Police just released hundreds of secret documents about the Idaho murders. This is what we learnt.

This article contains details that may be distressing to some readers.

On the still and freezing night of November 13, 2022, a masked intruder slipped into the rented share house six college students called home.

Inside, the intruder — now known to be criminology student Bryan Kohberger — fatally stabbed Madison Mogen (21), Kaylee Goncalves (21), Xana Kernodle (20) and Ethan Chapin (20).

This week, Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. The sentencing came after powerful victim impact statements were read to the killer.

WATCH: The moment Bryan Kohberger was sentenced. Post continues after video.

Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders and by doing so, he avoided the possibility of the death penalty and a trial — leaving many questions, such as his motive, unanswered.

However, shortly after the sentencing, the Moscow Police Department released more than 300 documents from their investigation after a gag order was lifted.

The documents shed new light on the case that shocked the world.

Here's what we know so far.

Strange messages and reports of a 'stalker.'

Bethany Funke, one of the two survivors, said in a police interview that about a month before the murders, Kaylee saw an unknown man "up above their house to the south," staring at her.

She was taking her dog Murphy for a walk at the time and was so shaken by the incident she "told everyone," even calling her roommates to ask when they'd be home.

Bethany added that two or three weeks before the murders, Kaylee again mentioned she thought someone was following her.

Kaylee Goncalves made multiple references to a 'stalker' before the murders. Image: Instagram/@kayleegoncalves.

These accounts were backed up by Kaylee's boyfriend, who said she also told him about a "shadowy figure" when she took her dog outside.

Another friend similarly told police that on September 11, 2022, Kaylee reported to friends at a lunch that she was concerned she had a stalker.

The friend "thought Kaylee said something about receiving something in the mail. Some of the other friends at the lunch thought Kaylee also mentioned getting a strange message through Facebook Messenger," the police report said.

Nine days before the murders, on November 4, Bethany said the roommates came home to find the front door open at around 11:00am. Xana's father fixed the door.

Kaylee was away when the incident occurred.

What happened inside the house.

One of the responding officers who entered Xana Kernodle's bedroom noted, "it was obvious an intense struggle had occurred," in a report dated November 21, 2022.

"There was blood smeared on various items in the room and all over the floor," the document reads. "There was blood cast-off on the walls in various places, including above Xana's body."

The share house that became the site of a quadruple in Moscow, Idaho. Image: Getty Images/David Ryder.

Defensive wounds were noted on Xana's body. She had been stabbed multiple times. Her boyfriend, Ethan, was killed in his sleep by a stab wound that severed the jugular vein in his neck.

According to prosecutors, Kohberger came across an awake Xana as he made his way downstairs after murdering best friends Madison and Kaylee, in their third-floor bedroom. Madison died of "sharp-force injuries," according to the medical examiner, who also noted she had wounds on her hands and arms.

Kaylee was also stabbed multiple times and her face was described as being "disfigured," by one police officer.

According to the unsealed documents, Xana and Kaylee's injuries were so severe that surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen originally misidentified the two female victims. Dylan also said in her interview she heard Kaylee scream "somebody" was in the house.

She then heard someone running downstairs from the third floor bedroom to the second floor where Xana and Ethan slept.

Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson suggested that person was Xana.

"The state's evidence would show that Xana Kernodle was still awake [when Madison and Kaylee were stabbed]. In fact, Xana had taken a Door Dash order not long before this started," Thompson said, per People.

It had previously been suggested the students were sleeping at the time of the attack.

A 'socially awkward' killer.

The documents show that police first became aware of Kohberger's name on December 18, 2022. He was arrested on December 30.

In the years since his arrest, a profile of his behaviour and interactions with others has been built.

In September 2023, an inmate who was housed next to Kohberger in Latah County Jail, shared his interactions with police. He detailed some strange behaviour he observed.

"Kohberger was highly intelligent and polite for the most part," the officer wrote of the inmates' observations.

