Police allegedly believe that Bryan Kohberger murdered Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen first before killing Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, News Nation reports.
The four University of Idaho students were found dead November 13 in an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, and authorities have charged Kohberger with their murders.
Citing information from what the news outlet described as multiple “sources with knowledge of the investigation,“ News Nation also said that Kernodle is believed to have fought back, possibly attempting to grab the knife repeatedly.
Kernodle’s fingers were reportedly severely wounded and had deep cuts, according to News Nation.
The sources also told News Nation that Chapin, Kernodle’s boyfriend, was attacked near the door of Kernodle’s room and that his neck was slashed.
Chapin may have stepped into the hallway, which is where Kohberger may have first initiated the attack, according to News Nation.
The new information appears to be inconsistent with earlier reporting in the case that all the victims had died in their beds.
But if the additional details from News Nation are accurate, they indicate that Kohberger initially made his way to the home’s third floor to attack Goncalves and Mogen first and then returned to the second floor to kill Chapin and Kernodle, who was reportedly killed last.
News Nation reported that the new details are likely to be revealed in court, but the information has not been independently corroborated.
In December, News Nation reported that Goncalves’ injuries were “significantly more brutal” than the injuries to the other victims. It is unclear how that revelation fits into the latest reporting.
Police arrested Kohberger in December at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, in part based on DNA evidence allegedly linking him to the murder scene. At the time of the slayings, he was a criminology graduate student at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, about 10 minutes from Moscow.
Authorities have not revealed whether they have identified a motive for the attack.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26.
Listen to a previous “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” episode on the case below:
[Feature Photo: Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves (left)Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle;/Instagram]
