As the trial of accused killer Bryan Kohberger approaches, a haunting new detail has emerged, shedding further light on the final hours of the four University of Idaho students brutally murdered in November 2022.

Court documents reveal that just moments before their tragic deaths, victims Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves debated going out for a late-night snack. A decision to stay home — a choice that might have seemed inconsequential at the time — ultimately kept them in the path of their alleged killer.

Kohberger, a 30-year-old criminology graduate student, is set to stand trial beginning July 30. He faces charges for the murders of Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, and 20-year-olds Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, who were all found dead inside an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.

The chilling revelation came after a judge ruled that text messages and a 911 call made by the surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, could be introduced as evidence during the trial.

A Night That Almost Ended Differently

According to the court order, after a night out, Mogen, Goncalves, Mortensen, and Funke returned home around 2 a.m. They gathered in Goncalves’ room to talk and relax — a normal end to a Saturday night for college students. At some point, they discussed venturing out again to visit a local food truck.

Mortensen even texted a known Uber driver at 2:10 a.m. to check if he was available. But after some back and forth, the group decided against it, choosing instead to head to bed.

Meanwhile, Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin were still out partying, unaware of the terror about to unfold at their home.

Between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m., prosecutors believe the killer struck. A masked intruder entered the house and, according to evidence and witness testimony, carried out a vicious stabbing spree.

Mortensen, one of the surviving roommates, later described seeing a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” walking past her door, a crucial observation that would eventually help authorities piece together the suspect’s identity.

A Community Shattered

The murders sent shockwaves through the University of Idaho and the broader Moscow community. It would take nearly two months before law enforcement arrested Kohberger, who had driven cross-country to his family’s home in Pennsylvania during the investigation.

Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt confirmed the brutal nature of the killings early on, stating that all four victims died by stabbing, calling the attacks “butchery.” The graphic nature of the murders, coupled with the weeks-long manhunt for a suspect, left the college town gripped by fear.

When Kohberger was finally arrested, police described a painstaking investigation involving forensic evidence, cell phone data, and surveillance footage. His background in criminology, and reports that he had studied serial killers, only deepened the horror.

What to Expect at Trial

Kohberger’s trial is expected to be one of the most closely watched criminal proceedings of the decade. Jury selection begins on July 30 and is anticipated to take weeks, with the trial itself projected to last up to three months.

Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is found guilty, meaning jurors will not only need to deliberate over the question of guilt but also consider the ultimate sentence.

The use of the roommates’ text messages and 911 call is seen as critical to establishing the timeline and context of that fateful night. According to filings, the communication reveals the close, familial bond between the roommates — underscoring the cruelty of what followed.

For the families of the victims, the trial is an opportunity for answers — and for justice. “We just want the truth,” one family member said in a recent interview. “And we want the person responsible to be held accountable.”

A Choice That Haunts

The revelation that the victims almost left their home that night adds a heartbreaking layer to the tragedy. Had they gone out for that late-night snack, they might have avoided the attack altogether. Instead, a split-second decision — the simple choice to go to sleep — sealed their fate.

As the trial looms, the haunting details continue to emerge, painting a fuller picture of the lives lost — and the senselessness of their deaths.

For the families, friends, and classmates left behind, there are no easy answers. Only the memory of four young lives, full of promise, cruelly cut short.