BOISE, Idaho — Bethany Funke said she woke up around 7 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, with a terrible toothache. She called her dad, a dentist, and asked what she should do, she told the courtroom Wednesday.
After taking Advil, she went back to bed.
“I was still out of it and still didn’t know what happened,” said Emily Alandt, reading a statement on behalf of Funke. “If I had known, I of course would have called 911 right away.
“I still carry so much regret and guilt for not knowing what had happened and not calling right away, even though I understand it wouldn’t have changed anything, not even if the paramedics had been right outside the door.”
The surviving roommates of murdered University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Xana Kernodle publicly spoke about the home invasion for the first time Wednesday with victim impact statements during Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing at the Ada County Courthouse. Ethan Chapin, Kernodle’s boyfriend who was staying the night, also was killed in the attack.
Kohberger pleaded guilty early this month to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He admitted to stabbing to death the four college students after breaking into their off-campus Moscow home.
Both Funke and Dylan Mortensen detailed the intense fear and sadness they’ve dealt with since their roommates were stabbed to death by Kohberger, a former Washington State University graduate student.
“That was the worst day of my life, and I know it always will be,” Funke’s statement read.
Mortensen, who had just turned 19 shortly before the murders, was the second victim to speak in court Wednesday after Alandt read Funke’s statement. Mortensen said she should have been figuring out who she was, enjoying her college experience and establishing her future. Instead, she was forced to “learn how to survive the unimaginable.” The trauma of the home invasion left her terrified to close her eyes and sleeping in her mom’s bed for reassurance no one would harm her.
“He took away my ability to trust the world around me,” Mortensen said of Kohberger. “What he did shattered me in places I didn’t know could break.”
Although burdened with immense sadness — their words even bringing Kohberger’s mother and sister to tears — both women focused on the joy their friends brought into the world.
Mortensen described her roommates and Chapin as “beautiful, genuine, compassionate people.”
“He didn’t just take their lives. He took the light they carried into every room,” Mortensen said of Kohberger. “He took away how they made everyone feel safe, loved and full of joy.”
Funke shared a snapshot of what stood out to her about each of her friends.
—“Xana was one in a million. She was the life of a party, but she was also the kindest and funniest person I knew. Everyone loved her because she made everyone feel so loved. She was just someone you always wanted to be around, no matter the circumstance.”
—“Maddie was not only one of my best friends, but she was the older sister I would have always wanted. There was no one I looked up to or admired more than Maddie. She was truly a ray of sunshine, and everyone was drawn to her. She was so kind, loving, funny, fun and passionate.”
—“Kaylee had the most beautiful, radiant smile. She was so kind, but also one of the funniest people I’ve ever known. She loved playing little pranks. She always had us laughing so hard that we could not breathe.”
—“Ethan was the sweetest, most genuine guy. He was always smiling and always making other people smile, too. Ethan was the kind of person you wanted around. He was so kind and easy to talk to and just so fun.”
Both women expressed a desire to move forward with their lives on behalf of their friends.
“For a long time, I could barely get out of bed, but one day, I realized I have to live for them,” Funke said in her statement. “They did not get the chance to keep living, but I do, and I will not take that for granted. So now, every day, I remind myself to live for them, and everything I do, I do it with them in mind.
“I am still scared to go out in public, but I force myself to do things because I know that they would want me to keep living my life to the fullest. I am beyond blessed to still be here, and I refuse to take that for granted when they did not get a chance.”
—Rachel Robert, The Idaho Statesman (TNS)
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