"[He] told me Kohberger quickly became annoying because of some of his habits. He told me Kohberger would wash his hands dozens of times each day and would spend 45 minutes to an hour in the shower.

"I asked if Kohberger slept at night. He told me Kohberger would be awake almost all night and would only take a nap during the day.

"(He) said Kohberger did not mention his alleged offences at all."

Kohberger at his sentencing on July 23, 2025. Image: Getty/Kyle Green-Pool

Former staffers and students at Washington State University, where Kohberger was studying for a PHD in criminology, also detailed strange and inappropriate behaviour.

According to one police report, a female noted he would rarely attend class and when he did would sit in "close proximity" to her.

"The student told me she thought Kohberger was socially awkward but was not able to provide me any other information about him," the police officer wrote in his report.

According to an October 2023 report, a former teaching assistant who shared an office with Kohberger told officers: "Kohberger attempted to use his authority as a TA to inappropriately interact with female students."

The same teaching assistant also said Kohberger was more talkative following the murders and characterised, "Kohberger's conversations as those coming from someone who wanted to vent."

The one question everyone has about the Idaho murders.

What the documents don't reveal, and what we may never know, is why Kohberger targeted the students.

When asked at his sentencing, Kohberger "respectively declined" to give his reason.

On the question of motive, Judge Steven Hippler said: "We are now certain who committed these unspeakable acts of evil, but what we don't know, and what we may never know, is why."

The documentary series One Night in Idaho: The College Murders presented a theory about the motive when it was released earlier this month.

The series features interviews with Kohberger's former classmates, who described the then-28-year-old as a curious university student who was always asking questions about killers' motives and how they felt about the crimes they committed.

"He was someone who travelled to school and then bounced," Kohberger's former classmate Josh Ferraro said. "You didn't really think too much of him, and you would try to get personal, and he wouldn't give you much."

Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle pictured left, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen pictured right. Image: Instagram.

According to Kohberger's former classmates, they studied mass murderer Elliot Rodger in school. They recalled that Kohberger took an interest in the 22-year-old, who killed six people in 2014 near the University of California, targeting a sorority house.

Former classmate, Brittany Slaven said, "I talked to other girls in the class — we were all bothered by what Elliot Rodger did, but Bryan did not seem bothered."

Administrators of a Facebook group explained that someone under the username 'Pappa Rodger' posted several times about the crime, asking questions about how the killer held the knife and talking about a knife sheath before it was public knowledge.

They claimed the person in the Facebook avatar even resembled Kohberger. And, when he was arrested, the user never posted again.

The name 'Pappa Rodger' raised other questions about Kohberger, and whether he was an 'incel'.

Incel is short for "involuntary celibate" and describes someone, typically male, who is frustrated by their lack of sexual experiences.

In their interviews, the Facebook group admins pointed out that Pappa Rodger is named similarly to the killer Rodger.

Prior to the murders, the original Rodger posted a video online about seeking revenge for being rejected by women.

"I'm 22 years old, and I'm still a virgin," he said in the video, per CNN. "I've never even kissed a girl… I don't know why you girls aren't attracted to me, but I will punish you all for it."

Rodger went on to say he planned to enter "the hottest sorority house" and "slaughter every spoiled, stuck-up, blonde s--t I see inside there."

Four years after Rodger's attack, a 25-year-old named Alek Minassian ran down 10 people, mostly women, in Toronto, Canada. He credited his inspiration to Rodger.

Before the crime, as per the BBC, Minassian posted on Facebook: "The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!"

Facebook group admin Kristine Cameron said she started drawing links between the Facebook handle Pappa Rodger and Elliot Rodger following Kohberger's arrest.

"If you listen to some of the manifestos of Elliot Rodger, he talks about hating all the girls from Alpha Phi, the same sorority that Kaylee [Goncalves] was in."

Liz Garbus, co-director of One Night in Idaho, told TIME, "It does seem like girls were the intended victims of Bryan's rage."

It is important to note that it has not been officially confirmed whether Kohberger was inspired by Rodger.

Feature image: Instagram.