According to newly unsealed documents, Xana Kernodle fought for her life before being fatally stabbed by Bryan Kohberger.
Multiple reports filed by responding Moscow Police Department officers state that Kernodle had “defensive wounds” on her hands, including deep gashes between her fingers.
According to Officer Corbin Smith, Kaylee Goncalves’ face was “disfigured” by Kohberger, as noted in those reports.
According to reports, Kernodle and Goncalves were stabbed so many times that their surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen misidentified the two young women when officers arrived.
Sgt. Shaine Gunderson stated in his report that “it was obvious an intense struggle had occurred” between Xana and her murderer.
Following the struggle, Kohberger fled the scene, with Mortensen watching as he walked right past her and out the sliding glass door on the second floor of the University of Idaho students’ off-campus home.
What the police reports don’t mention is Kernodle’s fast food order, which could explain why Mortensen saw the killer leave the house with a package in his hands.
According to reports, Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, was likely killed while sleeping.
When officers arrived, they discovered his body laying in bed, partially covered by a blanket.
Kernodle, on the other hand, appears to have encountered Kohberger either during or shortly after he murdered Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen in a third-floor bedroom, at which point she fled and then fought.
Mortensen stated in her interview with Officer Mitch Nunes that she heard a person she identified as Goncalves scream that “somebody” was inside the house.
She then informed Officer Nunes that she heard someone run from the third floor to the second floor bedroom where Kernodle and Chapin were sleeping, followed by a “commotion.”
That person she heard running down the stairs was most likely Kernodle, who, according to Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson, would not have been Kohberger’s target that night if she hadn’t encountered him inside the house.
Mortensen stated that the sounds of a struggle eventually subsided, and she heard an unfamiliar man’s voice say, “You’re going to be fine. I’m going to help you.
She waited a few more minutes before opening her door, where she saw Kohberger, whom she had initially described to Officer Nunes as “six-feet tall, slim build, with a black ski mask.”
The documents released by the Moscow Police Department provide new information about the investigation into Kohberger and the murders of four University of Idaho students, for which he has been sentenced to four life sentences.
Mortensen discussed the horrors of that night and the consequences during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, just a few hours before the unsealed documents were released.
“I devised escape plans wherever I went. How will I get out if something happens? “What can I use to defend myself?” Mortensen stated in her statement, which she had to deliver while sitting in one of the prosecutor’s chairs due to her emotional state.
“All I can do is scream, because the emotional pain and the grief is too much to handle,” she said.
She later spoke about the man who had caused her fear and pain, addressing Kohberger, who sat just a few feet away.
“He’s a hollow vessel. Something less than human. “A body that lacks empathy or remorse,” Mortensen told the court.
She then went on to say, “He chose destruction and evil.” He feels nothing. He attempted to take everything from me.
Kohberger remained emotionless throughout the remarks made by friends and family, as well as when his sentence was handed down by Judge Steven Hippler, who did not mince words when speaking about the murderer.
“Even in pleading guilty, he has shown no signs of remorse or redemption. Nothing indicating even a recognition of understanding, let alone regret for the pain he has caused, so I will not attempt to speak about him further, other than to simply sentence him and permanently remove him from civilized society,” Hippler said.
He then sentenced Kohberger to four life terms in prison, plus a ten-year sentence for burglary. He also ordered him to pay fines and civil penalties totaling $270,000.
After everything was said and done, Kohberger stared blankly ahead and left the courtroom without speaking to his mother or sister.
