Beneath the Plea Deal: "20/20" Uncovers Chilling Details in the Idaho College Murders
New details and exclusive interviews reveal what led to the stunning conclusion of a case that captivated the nation.
ABC News’ award-winning primetime newsmagazine 20/20 is back with a new two-hour special event, revisiting one of the most shocking cases of the decade: the murders of four University of Idaho students and the unexpected guilty plea of Bryan Kohberger.
What's Happening:
- On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students—Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin—were fatally stabbed in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. The suspect, Bryan Kohberger, a Ph.D. student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was later arrested and charged with the murders. The case received widespread national media attention, culminating in Kohberger's shocking guilty plea.
- ABC News Live Anchor Kayna Whitworth, who has been reporting on the case since 2022 and hosts the ABC News Audio podcast The King Road Killings: An Idaho Murder Mystery, returns to Idaho to bring viewers new details about the crime, the evidence, and Kohberger’s surprising guilty plea.
- The program, titled Idaho Justice, airs Friday, September 5 on ABC.
- The two-hour event will be available to stream the next day on Hulu.
- Viewers will get exclusive new interviews with the family and friends of the victims, including Ethan Chapin’s parents, Jim and Stacy, and siblings, Hunter and Maizie; Kaylee Goncalves’ sister, Alivea; and Maddie Mogen’s father, Ben.
- The special also features conversations with those at the center of the investigation, including lead ISP investigator Darren Gilbertson, Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson, Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger, and other experts who helped crack the case, like Othram founders David and Kristen Mittelman and Cellebrite’s Heather and Jared Barnhart.
Key Players in the Investigation
- The upcoming 20/20 special highlights the critical work of professionals who built the case against Bryan Kohberger. Two featured companies, Othram and Cellebrite, played significant roles in supporting law enforcement.
- Othram specializes in forensic genetic genealogy, a technique that uses advanced DNA analysis to identify potential relatives of an unknown suspect or victim through public genealogy databases. This technology generates investigative leads for cold cases and, as in the Idaho murders, helped narrow down suspects, with final identification confirmed through direct DNA comparison.
- Cellebrite, a digital forensics company, provides tools to extract and analyze data from devices like smartphones and computers. In the Kohberger case, their technology recovered critical evidence, including deleted messages, call logs, location data, and behavioral patterns, such as obsessive searches and phone inactivity, which suggested premeditation and strengthened the investigation.
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