the phone data.
17:30And we've considered
17:31how the defense
17:32might approach things
17:33based on some of the discussions
17:35out there,
17:36trying to counter that evidence.
17:37It really paints a picture
17:38of the prosecution
17:39building this case
17:40piece-by-piece timeline
17:42forensics movements.
17:43While the defense
17:44is likely gearing up
17:46to challenge
17:46every single piece,
17:48questioning its interpretation,
17:49its strength,
17:50looking for reasonable doubt.
17:52It really makes you think,
17:53doesn't it?
17:53Looking at all these details,
17:55the affidavit,
17:55the potential defense angles,
17:58what parts of this case
17:59really stick out to you
18:01or raise the biggest questions?
18:03Yeah.
18:03And what does it tell us
18:04about building these big cases,
18:05especially when you're relying
18:06so much on circumstantial stuff
18:08and complex forensic evidence
18:11like DNA and cell data?
18:13It's definitely a case
18:14to keep following
18:14as it moves towards
18:15that 2025 trial date.
18:18And important to remember,
18:19you know,
18:19we only see a fraction
18:20of the full picture right now.
18:22Absolutely.
18:23There's likely so much
18:24more information
18:24that will come out
18:25during the trial itself.
18:26We'll have to wait
18:27and see how it all unfolds.
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