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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not be able to stop thinking about the Idaho murder case

550 replies

Rickandmortified100 · 07/01/2023 14:45

Is anyone else following this case? It’s absolutely horrible and has really scared me to the point of locking my bedroom door when I sleep every night! The more that comes out in the news, the more bizarre and confusing the case seems to get too. So scary to think what people are capable of 😞

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OneFrenchEgg · 07/01/2023 23:19

Not sure if the recording is authentic but a female was picked up as saying ‘leave me alone’. Would you be saying that if someone was coming for you with a knife?!

The only things overheard were something like 'there's someone here' and 'don't worry I will help you'. The affidavit says it's along these lines.
No screaming, whimpering and crying heard by the housemate and a loud thump picked up on nearby video.

It's a horrible horrible crime. I can't believe how quickly it all happened.

HRTQueen · 07/01/2023 23:35

It’s horrific those last moments of their lives must have been so terrifying and their poor families have to live with this

Thankfully he has been caught and police investigations have advanced so he wasn’t able to repeat his crime (though this doesn’t alway happen so quickly as it didn’t with the Delphi murders)

And no one knows how they would react. Our home was broken into as night and I heard my mum scream, a blood curdling scream I hide (only me and my mum at home I was about 22 at the time) then all I remember hearing was heavy footsteps I thought I was going to be attacked and just froze it was my mum she was shaking and had to coax me out

Those poor young women have to live with this have so much to process they need empathy not to be judged or told well if I was there

FartOutLoudDay · 07/01/2023 23:36

OneFrenchEgg · 07/01/2023 23:19

Not sure if the recording is authentic but a female was picked up as saying ‘leave me alone’. Would you be saying that if someone was coming for you with a knife?!

The only things overheard were something like 'there's someone here' and 'don't worry I will help you'. The affidavit says it's along these lines.
No screaming, whimpering and crying heard by the housemate and a loud thump picked up on nearby video.

It's a horrible horrible crime. I can't believe how quickly it all happened.

Those two were referred to in the affidavit. But there is other audio circulating which may not be genuine, taken from the neighbours cctv/ring doorbell. I wouldn’t recommend going looking for it, for one thing if it’s genuine it’s disturbing to hear what might be someone’s last moments, and for second it’s very hard to distinguish what’s actually being said but people are putting their own interpretation on it which is pretty dangerous. I also can’t work out how it could have been picked up on a neighbours audio recording but not by the roommates, unless they did hear more and the police held that back for now.

Rickandmortified100 · 07/01/2023 23:54

To the poster who asked why I feel scared considering I don’t live in Idaho - it’s not that I’m specifically scared of Bryan Kohberger. It’s more that I’m horrified that this could happen at all - it just makes me so scared to imagine what people are capable of. The innocence of the victims too - they either didn’t know the killer at all or had just a loose connection to him (like a PP said - there are theories that he came into the restaurant where Xana and Maddie worked, or other theories that Kaylee had an OnlyFans and he was a follower on there.) Either way, for a near stranger to hunt them down and do this to them is horrifying. Nobody deserves to die like this, but the fact that there was nothing they could have done to protect themselves because they didn’t even know that someone was after them is awful.

The affidavit being released has made it so much worse. I can’t stop thinking about Xana. I had previously imagined that they’d all been asleep when it happened - still awful but it made me feel better to think that they’d not known what had happened - not felt fear. I read previously that Kaylee’s father had announced that he’d been told the deaths were fast. They weren’t left bleeding out but died almost instantly from their severe wounds. But the think that Xana got a food delivery at 4. She was wide awake. Was Ethan too? I don’t know.

