We are sure you are all familiar as we basically do nothing but talk about this case, but as some background, Bryan Kohberger is currently awaiting trial for the November 2022 murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
Read our previous blogs for this case:
We have now learned that on the night of the murders, two additional roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke were at the home. Dylan originally told police that she was asleep in her first-floor bedroom and was awakened around 4 a.m. by what she thought sounded like Kaylee playing with her dog in one of the upstairs bedrooms on the third floor.
In the new court filing, phone records show Dylan tried calling the other four roommates – but got no response – around the time when security camera from a residence close to the home picked up at 4:17 a.m. distorted audio of voices, a whimper, followed by a loud thud, and a barking dog.
Dylan texted Kaylee: “Kaylee” and “What’s going on.”
Bethany answered Dylan’s texts, while they were both in their bedrooms, according to the filing.
The two sent the following text messages to one another around 4:22 a.m.:
DM to BF: “No one is answering.”
DM to BF: “I’m really confused rn.”
BF to DM: “Ya dude wtf”
BF to DM: “Xana was wearing all black”
DM to BF: “I’m freaking out rn”
Dylan told Bethany about seeing what looked like a man with a ski mask in the house. “No it’s like a ski mask almost”
BF to DM: “Stfu”
DM to BF: “Like he had [something] over is for head and little nd mouth”
DM to BF: “I’m not kidding [I] am so freaked out”
BF to DM: “So am I”
Bethany asked Dylan to go to her bedroom so they would be together: “Run”
The two went to sleep. When they woke up, Dylan tried again to reach Kaylee and Maddie starting at 10:23 a.m., asking them if they are awake: “Ru up??” “Pls answer,” she texted one of them.
You can read the transcript of the 911 call made by the roommates and additional friends here:
In the new filings, Bryan’s attorneys claim in the motion that he has autism spectrum disorder – or ASD – and executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.” This wording is from CNN.
Bryan apparently displays “extremely rigid thinking, perseverates on specific topics, processes information on a piece-meal basis, struggles to plan ahead” and “demonstrates little insight into his own behaviors and emotions,” the filing notes, citing a medical evaluation commissioned by his attorneys.
“Due to his ASD, Mr. Kohberger simply cannot comport himself in a manner that aligns with societal expectations of normalcy. This creates an unconscionable risk that he will be executed because of his disability rather than his culpability,” his attorneys said.
It’s unclear if – or when – Bryan was previously diagnosed with ASD, but the new filing cites an evaluation by a neuropsychologist, who found that he“continues to exhibit all the core diagnostic features of ASD currently, with significant impact on his daily life.”
The neuropsychologist, hired by his defense, wrote in her evaluation of Bryan that he displayed deficits in social-emotional reciprocity and “impulsive tendencies,” including “compulsions around hand-washing and other cleaning behaviors,” the filing says.
In the filing, attorneys for Bryan describe him as a “highly distractable” man with an “intense gaze” who “demonstrates little insight into his own behaviors and emotions,” citing the medical evaluation performed by Dr. Rachel Orr.
The evaluation stated that Bryan possessed strong verbal abilities, but that “his language was often overinclusive, disorganized, highly repetitive, and overly formal.”
Bryan apparently “subtly rocks his upper torso, especially while engaged in a cognitive task or listening to someone else,” and “exhibits atypical eye contact, including an intense gaze,” the neuropsychologist observed, according to the filing.
SOURCE LIST
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/06/us/idaho-student-killings-911-call-transcript/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/06/us/bryan-kohberger-autism-death-penalty/index.html
To my understanding this guy still basically stalked one of these women, followed them home and broke in with the intent to hurt/kill. This obviously proves intent, so coming up with this disorder crap still doesn’t make an excuse for anything!