Bryan Kohberger Said Victim’s Name on Night of Idaho Murders, Surviving Roommate Told Police in Newly Unsealed Interview

Bryan Kohberger had no known connection to any of his victims, according to prosecutors. Yet, one of the surviving roommates said he identified at least one of them by name before carrying out the fatal stabbings.

Two newly unsealed documents reveal that Dylan Mortensen told authorities she heard the killer call out Kaylee Goncalves’ name during the attack.

Idaho State Police (ISP) Tpr. Jeffory Talbot noted in his report that, upon arriving at the Moscow home of the four University of Idaho victims, Sgt. Dustin Blaker of the Moscow Police Department (MPD) provided an overview of the information police had gathered that morning.

“Sometime in the early morning hours, [Mortensen] was awoken and opened her room door [redacted] and heard a male say, ‘It’s okay Kaylee, I’m here for you,’ and crying,” Tpr. Talbot wrote in a summary of the briefing from Sgt. Blaker, a copy of which was among the unsealed documents obtained by PEOPLE.

At the time of this first interview, Mortensen believed she heard Goncalves running down the stairs while trying to escape her attacker.

“She then heard a male voice, which she stated she had never heard before, say ‘It’s okay, I’m going to help you.’ [Mortensen] believed the unidentified male was in the bathroom and with the person who was crying. She believes it was Kaylee who was the one crying,” read the report summarizing Mortensen’s first interview.

Mortensen later revised her account after learning more details about the murders, stating she believed it was “probably Xana who was crying,” even though initially she thought it was Goncalves. She also suggested Kernodle may have been the one running down the stairs after discovering her friends being attacked.

Despite her changing recollections, Mortensen consistently told police that she was certain the killer had used Goncalves’ name.

“She advised she knows what she heard, especially about hearing who she believed was Kaylee crying and the male voice telling her he was there for her,” Det. Victoria M. Gooch wrote in a report filed after the initial interview with Mortensen and Sgt. Blaker.

Mortensen, the sole eyewitness who saw the killer that night, also struggled to identify Kohberger. Newly unsealed interviews suggest that, had she testified, her testimony might have been less definitive for prosecutors.

On the day of Kohberger’s arrest, Mortensen admitted she could not confirm that he was the man she had seen.

“From people releasing Bryan Kohberger’s name, I know it’s him, but I don’t know,” she said.

In a later interview with Det. Joe Lake of the ISP, Mortensen explained that seeing a photo of Kohberger did not trigger any recognition.

“Nothing came back to me at all, so that like, and… I feel like if I saw that my mind would be like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s him,’ but … I just don’t remember at all.”

Mortensen was in court on the day Kohberger was sentenced to four life terms in prison. Through tears, she spoke directly to the man who murdered her friends, describing the ongoing fear and trauma she experiences. She called him:

“a hollow vessel. Something less than human. A body without empathy or remorse.”

She continued:

“He chose destruction, he chose evil. He feels nothing. He tried to take everything from me.”

Kohberger, who had confessed to the murders three weeks earlier, showed no reaction during Mortensen’s statements.