The thing that I find very weird and disturbing is that the neighbour’s CCTV camera - 50 odd food away - captured noises. The dog barking, voices, what sounded like a whimper, and a loud thud. I find it odd that Dylan heard some noises, but apparently not these noises? The fact that Dylan was awake has also blown my mind. I just don’t understand it. Previous residents of the house have said that you can hear literally everything that goes on in the house - you can hear every voice from every room, every footstep. He even said he had to stop using his desk chair because the sound of the wheels on the floor was so loud for the roommate below. And Dylan said she heard someone - possibly Kaylee, say “There’s someone here” and then Xana crying and a male voice (presumably the killer’s) saying “I’m here to help you.” So I can’t get my head around how she didn’t hear everything that happened, especially if the neighbours camera so far away did. I’m not saying she is involved in any way - I don’t think she is. I just want to know what she thought was happening?? Or how it came to be that she didn’t call the police for so long.

Another thing I can’t stop thinking about is Bryan: If he was so clever and the best criminology student his teacher had ever taught, and had done loads of research and thought he could get away with it - why did he make so many stupid mistakes? Why drive his own car? Why take his phone all the times he stalked them? Why leave the sheath? Did it fall, or was it planted to make police think they were looking for a military man as some people say? Why did he (supposedly) go to online discussion forums and tell people details about the crime they only the killer would know?

And lastly, Bethany. Why wasn’t Bethany even mentioned by police?

I know we have no right to answers but I just want some! Like a PP said, I’m obsessed with the case purely because it is a perfect example of the horrors that human beings are capable of and how anyone can fall victim to this evil. It’s really scary and somehow understanding will make it … better? Worse? I don’t know. I just want to understand.

PS: I was expecting to get flamed for posting this here but I’m so glad so many other people feel the same way. I really wanted to get it off my chest!

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Rickandmortified100 · 08/01/2023 00:08

Oh! And the most shocking thing if all that I learned is that Dylan was NOT in the second bedroom on the ground floor, as previously thought. She was in the other bedroom on the second floor - the same floor as Xana and Ethan. Directly below Maddie’s room. So that makes it even weirder that the killer spared her. I thought maybe he’d just avoided the ground floor altogether because he didn’t enter that way, but if she was on the same floor as the other two victims then it’s even weirder that a) she was spared and b) she didn’t hear anything.

I personally don’t believe that she was in shock. I think she perhaps didn’t know what had actually happened? She heard voices saying creepy things, but then saw the guy leave. Perhaps she thought he was just someone they’d brought back for some drinks - completely normal in a student house, especially one described as a party house. Maybe seeing him leave, she was freaked out but thought it was over? There had maybe been some conflict but now it was finished and he’d gone? I don’t think her first thought would have been ‘murder’ maybe ‘drunken argument’ or ‘drunk guy being weird’ or something like this. It’s odd that she didn’t check on Xana after hearing her crying but again, crying after a night out isn’t unusual. I used to cry all the time after drinking as a student! I’m not sure my friends would race to check on me either if I was with my boyfriend. They’d probably assume we’d had a little argument or something.

If this is the case, then, it’s odd that seeing Bryan left her frozen in fear but perhaps that was just her instincts or perhaps she just felt creeped out seeing a guy she didn’t know at that time but again, didn’t assume anything weird.

I have heard that the 911 call was for either her or Bethany - that’s why it was reporting an unconscious person. Apparently when the housemates found the bodies, one of them passed out and a friend/neighbour who had come over called the ambulance for them, not yet knowing what had happened. There are some theories that Dylan had been in shock/passing out since it happened but I am not sure if that’s likely considering her door was locked. She couldn’t have got up, unlocked the door, then passed out again, could she? I don’t know. I feel it’s more likely that she didn’t know what had happened and passed out upon discovering them, or maybe it was Bethany who passed out. Either way, this explains the weird 911 call.

