The heartbroken parents of one of the University of Idaho students killed in the quadruple stabbing at an off-campus house last year claim their daughter tried to escape her attacker, but was “trapped” by the suspect and the layout of the bedroom where she died.
“There’s evidence to show that she awakened and tried to get out of that situation, [but] she was assaulted and stabbed,” Steve Goncalves told CBS News’ Peter Van Sant of his daughter, Kaylee Goncalves.
Kaylee, 21, was killed alongside her best friend, Madison “Maddie” Mogen, 21, housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and Xana’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, in the early hours of November 13, 2022, the New York Post reports.
Kaylee and Maddie, who had known each other since childhood, were found dead beside each other in the latter’s bed, Kaylee’s mother, Kristi Goncalves, said in a preview of the upcoming 48 Hours special, The Night of the Idaho Murders.
Maddie was likely the killer’s first victim, Mr Goncalves explained, citing the coroner’s report.
When the assailant turned on Kaylee, she was stuck between the body of her friend and the wall, Ms Goncalves added.
“The bed was up against the wall. The headboard was touching the wall and the left side of the bed was touching the wall. And we believe that Maddie was on the outside and Kaylee was on the inside,” the grieving mother explained.
“The way the bed was set up …[Kaylee] was trapped.”
The killer may have been surprised to find the two friends in the same bed, Ms Goncalves said.
“I do think that his plan went awry. I do think that, you know, he intended to kill one and killed four,” she said.
Xana’s father, Jeffrey Kernodle, told Van Sant that he also believed reports that his daughter fought back against her killer.
“I believe so … it’s upsetting to think about,” he said.
“I don’t know why [the murders] happened,” Xana’s sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, added.
“I wish we knew. They were, all four of them were, just such great people and made such an impact on the lives around them.”
While the Kernodle family has remained somewhat tight-lipped, the Goncalveses – whose older daughter, Alivea, was also interviewed for the CBS special – have been vocal about the investigation since the day news of the killings broke.
“We’re not going to just sit back and cross our fingers and pray we’re going to get justice,” Mr Goncalves, who frequently lashed out at law enforcement in the weeks before the prime suspect, Bryan Kohberger, was finally arrested on December 30, said.
In their interview with Van Sant, both Mr and Mrs Goncalves said they agree with the prosecution’s theory that Kohberger stalked the friends’ rental home near the Moscow campus prior to the stabbings.
“He had to know when people were coming, people going,” Mr Goncalves said of the 28-year-old, whose phone records revealed that he made several trips to the neighbourhood near the house in the months before the murders.
“I think he at least had opened that door [at the house], went in, tested the waters, looked around,” Ms Goncalves agreed.
In fact, the family claims to have found Kohberger’s Instagram account, which showed that he followed both Kaylee and Maddie.
“From our investigation of the account, it appeared to be the real Bryan Kohberger account,” Ms Goncalves alleged.
Kohberger’s defence team, however, has repeatedly shot down claims that the aspiring criminologist knew the victims.
“There is no connection between Mr Kohberger and the victims,” investigative journalist Howard Blum told Van Sant.
“The prosecution would like … everyone to believe that it’s an open-and-shut case … but I think the facts they have make the case perhaps more open, than open-and-shut.”
If the Latah County prosecutors cannot establish a connection between Kohberger and his alleged victims, Blum added, “then there is no motive. And if there’s no motive, then it becomes very hard to make the case that he is the killer”.
The alleged cellphone evidence, Blum explained, is compelling but “it’s not putting someone at someone’s doorstep, it’s putting … someone in someone’s neighbourhood. And there’s a large difference”.
“And if you can convince a jury of this, if you can raise doubts about the validity, and the accuracy of the cellphone data, I think you’re halfway there to getting the case against Kohberger, either a hung jury – or a not-guilty verdict,” he said.
While most of the high-profile cases are under a gag order, even some legal experts have cast doubts upon what was once considered a potentially open-and-shut case.
“I don’t think there’s any slam dunk,” University of South Florida professor of criminology and former FBI special agent, Bryanna Fox, told Van Sant.
The defence is already challenging some points of the case against Kohberger, including arguing that the alleged footage of his Hyundai Elantra near the scene of the murder may have been misidentified, Professor Fox said.
“It seems that the defence is alleging there was a rush to Judgement, law enforcement made an arrest too fast, and they focused on their client too quickly,” she explained.
Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home in late December, almost two months after the quadruple murder.
He is in custody in Latah County on four counts of first-degree murder and one of felony burglary. Last month, he waived his right to a speedy trial as the defence and prosecution scramble to prepare for arguments.
Despite the delay in proceedings, the Goncalveses said they are convinced that Kohberger is guilty.
“He’s going to feel all of us just staring at the back of his head,” Ms Goncalves said of the family’s plan to attend the trial.
“And he knows … what he did to our daughter.”
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission