'So Freaked Out': Inside Texts Sent by Friends of Idaho Victims as Horror of Murders Dawned on Them
In a surprise move, on Monday, June 30, Bryan Kohberger, 30, asked to plead guilty to the murders to avoid the death penalty
University of Idaho student Hunter Johnson, who found the bodies of Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, and girlfriend, Emily Alandt, are speaking out for the first time since the shocking 2022 murders in this week's issue of PEOPLEAfter a carefree Saturday night out in the lively college town of Moscow, Idaho, the residents of 1122 King Road returned to their off-campus rental home to debrief on the night.
University of Idaho seniors Kaylee Goncalves and Maddie Mogen, both 21, spent most of the night of Nov. 12, 2022, at The Corner Club, a popular hangout downtown, stopping afterward at a food truck before getting a ride home from a designated driver.
Juniors Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, both 20, hung out at his fraternity, Sigma Chi, with his triplet brother, Hunter Chapin, until about 2:15 a.m., when they walked across the street and back to Xana's house.
Housemate Dylan Mortensen could hear her friends talking through the walls of her room, which was next to the living room, according to a new book debuting July 14, The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy, by James Patterson and Vicky Ward.
Shortly after, everyone headed to their rooms when Dylan thought she heard someone say in a terror-tinged voice, 'There's someone here.'
Those three chilling words marked the start of a nightmare — the brutal stabbing of Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan in one of the most heinous crimes ever on a college campus.
Related: Best Friends of University of Idaho Murder Victims Speak Out: What We Saw (Exclusive)
New details about what happened inside that house are revealed in the explosive book, as well as in a new Prime Video docuseries premiering July 11, One Night in Idaho: The College Murders, and in PEOPLE's exclusive cover story this week.
Based on hundreds of interviews, the book goes in-depth into the lives of the promising young victims and what happened inside that house when an assailant crept in and left the mark of evil behind.
When Bethany heard someone say someone was in the house, she peeked out of her room, didn't see anything and went back to bed.Moments later, when she thought she heard someone crying, she cracked open the door and heard a man say, 'It's okay. I'm going to help you,' followed by a thud and then barking from Kaylee's dog, Murphy.
When Dylan opened the door again, she thought she saw a man in the hallway dressed in black and wearing a mask. She thought he was a firefighter because of the way he was dressed and because it looked like he was holding a firefighting tool in his hand.
Related: Frantic Texts Went Unanswered — Then Friends of the Idaho Murder Victims Found the Unthinkable: Inside a Night of Horror
At one point, he looked her straight in the eyes – but kept walking.
Panicked, she called Bethany Funke, the housemate whose room was on the ground floor, telling her what she saw, before trying the three other housemates, who didn't answer any of her calls or texts.
Bethany tried to make sense of the situation, texting Dylan that the figure she saw could have been Xana, who was wearing all black.
'No it's like a ski mask almost,' Dylan clarified. 'Like he had soemtbing (sic) over is for head (sic) and little nd (sic) mouth.'
'Bethant (sic) I'm not kidding o (sic) am so freaked out,' she wrote, with Bethany replying, 'So am I.'At Bethany's urging, Dylan ran down to her room, where the two huddled together in fear, not knowing what was going on in their house.
In Dec. 2022, Bryan Kohberger was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the quadruple homicides. With a not guilty plea entered on his behalf, his trial was set to begin in August.
In a surprise move, on Monday, June 30, the former graduate student, 30, asked to plead guilty to the murders to avoid the death penalty, according to a letter prosecutors sent to victims' family members, The New York Times reports.
Related: Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty to Murders of 4 Idaho College Students, Sparing Him Death Penalty
Under the proposed plea deal, if approved by the judge, he would be sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison.
The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy by James Patterson and Vicky Ward is on shelves July 14 and available now for preorder, wherever books are sold.
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