The biggest bombshells from Netflix's Idaho Murders doc
The biggest bombshells from Netflix's "The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare" center on what surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen heard the night of the attacks, Bryan Kohberger's alleged online questionnaire for criminals, phone data placing him near the victims' house at odd hours, and families who say his guilty plea still never answered why.
Key Takeaways
- Netflix's three-part docuseries revisits the November 2022 stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.
- Mortensen recalled hearing an unrecognized voice say, in a "weird" tone, that victims would be OK and he would "help."
- Kohberger pleaded guilty on July 2, 2025, and received four consecutive life terms; on July 26, 2026, he claimed innocence and sought to withdraw the plea — a twist not covered in the series.
- Digital forensics experts said his devices showed an "abnormal" lack of data, including only 18 phone contacts and heavy incognito browsing.
- Victims' families told the series they felt he "got off" too easy without explaining why he chose those students.
What are the biggest bombshells from the Netflix series?
According to Page Six, the docuseries highlights how friends first learned of the crime through a campus-wide "homicide" text alert — before police told those waiting outside the house what had happened.
Dean of Students Blaine Eckles said he was "flabbergasted" when told four people, possibly students, were dead. Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger said the university did not warn police before releasing the alert.
Another major reveal: Alivea Goncalves described a questionnaire Kohberger allegedly posted on Reddit asking incarcerated people why they chose targets, how they approached victims, and what they felt afterward — questions she said almost seemed like "preparation for the perfect crime."
What did a surviving roommate hear that night?
Mortensen, who was home during the murders, said she heard a scream and a roommate say, "Someone's here," then locked her door. She told police she heard a voice she did not recognize say, "You're going to be OK. I'm gonna help," delivered "in a weird way."
The killings occurred between about 4:00 and 4:25 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022; 911 was not called until near noon. Kristi Goncalves said a coroner told her earlier help would not have saved the victims. Friend Kacy Johnston said she did not blame the survivors for the delayed call, and Dahlinger cited shock and trauma as reasons people freeze.
What did investigators and classmates reveal about Kohberger?
Classmate Lilly Karaban said Kohberger "adored" a "Minds of a Serial Killer" course, asked constant questions, and rarely socialized. Dahlinger said WSU interviews found he was "not particularly well liked," with complaints that he was disrespectful to female instructors and made female students uncomfortable.
Phone records placed his device near the victims' house at "odd hours" before the murders, then showed he "never came back to Moscow as he did prior." Forensics experts Heather and Jared Barnhart called his sparse device data "abnormal," noting searches for "federal wiretapping" and "serial killers" before his Dec. 30, 2022 arrest, plus a thumbs-up selfie the morning after the killings.
Parents also objected to the university demolishing the house in December 2023, and relatives said the plea deal spared the death penalty without answering "why." For more entertainment and true-crime coverage, see our Celebrity Breaking News hub.