Disturbing autopsy reports released in the murders of four University of Idaho students have laid bare the staggering brutality of the attack that unfolded inside the King Road house, revealing that three of the four victims endured a “high degree of pain and or suffering” before they died, with one victim suffering 23 wounds to her scalp, face, and neck.
The reports, filed by Spokane County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Veena Singh, were made public nearly a year after Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the November 2022 murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. Dr.
Singh had been prepared to testify for the prosecution had the case gone to trial.
In her findings, Dr. Singh concluded that the injuries inflicted on all four victims were consistent with a Ka-Bar full-size U. S.
Marine Corps fighting knife, the same type of weapon that Kohberger admitted to purchasing in early 2022.
According to a previously sealed prosecution expert disclosure, Dr. Singh was expected to testify that Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen “endured a high degree of pain and or suffering” as a direct result of their wounds. She also planned to state that Ethan Chapin experienced significant pain, though to a lesser degree than the other three.
The reports paint a grim picture of a chaotic and ferocious attack, one that forensic death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan described as “beyond the pale” when analyzing the documents on the Crime Fix broadcast. Morgan, host of the Body Bags podcast, said the autopsy reports are among the most brutal he has ever read.
Xana Kernodle, who was awake and fighting for her life, sustained 23 separate wounds to her scalp, face, and neck. The autopsy also recorded seven stab wounds to her chest and abdomen, along with incised and puncture wounds to her lower extremities. Dr.
Singh noted that some of the facial wounds appeared to have serrated edges, but she attributed that to possible contact with the knife’s handle, a hand holding the blade, or the victim’s own defensive movements.
Morgan emphasized that the dynamic nature of the attack makes it impossible to definitively conclude that more than one weapon was used. “None of this occurred in a vacuum,” he said. “You have people that are reactive, fighting back.
A single Ka-Bar knife can inflict a wide range of injuries because of its design: a blade, a guard, a textured handle, even a pommel that can be used as a hammer.”
The autopsy of Kaylee Goncalves revealed particularly disturbing details. Dr. Singh found evidence that an “unknown object” had been placed over her mouth, suggesting efforts to asphyxiate her during the assault.
Kaylee also suffered broken teeth, a fractured retainer, and bruising around her eyes and cheeks. Her face was heavily targeted, with multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck.
Forensic experts believe Kaylee may have awakened as Madison Mogen was being attacked. Mogen, who shared a bed with Goncalves, had a blood alcohol concentration of 0. 282, which likely rendered her unable to fight back.
Dr. Singh noted that Mogen’s injuries, though severe, did not show signs of a struggle, and she died from multiple stab wounds to the face and neck.
Ethan Chapin, the only male victim, sustained four stab wounds to his face and neck, one to his upper chest, and several incised wounds to his arms and legs. Dr. Singh found perforations of his jugular vein, subclavian vein, and subclavian artery – injuries that would have caused near-instant death.
Still, the report stated that he too experienced pain, albeit less protracted than the three women.
The defense expert Dr. Brent Turvey had previously argued that the injuries indicated the involvement of two killers and two weapons, a claim that gained traction among some families and media. However, Dr.
Singh’s reports do not support that theory. She explicitly stated that all injuries observed were consistent with a single Ka-Bar knife, and that any apparent variations in wound characteristics could be explained by the knife’s multifaceted design and the chaotic circumstances inside the house.
Morgan rejected the multiple-perpetrator theory, calling it a defense tactic to create reasonable doubt. He noted that a single Ka-Bar knife can create stab wounds, incised wounds, blunt-force trauma, and even patterned injuries depending on how it is used. “You can stab, slice, punch, hammer, and parry with this weapon,” he said.
“To say there must be two knives because you see different wound types ignores the reality of a dynamic, violent confrontation.”
The release of the autopsy reports has reignited anger among the victims’ families, particularly the Goncalves family, who have publicly expressed disappointment that Kohberger was allowed to plead guilty without providing a full allocution. They have repeatedly said they want to know why he targeted their daughter and why the attack was so savage.
Kohberger walked into a Boise courtroom on July 2, 2025, raised his right hand, and swore to tell the truth. When the judge asked directly if he was pleading guilty because he was guilty, he answered “yes.” He agreed with the statement of facts read by Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson, including that he broke into the King Road house on November 13, 2022, and stabbed the four students to death.
Despite the guilty plea, many questions remain unanswered. The families, especially the Goncalveses, have called for a proffer – a requirement that Kohberger sit down with investigators and explain his motive and actions before the death penalty was taken off the table. But that never happened.
The Goncalves family has since launched a foundation called Murder Has a Name, dedicated to helping other families use advanced DNA testing to identify killers. Kaylee Goncalves would have turned 25 on June 8; she is forever 21.
The full autopsy reports are now available in case files on the Law & Crime Plus app. The documents confirm what investigators and prosecutors had long alleged: the attack on November 13, 2022, was one of the most vicious in recent memory, leaving four young lives extinguished in a frenzy of violence that no one will ever fully understand.
Morgan, reflecting on the reports, said, “There is no way that anyone will ever fully appreciate, and I hope no one ever does, what went on in that house that night relative to the brutality that was exacted on these kids.” His somber assessment echoed the feelings of the families, the investigators, and the entire nation that has followed this case.
As the legal proceedings move into post-conviction phases, the release of these autopsy reports serves as a stark reminder of the horror Bryan Kohberger admitted to carrying out. The documents are clinical, objective, and devastating. They show exactly what four college students endured in their final moments – a truth that even a guilty plea cannot fully convey.