killed in a quadruple stabbing at an off-campus home last autumn, have claimed that their daughter tried to escape from the attacker but was ultimately trapped by the suspect and the bedroom's layout where the incident occurred.
Steve Goncalves explained that his daughter Kaylee, 21, was unable to escape from her bedroom due to the property's layout in Moscow, Idaho, on the night when she and three others, including her best friend Maddie Mogen, housemate Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend Ethan Chapin, were brutally killed on November 13, 2022.
Final Attempt To Escape Killer
Both Kaylee and Maddie were sharing the same bed on the night of the murders, and Kaylee's parents claim that they have evidence indicating she "tried to get out of the situation", before her tragic death.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, faces charges for the murders of the four University of Idaho students.
Steve Goncalves shared that Maddie was probably the first victim, and he believes that Kaylee became trapped between her friend's body and the wall before the Kohberger attacked her, citing information from the coroner's report.
"There's evidence to show that she awakened and tried to get out of that situation, [but] she was assaulted and stabbed," Steve Goncalves told CBS News' Peter Van Sant of his daughter, Kaylee Goncalves.
When the attacker targeted Kaylee, she was in a precarious position between her friend's body and the wall, according to Kristi's statement.
"The bed was up against the wall. The headboard was touching the wall and the left side of the bed was touching the wall. And we believe that Maddie was on the outside and Kaylee was on the inside," the grieving mother explained.
"The way the bed was set up ... [Kaylee] was trapped."
Kristi speculated that the murderer might have been taken aback to see the two friend sharing a bed.
"I do think that his plan went awry. I do think that, you know, he intended to kill one and killed four," she said.
Jeffrey Kernodle, the father of Xana Kernodle, shared with Van Sant that he also believes reports indicating that his daughter resisted her assailant.
"I believe so ... it's upsetting to think about," he said.
"I don't know why [the murders] happened," Xana's sister, Jazzmin Kernodle, said.
"I wish we knew. They were, all four of them were, just such great people and made such an impact on the lives around them."
Although the Kernodle family has largely refrained from extensive comments, the Goncalves family, including their older daughter Alivea, who was also interviewed for the special, has been outspoken about the investigation ever since the news of the killings emerged.
In the weeks before the main suspect, Bryan Kohberger, 28, was ultimately arrested on December 30, Steve, who frequently yelled at law police, said, "We're not going to just sit back and cross our fingers and pray we're going to get justice."
Trying to Unravel the Truth
During their interview with Van Sant, both Steve and Kristi said that they agreed with the prosecution's theory that Kohberger had stalked the rental home of the friends near the Moscow campus before the stabbings.
"He had to know when people were coming, people going," Steve said of Kohberger, whose phone records revealed that he made several trips to the neighborhood near the house in the months before the murders.
"I think he at least had opened that door [at the house], went in, tested the waters, looked around," Kristi agreed.
In fact, the family claims that they found Kohberger's Instagram account, which revealed that he was following both Kaylee and Maddie. "From our investigation of the account, it appeared to be the real Bryan Kohberger account," Kristi alleged.
However, Kohberger's legal team has consistently refuted claims that the aspiring criminologist was acquainted with the victims.
"There is no connection between Mr. Kohberger and the victims," investigative journalist Howard Blum told Van Sant.
"The prosecution would like ... everyone to believe that it's an open-and-shut case ... but I think the facts they have make the case perhaps more open, than open-and-shut."
If the Latah County prosecutors cannot establish a connection between Kohberger and his alleged victims, Blum added, "then there is no motive. And if there's no motive, then it becomes very hard to make the case that he is the killer."
The said mobile phone evidence, Blum said, is compelling but "it's not putting someone at someone's doorstep, it's putting ... someone in someone's neighborhood. And there's a large difference."
"And if you can convince a jury of this, if you can raise doubts about the validity, and the accuracy of the cellphone data, I think you're halfway there to getting the case against Kohberger, either a hung jury — or a not guilty verdict," he surmised.
While a gag order has been imposed on most high-profile cases, there are even some legal experts who have raised doubts about what was initially seen as a possibly straightforward case.
The defense is already contesting certain aspects of the case against Kohberger, including suggesting that the purported footage of his Hyundai Elantra near the murder scene may have been misidentified, as mentioned by Fox.
Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania in late December, nearly two months after the quadruple murder took place.
He is currently detained in Latah County, facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. Just last month, he chose to forgo his right to a speedy trial, allowing both the defense and prosecution more time to prepare for the upcoming legal proceedings.
