The University of Idaho Student Murders

In the early hours of 13 November 2022, four University of Idaho students — Madison Mogen (21), Kaylee Goncalves (21), Xana Kernodle (20), and Kernodle's boyfriend Ethan Chapin (20) — were stabbed to death in an off-campus rental house in Moscow, Idaho. Two roommates in the house at the time survived uninjured. The killings went unsolved for seven weeks and drew national attention as investigators withheld most details of the case.

Investigators recovered a knife sheath beneath one of the victims containing a single source of male DNA. Using investigative genetic genealogy — cross-referencing the DNA against public ancestry databases to build a family tree — combined with cellphone location data and sightings of a white Hyundai Elantra near the scene, police identified Bryan Kohberger, a criminology PhD student at nearby Washington State University, as a suspect. He was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania on 30 December 2022.

Kohberger initially maintained his innocence and the case was heading toward a death-penalty trial before he accepted a plea deal. On 2 July 2025 he pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, waiving his right to appeal in exchange for prosecutors not seeking execution. On 23 July 2025 a judge sentenced him to four consecutive life terms without parole plus ten years for burglary. On 27 July 2026, Kohberger — representing himself — filed a handwritten petition seeking to withdraw that guilty plea, claiming his former attorneys misled him about prison conditions and failed to disclose evidence. Legal analysts note Idaho's post-conviction standard is a very high bar to clear, particularly given his sworn statements at the plea hearing. The petition is still pending.