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HRTQueen · 08/01/2023 00:23

Why is it weird

that he choose to murder anyone in how he did is weird not that someone wasn’t thankfully also murdered that night

cases like this do not piece together like a jigsaw as humans act in ways that is not always logical

Rickandmortified100 · 08/01/2023 00:54

HRTQueen · 08/01/2023 00:23

Why is it weird

that he choose to murder anyone in how he did is weird not that someone wasn’t thankfully also murdered that night

cases like this do not piece together like a jigsaw as humans act in ways that is not always logical

Well… That he chose to murder anyone is a lot of things - awful, evil, horrifying, disgusting. But murders happen all the time. This specific case, though, is very weird for a number of reasons, including that he walked right past Dylan and let her live. That’s weird, because why leave a witness? Why have enough rage and hatred to murder 4 innocent people in cold blood, yet leave her? It would be less weird if she was asleep in her locked bedroom on the ground floor, along with Bethany, as previously thought. But as she was not only on the second floor next to the victims, but also awake with her door open and face-to-face with the killer - well, that’s weird. In that it’s unusual and doesn’t make sense.

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MynameisJune · 08/01/2023 07:00

Rickandmortified100 · 08/01/2023 00:54

Well… That he chose to murder anyone is a lot of things - awful, evil, horrifying, disgusting. But murders happen all the time. This specific case, though, is very weird for a number of reasons, including that he walked right past Dylan and let her live. That’s weird, because why leave a witness? Why have enough rage and hatred to murder 4 innocent people in cold blood, yet leave her? It would be less weird if she was asleep in her locked bedroom on the ground floor, along with Bethany, as previously thought. But as she was not only on the second floor next to the victims, but also awake with her door open and face-to-face with the killer - well, that’s weird. In that it’s unusual and doesn’t make sense.

There is a theory that he didn’t see her, the affidavit says she opened her door. For all anyone knows she only opened it a crack and maybe he was so focused on leaving that he didn’t notice her.

Apparently the Pennsylvania police are looking at old unsolved cases to see if they fit the characteristics of this crime as it would be very unusual for a killer to go from zero to 4 kills in one incident. They think he might have killed before.

Rickandmortified100 · 08/01/2023 08:27

MynameisJune · 08/01/2023 07:00

There is a theory that he didn’t see her, the affidavit says she opened her door. For all anyone knows she only opened it a crack and maybe he was so focused on leaving that he didn’t notice her.

Apparently the Pennsylvania police are looking at old unsolved cases to see if they fit the characteristics of this crime as it would be very unusual for a killer to go from zero to 4 kills in one incident. They think he might have killed before.

That’s really interesting and chilling. There was a similar crime in another state a couple of years ago actually. I can’t recall which state, it wasn’t close to Idaho - but it seems BK isn’t opposed to cross-country drives so I’d be interested to know whether he could be linked to that. It was a couple knifed in their beds by an intruder in the middle of the night, similar circumstances, but I believe that miraculously one of them survived. Let me see if I can find it.

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MynameisJune · 08/01/2023 09:47

Rickandmortified100 · 08/01/2023 08:27

That’s really interesting and chilling. There was a similar crime in another state a couple of years ago actually. I can’t recall which state, it wasn’t close to Idaho - but it seems BK isn’t opposed to cross-country drives so I’d be interested to know whether he could be linked to that. It was a couple knifed in their beds by an intruder in the middle of the night, similar circumstances, but I believe that miraculously one of them survived. Let me see if I can find it.

I know which one you mean, there was also the lone woman knifed to death whilst asleep in bed. Both crimes still unsolved.

Although I’ve seen a professor this morning saying that to him it was a first time crime because it was so sloppy and there seems to be a lot of evidence left. So 🤷‍♀️

BangingOn · 08/01/2023 09:53

It makes me think of Israel Keyes who travelled all over the US to find victims.

buddy79 · 08/01/2023 10:16

16 minutes is a long time.. a boxing round is 3 minutes. I always remember the detective in the later investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s murder, one of his interviews he had established that the attack on Stephen lasted about 30 seconds and he said 30 seconds in a fight, especially with a knife is actually a long time. This is what lead them to re-examine the physical evidence and find the blood spots.

FartOutLoudDay · 08/01/2023 10:26

It’s a long time to attack 1 person, but 4, across two floors? I reread the affidavit yesterday and the car is seen moving at 4.04 and 4.20 so he’s in the house less time than that given he has to park up and get inside, then back out again.

