Idaho
911 call and texts from surviving roommates in Idaho college murders released
Text messages and call records between the two roommates who were home and survived the quadruple slaying of four college students in Moscow, Idaho, were released March 6, revealing more about what happened on the night of Nov. 13, 2022.
The texts and calls show the surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, had reached out to the four victims: Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, though their texts and calls went unanswered, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
“No one is answering,” Mortensen texted Funke around 4:20 a.m. “I’m rlly confused rn.”
The roommates, identified only by their initials in the court documents, also described seeing someone in a “ski mask.”
“I’m not kidding am so freaked out,” Mortensen said, before she said her phone was about to die.
“So am I,” Funke replied. “Come to my room. Run. Down here.”
The texts and calls were released in a motion from prosecutors who argue that the messages are not hearsay and should be included as evidence in the trial of Bryan Kohberger, who has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
A judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf in 2023.
Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania about nearly seven weeks after the bodies of Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle and Chapin were found in an off-campus home near the University of Idaho in 2022.
A person identified only by their initials “H.J.” first found the “unresponsive body of Xana Kernodle,” and then told Mortensen and Funke to call 911, according to court documents.
“Something happened in our house. We don’t know what,” the 911 caller said, according to a transcript of the call.
The dispatcher asked for the caller to tell them exactly what was going on.
“One of the roommates who’s passed out and she was drunk last night and she’s not waking up,” the caller said. “Oh, and they saw some man in their house last night.”
Mortensen testified before a grand jury that she heard noises and saw an unknown male in the residence, according to the motion.
Mortensen also texted Goncalves and Mogen around 10:23 a.m., asking them if they were awake and for Goncalves to “pls answer,” according to the motion.
Officials have said the 911 call was placed around 11:58 a.m., and that the killings took place around 4 a.m.
Goncalves’ family reacted to the release of the motions in a Facebook post on March 7.
“Reading some of the transcripts/documents that have recently been released, has been exceptionally hard. We need this to be over,” the Goncalves family said.
Kohberger is being held without bond in jail in Ada County, Idaho with a trial date has been set for Aug. 11, 2025.
The trial venue, which was initially in Latah County, moved to Ada County after the Idaho Supreme Court grated the defense’s request for the trial to be moved to Boise, Idaho, over arguments that Kohberger may not be able to get a fair trial where the slayings occurred.
Idaho
Large police presence near Taco Bell in Blackfoot – East Idaho News
BLACKFOOT — A large contingent of Blackfoot Police officers has cordoned off an area near the Taco Bell on Parkway Drive in Blackfoot.
Police responded around 5 p.m., according to multiple witnesses who contacted EastIdahoNews.com.
EastIdahoNews.com has reached out to Blackfoot Police for details.
We will update this story as we learn more.
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Idaho
Idaho angler reels in record 43.25-inch lake trout at Payette Lake
MISSOULA, Mont. — An Idaho Falls angler is back in the Idaho record books after landing a record-setting lake trout at Payette Lake.
Idaho Fish and Game said Dylan Smith caught and released a 43.25-inch lake trout on May 2, setting a new state catch-and-release record for the species. The fish surpassed the previous record of 42 inches.
The catch marks Smith’s second appearance in Idaho’s record books. He previously held the state catch-and-release lake trout record after landing a trophy fish in 2018 before that mark was later broken.
According to Fish and Game, Payette Lake has become one of Idaho’s premier lake trout fisheries thanks to years of management efforts aimed at improving both lake trout and kokanee populations.
Idaho
Boise’s North End finds new way to mark Pride after Idaho law halts flag display
Pride Month looks different this June along Boise’s Harrison Boulevard, where a long-standing tradition of hanging Pride flags on lamp posts has been put on hold after a new state law restricted which flags can be flown on government property.
For several years, Pride flags lined lamp posts along Harrison Boulevard in Boise’s North End neighborhood. But Idaho House Bill 561, signed by Gov. Brad Little in March, restricts which flags can be flown on government property, including the City of Boise’s Harrison lamp posts.
In response, a group of neighbors formed Pride North End and launched a distribution effort to help residents show support from their own front yards. The group has been making Pride flags and yard signs available to people who want to display them at home.
“I thought that I would…be a personal example of ‘yes, this is what I do.’ This is what I believe in,” said Edna Schochat, a North End resident.
Pride North End has already distributed more than 900-yard signs and 250 flags. The group’s original donation goal was around $2,000 to order 100 flags and 200 yard signs, but it has exceeded that GoFundMe goal, reaching $10,000 worth of donations.
The group plans to continue holding public flag and sign distributions through the end of the month.
“We cannot just say something without doing something that proves that we mean what we say,” Schochat said.
Pride North End said any leftover funds after materials are distributed will go to local LGBTQ+ nonprofits. A link to the group’s GoFundMe can be found here.
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