Bryan Kohberger Victims Suffered Pain and Trauma, Autopsy Says

Nearly one year after Bryan Kohberger was sentenced in the University of Idaho killings, previously sealed autopsy reports for the four students have been unsealed, offering new details about the violence that took place inside the Moscow home. The reports had been expected to play a major role at trial. Prosecutors had planned to call Spokane County Chief Medical Examiner Veena Singh to describe the injuries and support their argument that the victims endured a high degree of pain and suffering before they died, but Kohberger instead accepted a plea deal before the case reached a jury.

The new records describe the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, all killed on November 13, 2022. Goncalves and Mogen were found in Mogen’s bedroom. According to the autopsy, Goncalves suffered the most extensive injuries, including 38 stab wounds to her scalp, face, neck, chest and upper extremities. The report also notes blunt force trauma and asphyxial injuries. Investigators found evidence she had been suffocated, and Singh wrote that an unidentified object had been placed across Goncalves’ mouth. Additional injuries included bleeding around the brain, a nasal fracture, patterned bruising on the lower face, a knocked-out tooth and tooth fragments in the mouth.

Mogen’s autopsy found 28 stab wounds, with 13 concentrated around the face and neck. She also had injuries to her scalp, face, neck, chest and upper extremities. Several wounds were deep enough to puncture her liver and lung, underscoring the severity of the attack.

Chapin was found in a bed, while Kernodle was discovered on the floor of her room. Chapin’s injuries were fewer than those of the two women upstairs, but his report still documented four wounds to the scalp and neck, one to the chest and 12 to the upper and lower body. One neck wound extended 7 inches inward. The autopsy also described blood caked on his neck and left ear, with dried blood smeared across his face, chest and arms.

Kernodle’s report showed similarly severe stab wounds, including punctures to the outer table of her skull and damage to her jugular vein, heart, lung and pulmonary blood vessels. Her autopsy is the only one to suggest that some injuries may have been defensive, indicating she may have tried to resist the attacker. Singh noted that wounds on Kernodle’s face could have been caused while she was fighting and/or holding or touching the knife or the hand wielding it.

The unsealed reports add medical detail to an already high-profile case that shocked the nation and brought a long legal battle to a close after Kohberger’s guilty plea.