Idaho
University of Idaho Murder Suspect Took Smiling Selfie Hours After Quadruple Homicide | Oxygen Official Site
The latest of many court filings related to Bryan Kohberger’s upcoming murder trial includes photo evidence prosecutors want the jury to see.
In the state’s response to a defense motion, filed with Ada County in Idaho on March 17, 2025, Latah County prosecutors pointed to eyewitness “D.M.” — identified in the media as Dylan Mortensen — who saw the “weird-looking ski-mask”-wearing killer in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. That was the time, prosecutors claim, Kohberger allegedly stabbed University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20, to death in the beds of their off-campus residence in Moscow.
Court documents, signed by Senior Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings, quoted from several of Mortensen’s interviews with law enforcement, during which the surviving roommate couldn’t quite describe the killer’s facial features except for his distinctive “bushy eyebrows.” Prosecutors stated their intention to introduce a selfie Kohberger took after the murders so the jury can decide whether the detail matched.
Bryan Kohberger took a selfie after the murders
Kohberger took a selfie from his phone on Nov. 13, 2022, at 10:31 a.m., mere hours after the quadruple homicide, according to prosecutors. It would have been around the same time roommates found the victims dead and placed a frantic call to 911.
The photo, obtained and reviewed by Oxygen.com, shows Kohberger with a close-lipped smile and giving a thumbs-up in a white button-down shirt. His hair is slicked back, and it appears he’s standing in front of a pink, tiled shower, wearing black audio devices in his ears.
In addition to the selfie, prosecutors also provided a copy of Kohberger’s driver’s license, issued September 2020 from his home state of Pennsylvania.
“Defendant argues that evidence of ‘bushy eyebrows’ is not relevant. That is not the case,” prosecutors stated. “D.M. is the only living person who saw the person responsible for the four homicides at 1122 Kind [sic] Road on November 13, 2022. Her description of this individual, including characteristics such as ‘bushy eyebrows,’ has the tendency to make a fact (i.e. the identity of the killer) more probable than it would be without the evidence.”
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The issue with “bushy eyebrows”
The defense, in their initial motion (which remains sealed), moved to strike the eyebrow-related testimony from the courtroom because “its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and confusion of the issues.”
In their response, prosecutors stated: “What is clear from the defendant’s filing is that the defendant doesn’t like this piece of the state’s evidence … and therefore would like to keep this piece of evidence from the jury. However, his arguments are without merit … This description is clear. It is not confusing and therefore will not confuse a jury.”
A judge has yet to rule.
What did Mortensen report seeing?
Recently revealed texts between Mortensen and fellow roommate Bethany Funke painted a chilling scene of the moment Mortensen saw the killer in a ski-type mask around 4:20 a.m. Shortly before, Mortensen said she was awoken in her second-story bedroom by sounds she believed was victim Kaylee Goncalves “playing with her dog in an upstairs bedroom.”
Mortensen reported hearing “crying” before a male stranger’s voice said, “It’s OK, I’m going to help you,” as repeated in the recent court filing.
Four days later, when speaking to Idaho State Police (I.S.P.) Detective Victoria Gooch and Moscow Police Department Sergeant Dustin Blaker, Mortensen said she opened the door and saw the killer from about three feet away. She said the unknown male wore a “weird-looking ski mask,” black pants, a black long-sleeved top, and black boots.
“I knew the person was white,” Mortensen reported. “I don’t know how, but I just knew it. Knew it was male. I think I knew that because of the voice. The person was around my height or a few inches taller … And then I knew his build wasn’t like scrawny, and he wasn’t fat, so I figured it was like the basketball toned, lean build.”
Compared to Mortensen’s 5’ 10” height, she guessed the suspect was about six feet tall, according to the prosecution’s response. Bryan Kohberger’s license puts him at six feet even.
However, when Mortensen saw Kohberger’s mugshot following his Dec. 30, 2022, arrest in Pennsylvania, she said she didn’t recognize him.
“When I looked at his picture, nothing came back to me at all,” she told I.S.P. detectives the next day, according to the recent court document.
Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, with a trial start date slated for August 2025. He faces the death penalty if convicted.