Newly released photos show some of the troubling evidence Bryan Kohberger allegedly left behind after the late-night killings of four University of Idaho students. Among the very few pieces of evidence Kohberger left behind, one photo captures size-13 footprints leading from the back door into the snow outside the off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
Another photo shows a knife sheath left behind, a major piece of evidence that investigators say helped trace the killer's movements in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. The photos were part of a massive release of more than 3,000 files from the Idaho State Police that showed the bloodied rooms of the murdered students.
Gory Details Seen for First Time
The photos offered a stark glimpse into the aftermath of the tragedy before they were quickly taken down from the website, according to the Daily Mail, which obtained the images before they were removed.
Among the most damning pieces of evidence recovered at the blood-soaked scene was a 13-inch tan leather knife sheath designed to hold a KA-BAR–style combat knife — the same type of weapon investigators say was used to fatally stab Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin.
The knife sheath was found on a bed inside Madison Mogen's room, lying amid blood-soaked bedding, according to investigators.
Forensic testing later revealed traces of DNA on the sheath, which analysts used to link Kohberger to the crime. Authorities also confirmed that Kohberger had bought a set of knives months before the murders, purchases that were eventually traced back to him.
At first, investigators believed the sheath may have been deliberately left behind to throw police off. But they later concluded it was more likely dropped in the chaos of the brutal attacks, as Kohberger allegedly panicked during the killings.
Investigators also found footprints in the snow leading away from the house, suggesting the killer's escape route after the attack.
The same large size-13 shoe prints were later found inside the blood-stained home after detectives treated the floors with a chemical agent to reveal hidden evidence, according to the outlet. Police later seized a Nike shoe from Kohberger's home following his arrest, and it was determined to match the size of the footprint found at the Idaho crime scene.
Signs of a Murderer
Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to the four murders in July, is believed to have carried out the attack in just a matter of minutes, beginning around 4 a.m. Investigators say he slipped into the house through a sliding side door and went upstairs to Madison Mogen's bedroom, where she was asleep alongside Kaylee Goncalves.
Both 21-year-olds were brutally killed there, and Kohberger allegedly left behind the DNA-covered knife sheath. As he moved through the home, Kohberger then crossed paths with 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, who had just picked up a food delivery and was heading back to her second-floor bedroom.
She was attacked and killed before Kohberger entered her room, where he found her boyfriend, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, asleep and fatally stabbed him as well.
The newly released photos offered the most vivid look yet at the horrific aftermath of the killings since the tragedy unfolded.
Idaho State Police later said the images were "temporarily" removed soon after being posted due to privacy concerns, allowing officials time to further review the files before potentially reposting them.
"Following adjudication of the criminal case, the Idaho State Police received a large volume of public records requests seeking the photographs," a spokesperson for the department said in a statement.
"In making the redactions, the Idaho State Police also chose to follow Judge [Megan] Marshall's permanent injunction, which required the City of Moscow to redact areas of the photographs depicting 'any portion of the bodies of the decedents or the blood immediately surrounding them,'" the statement continued.
"After questions were raised, the records were temporarily removed for further review to ensure the appropriate balance between privacy concerns and public transparency was struck."
Kohberger, a former graduate student at nearby Washington State University in Pullman, was sentenced to four life terms without the possibility of parole and is now being held at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
The plea deal that led to his guilty plea also spared him from the death penalty — a decision that proved highly controversial.
