Two surviving roommates of the University of Idaho students killed in the 2022 quadruple homicide addressed the court during Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing hearing, delivering powerful victim impact statements that described the trauma and lasting impact of the attack.
Dylan Mortensen, who was present in the off-campus Moscow, Idaho, home at the time of the killings, appeared visibly distressed as she addressed the court.
Kohberger, 30, showed no visible reaction as Mortensen described him as “less than human” and “a hollow vessel.”
“I believe he is a body without empathy, without remorse,” Mortensen said through sobs. “He tried to take everything from me; my friends, my safety, their lives. He will stay here, empty, forgotten and powerless.”
Mortensen was asleep on the lower floor of the house on November 13, 2022, when Kohberger entered and fatally stabbed four students: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. A second surviving roommate, Bethany Funke, did not appear in court but issued a statement through a spokesperson describing the date of the murders as “the worst day” of her life and spoke of the profound personal impact of the events.
Families of the victims were also invited to speak during the hearing, which marks the final stage in the high-profile case. Kohberger, a former PhD criminology student at Washington State University, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He accepted a plea deal that will see him sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, avoiding the death penalty.
Opinions on the plea deal were divided among the victims’ families. Kim Cheeley, grandmother of Madison Mogen, told the court she supported the agreement. “It punishes the defendant, protects the public, and allows the families to grieve,” she said.
Cheeley recalled a personal memory of her granddaughter, sharing that Mogen was her first grandchild and had affectionately called her “Deedle.”
She described the deep grief she has experienced since the loss, including attending bereavement support groups and reading extensively about grief to cope.
“I have so many books on grief,” she said. “Sometimes it surprises me that the parents are still upright.”
Cheeley also acknowledged the pain felt by Kohberger’s own family, as well as others close to the victims, adding that the emotional toll of the murders has extended far beyond those who were killed, the Daily Mail reported.
The parents of Ethan Chapin, Stacy and Jim Chapin, chose not to attend the sentencing hearing.
The Goncalves family, meanwhile, has been vocal in its criticism of the plea deal and previously called for the death penalty, even suggesting the use of a firing squad if convicted.
Kohberger has not offered an explanation for the attack. The sentencing hearing marks what may be the final public proceedings in a case that drew national attention and left a lasting impact on the University of Idaho community.