Spiderboy · 08/01/2023 10:51

I think m &k were both likely fast asleep so there may have been little noise and D had been asleep too so likely slept through the killer entering until the dog barking woke her up which she thought was her roommates playing with the dog. (This was likely their attack?) X was awake, eating her food and watching TikTok in bed and I believe E had fell asleep. X has heard someone which is why she said “someone’s here” but that could have been earlier for her food, or it could have been the killer. She could have cried for a number of reasons but D knew she was with the bf so probably left them to it.

I can definitely see her seeing the killer and closing her door and freezing in her room for hours then passing out asleep from all the adrenaline. She could have woke up and been too terrified to leave her room, none of her roommates are answering their phones and I believe friends come over (maybe she calls friends saying she saw something really weird last night and she’s too scared to leave her room and no one is answering their calls and asks if they can come over? )before the 911 call is made.

Or she just thought the killer was a weird dude and thought “wtf was that” but all was quiet so peacefully went to sleep. Woke up and scrolled on her phone, called friends over to get food or something. I think maybe the prior though as surely she’d have needed the loo by 11:58?

time will tell but she is a victim in this

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 08/01/2023 11:08

We need to bear in mind too that its likely they were all very drunk. So questioning who did or didn't do what needs to be considered from a point of "they could have been absoloutley smashed" so aren't going to be thinking or acting with a 100% clear head.

Hohohoholidays · 08/01/2023 11:17

I am wondering if the killer wanted to be caught? I think he perhaps thinks he is so clever he will be found not guilty at trial and this is the ultimate 'win' for him?

NotAnotherBathBomb · 08/01/2023 13:45

BangingOn · 08/01/2023 09:53

It makes me think of Israel Keyes who travelled all over the US to find victims.

Now THAT is a chilling story. The way he taunted the family of his last victim, pretending she was still alive and sending photos...gives me shivers.

AfricanAmericanFriday · 08/01/2023 14:10

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Frankola · 08/01/2023 14:34

The whole thing has really gotten to me. To the point where I've had a couple of nights where I've found it hard to relax to sleep, and it's made me obsessive about checking the doors are locked. The idea of him having watched them makes me feel sick.

Sux2buthen · 08/01/2023 16:50

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Because people don't live in fear of what might happen. And they shouldn't have to. Implying being blatant online about what they're doing almost removes blame from the perpetrator, all blame lies with him no matter what he's seen.

Untrainedmelody · 08/01/2023 17:34

Yes, have been following it from the early days. They were around the age of my own children and heartbroken for those poor parents- can’t imagine how they must feel. Hope that the surviving roommates get all the love and support they need, too. This will change the course of their lives.

ObsidianBlock · 08/01/2023 17:35

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I don't think ever seen such a lot of victim blaming in one post before.

AfricanAmericanFriday · 08/01/2023 17:41

Sux2buthen · 08/01/2023 16:50

Because people don't live in fear of what might happen. And they shouldn't have to. Implying being blatant online about what they're doing almost removes blame from the perpetrator, all blame lies with him no matter what he's seen.

True. But what are they trying to prove with all those pics, and to whom? These kind of pics used to be accessible only in a photo album to close family members and maybe friends.
If you put up a couple of nice, decent pics, fine. But what’s the point of posing half naked in a bikini, pouting like a porn star and uploading dozens upon dozens of these pictures? It invites trouble. It wouldn’t even occur to me to put up a nice Christmas picture with my family. Simply because it’s nobody’s business how my Christmas was spent. But scantily clad, shaking my ass on social media for hundreds or thousands to see?…no effing way!

Sux2buthen · 08/01/2023 17:53

@AfricanAmericanFriday sounds very much like victim blaming and judgement.
They do it because they want to. And that's fair enough, they aren't hurting anyone.
The real 'why do they do it' ought to be applied to the violent criminals not people just living their lives enjoying themselves
Your post comes off very badly

Yesterdaywasntreal · 08/01/2023 18:30

It said it took the two surviving room mates 8 hours to call the police after they saw the intruder leave?