An explosive new book claims Bryan Kohberger had a single goal the night he allegedly murdered four Idaho college students, and that his family suspected him before his arrest.
Kohberger, 29, was not on a random killing spree but was targeting only Madison Mogen when he entered the Moscow home in November 2022, according to journalist Howard Blum’s upcoming book: When the Night Comes Calling: A Requiem for the Idaho Student. Murders.
Blum said ABC News that officials believe Kohberger was after Mogen because he stopped by the rooms of two surviving roommates before beginning the killing spree that shocked the nation.
“If I was just killing, it would have been natural, instinctive, to go to one of those doors,” Blum said.
“Instead, he goes up this narrow staircase and turns right into Maddie’s room, and I think Maddie was his target.”
An explosive new book claims Bryan Kohberger had a single goal the night he allegedly murdered four Idaho college students.
Blum also writes that Kohberger’s relatives were concerned about his behavior before his arrest.
Kohberger’s father, Michael, was reportedly “nervous” when he picked up the alleged killer from school after the murders.
‘(Michael) has been reading the headlines: he knows that four students were murdered 12 miles from his son’s home. He knows he has a problem son,” Blum said.
When the Night Calls: A Requiem for the Idaho Student Murders will be released June 25
Blum claims that one of Kohberger’s two sisters approached Michael to express her suspicions about her brother, but the father ignored her.
“He can’t face it,” Blum told ABC News of the father’s reaction at the time.
Meanwhile, sources told both Blum and ABC News that the two surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were using their cell phones to communicate during and after the murders.
When the Night Calls: A Requiem for the Idaho Student Murders will be released on June 25.
As DailyMail.com previously reported, Mortensen, 21, allegedly called his friends and roommates during the early morning hours of Nov. 13 to calm them down.
‘Calm down, you’re making noise!’ she allegedly screamed around 4 a.m., in addition to “I’m trying to sleep!”
The college student then closed and locked her door.
After hearing more loud noises that night, Mortensen opened the door again and saw Kohberger, but believed he was a partygoer.
Kohberger, 29, was targeting only Madison Mogen when he entered the Moscow home in November 2022, according to journalist Howard Blum’s upcoming book.
Madison Mogen, 21, top left, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, bottom left, Ethan Chapin, 20, center, and Xana Kernodle, 20, right.
Blum also writes that Kohberger’s relatives were concerned about his behavior before his arrest.
Mortensen told authorities that she had seen a strange figure dressed in black walking past her toward the back exit of the house shortly after 4 a.m. on the night of the murders.
Authorities determined that the four students were killed sometime between 4 and 4:25 a.m. Police would not be called to the off-campus residence for another eight hours.
In December 2022, Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania at his parents’ home and charged with the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Both Mortensen and Bethany Funke, 21, were home at the time of the murders, but the killer left them unharmed.
Speculators in the shocking case wondered why eight hours passed between the time of the murders and the time police were called by the surviving roommates.
Kohberger’s father, Michael, was reportedly “nervous” when he picked up the alleged killer from school after the murders. Both appear in the photo during a traffic stop.
Mortensen told authorities she had seen a strange figure dressed in black walking past her toward the back exit of the house, pictured, shortly after 4 a.m. on the night of the murders.
A judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf at a hearing in May 2023, and for the past few months Kohberger’s defense attorneys and Latah County prosecutors have been arguing over evidence and other data collected throughout the investigation. .
So far, 2nd District Judge John Judge has not set a trial date, noting that the case is particularly complicated in part because prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if there is a conviction.
But that could change later this month. The judge scheduled a hearing for June 27 to discuss the timeline for the rest of the case, including trial dates and a possible sentencing.
Earlier this month, Judge said investigators working for Kohberger’s defense team would be added to a list of defense attorneys and experts who are allowed to review sealed DNA records that authorities used to narrow down the group of suspects. possible suspects.
The DNA was used for investigative genetic genealogy, in which material found at a crime scene is analyzed in public genealogical databases to find a suspect or their relatives.
Kohberger’s lawyers are also asking for a change of venue. The judge has not yet ruled on that request.