The chilling murders of University of Idaho students Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin continue to generate national attention — but there are still unanswered questions about what really happened when Bryan Kohberger entered the 1122 King Road home in November 2022.

Netflix’s three-part documentary, The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, offers an inside look at the case while honoring the late students. Director Skye Borgman and executive producer Joe Berlinger assembled interviews with the victims’ families and friends, along with members of law enforcement, to share never-before-revealed details about the case — which is still making headlines.

Kohberger was arrested more than six weeks after breaking into the Moscow, Ida., home and stabbing them to death. He initially stood silent at his arraignment, prompting the judge to enter not-guilty pleas on his behalf. Law enforcement and the victims’ families were prepared for a lengthy trial, which was scheduled to begin in August 2025. Several family members noted in the documentary that they hoped Kohberger would get the death penalty.

“What I want, is I want for him to die,” Kaylee’s mother, Kristi Goncalves, says in the documentary. “I will not say his name. Never ever. Nope, absolutely not. Justice would only be if the kids came back and that doesn’t work that way. The kids are gone, they are never coming back, but I want him to die.”

A little over one month before the court proceedings were set to begin, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all four murders and a burglary charge as part of a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and an additional 10 years for burglary.

On July 27, Kohberger filed a petition seeking to challenge his conviction, telling The New York Times that he had an “absolute claim of innocence” and wanted to stand trial.

“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said in a statement.

Read on for the biggest revelations from Netflix’s The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare.

Moscow police officers were speechless upon finding the crime scene

Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Xana Kernodle.

Courtesy of Chapin Family; Maddie Mogen/Instagram; Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram; Xana Kernodle/Instagram

The Moscow Police Department was dispatched to 1122 King Road following a 911 call placed at 11:56 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, reporting an unconscious person at the residence. Redacted bodycam footage shown in Netflix’s documentary reveals the officers’ reactions after discovering the bodies of Maddie, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan.

“F—!” the responding officer can be heard saying upon entering the first room, where Ethan and Xana were found. “I think we have a homicide. Two college-aged people appearing both to be deceased. Lots of blood.”

When a second officer enters the home, the first appears at a loss for words as he describes the “fatalities.” Bodycam footage also shows the victims’ friend Hunter Johnson being escorted out of the home after speaking with police. Johnson was previously revealed to have discovered Ethan and Xana.

“F—,” the officers can be heard whispering upon finding Kaylee and Maddie, with one adding, “Oh man.”

They then call for “everybody” at the police department, reporting that four deceased students had been found in the house.

Xana and Ethan nearly left campus the day before the murders

Xana’s dad, Jeff Kernodle, reveals in the documentary that he tried to get Xana and Ethan to attend a Washington State University football game the day before the murders. He was visiting his other daughter, Jazzmin Kernodle, who was a student at WSU at the time.

Jazzmin says that Xana and Ethan “really wanted” to attend the University of Idaho football game that weekend. Jeff recalls “pushing” for them to make the trip to WSU.

“They didn’t make it over there that night,” he says.

Jeff previously stated that he nearly drove to visit Xana in Idaho after the WSU game but had consumed too much alcohol to drive. “I could’ve gone, and things would’ve been different,” he says. “Maybe they would’ve had a chance, some of them.”

“Shock” contributed to the roommates’ eight-hour delay in calling police

(Left to right) Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Bethany Funke.

Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram

Xana, Maddie and Kaylee lived in the 1122 King Road house with students Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke. Dylan and Bethany were both home the night of the murders but survived. It has been widely reported that Dylan heard noises and saw a masked man in the house the night that night. Bodycam footage of an officer discussing her account, which became public late last year, was shown in the documentary.

“One girl was in there. Did you hear that part of it?” one of the responding officers says in the bodycam footage. “There was another girl that was in here, saw a guy walk in with a ski mask on and locked herself in her room. Heard all of this s— going on.”

A second officer responded, “And she didn’t call last night? … This girl’s lucky to be alive.”

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As the Idaho murders continue to make headlines, questions remain about why Dylan didn’t call for help immediately after seeing a masked man in the house. Moscow Chief of Police Anthony Dahlinger says in the documentary that there were “so many reasons” why Dylan and Bethany waited eight hours to call the police.

“People are in shock, it’s traumatic,” he explains. “I can’t imagine being of that age and being able to comprehend that this horrific thing just occurred.” Elsewhere in the documentary, he discusses how “shock and trauma” can “impair judgement” and “thought processes.”

Kaylee’s mother, Kristi, reveals that she called the coroner and asked whether any of the victims could have survived if someone had called 911 earlier. The answer was no.

The parents didn’t find out how their children died until two days later

Kaylee’s older sister, Alivea Goncalves, says in the documentary that the victims’ “manner of death” wasn’t shared with the family until roughly 48 hours after the murders. Tami Buttz, Kaylee’s aunt, recalls getting a call from Kristi revealing that “they were all stabbed to death.”

Kristi was told by the coroner’s office that “a very large knife with a seven-inch blade was used.” Prosecutors later revealed that Kohberger had ordered a KA-BAR knife and sheath from Amazon, but the murder weapon has never been recovered.

Kohberger was “very good at hiding his online activity”

Bryan Kohberger’s booking photo after being arrested on Dec. 30, 2022.

Monroe County Correctional Facility via Getty

Ed Jacobson, who was the FBI’s acting supervisor for the Coeur d’Alene and Lewiston offices during the Moscow investigation, says in the documentary that a search of Kohberger’s digital footprint revealed that he was “very good at hiding his online activity.”

He adds, “What we found was that Bryan was very careful. He would clear the phone memory and wipe the phone. Very little information was actually left on his digital devices.”

Prosecutors later brought in digital forensic experts Heather and Jared Barnhart, who helped them prepare the case for trial. During their deep dive into Kohberger’s devices and online activity, they discovered he had just 18 total personal contacts saved on his phone.

“It is so abnormal to have someone that communicates with that few people in life,” Heather says.

The pair did, however, discover searches related to serial killers, federal wiretapping, and “psychopaths paranoia” in Kohberger’s online history.

“The lack of data on his device helped us prove intention,” Heather said. “He wanted to minimize his digital footprint. He did not want to be detected. He wanted to remain completely anonymous.”

The Moscow police chief says the public will ‘never know’ Kohberger’s motive

Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025, in Boise.

Kyle Green-Pool/Getty

Chief Dahlinger said that the families were “very upset” over Kohberger’s plea deal because some of them were looking for the death penalty — and potentially some answers.

“Ultimately, we never have been able to answer that question that everyone wants answered, [which] is why?” he says. “We don’t know why. We don’t know why these four. We don’t know why this house. I don’t think we’ll ever know.”

Dahlinger sought professional help after the investigation

As a law enforcement officer, Chief Dahlinger admitted it was “difficult” for him to acknowledge that he needed help, but the case took a profound personal toll on him.

“This case has been a part of, literally, my daily life for the last, almost, three years,” he says in the documentary. “It affected me very strongly, personally, emotionally. Cost me a lot of trauma and I didn’t realize how bad it was.”

Where can I watch The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare?

All three parts of The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare are currently available to stream on Netflix.