Bryan Kohberger Victims Were Already Dead When Surviving Roommate Saw Him Leave, Victim’s Father Says

The four University of Idaho students killed in the 2022 Moscow massacre would not have survived even if a surviving roommate had called 911 immediately after seeing Bryan Kohberger leave the house, according to Kaylee Goncalves’ father.

Steve Goncalves discusses the painful question of whether anything could have been done to save the victims in the new Netflix documentary The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare.

 

The two surviving roommates waited approximately eight hours before authorities were called after one of them reported seeing a man, later identified as Kohberger, leaving the residence.

Both women have previously described being frightened and confused that morning. At the time, they did not realize that four of their roommates had been fatally attacked inside the home.

‘Could Somebody Have Been Saved?’

In the documentary, Steve Goncalves reflects on the moments surrounding the killings and the questions families have continued to ask since the tragedy.

“It’s hard because you go back and look at all these moments and you wish you could do something different,” he says.

Goncalves then addresses the possibility that an earlier emergency call could have changed the outcome.

“Could somebody have been saved? The answer was no,” he says.

His comments offer a painful perspective on one of the most frequently discussed aspects of the case: whether an immediate 911 call could have prevented any of the deaths.

According to previously unsealed prosecution documents, the four victims — Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — suffered more than 150 stab wounds combined during the Nov. 13, 2022 attack.

 

Goncalves and Mogen were discovered together in Mogen’s third-floor bedroom. Kernodle and Chapin were found in Kernodle’s room on the second floor, with Chapin in the bed and Kernodle on the floor.

Evidence described in the case indicated that Goncalves, Mogen and Chapin appeared to have been attacked while asleep, with no indication that they had gotten out of bed.

Kernodle, however, appeared to have fought back. She sustained more wounds than the other three victims.

The Surviving Roommates Did Not Know What Had Happened

The surviving roommates have faced considerable public scrutiny over the hours between seeing Kohberger and contacting authorities.

However, their accounts have emphasized that they did not understand that a mass killing had taken place inside the home.

One roommate reported seeing a man leaving the residence but did not initially recognize him as someone connected to a deadly attack.

The 911 call was ultimately made roughly eight hours later, when the situation inside the house became clear.

The case has since generated intense public interest, with questions surrounding the timeline, the surviving roommates and the actions of Kohberger before and after the killings.

Kohberger Previously Admitted the Murders

Kohberger ultimately pleaded guilty to killing all four students.

 

In July 2025, he appeared before a judge and formally entered guilty pleas to the murder charges, acknowledging responsibility for the deaths of Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin.

The plea brought an end to the possibility of a murder trial at that time.

Kohberger has since attempted to reverse that decision.

He is now seeking to have his guilty plea thrown out and to receive a trial on the murder charges, arguing that his legal representation was ineffective.

The latest legal effort means the case, which once appeared to have reached its final chapter, remains the subject of continuing court proceedings.

For the victims’ families, however, the central tragedy remains unchanged. Four young lives were lost inside a home where their surviving roommates were unaware of what had happened — and according to Steve Goncalves, even an earlier emergency call would not have been enough to save them.