The Kohberger Selfie and the Idaho 4 Timeline

For those not thoroughly familiar with this case, I’ll provide a little background information for context. The murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin occurred during the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho where the girls resided with two other female roommates while attending the University of Idaho. Bryan Kohberger was pursuing a Ph.D. in Criminology at Washington State University where he lived in the Steptoe Village apartment complex, less than 10 miles from the Moscow crime scene.

L to R: Surviving roommate Dylan, Kaylee Goncalvez, Madison Mogen on Kaylee’s shoulders, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and surviving roommate Bethany.

The Google Earth screen capture below shows the area on 7/17/2022, a few months before the murders. I’ve added some icons to indicate locations of interest.

The red pin indicates 1122 King Road (the location of the murders); the orange camera indicates a security camera at 1112 King Road that captured an image of headlights of a vehicle traveling south on Walenta Drive behind 1119 King Road; the white car on the left of the photo indicates the vehicle traveling southbound on Walenta Drive at 4:21:05 a.m.

For more information, analysis, and commentary about the Kohberger selfie taken approximately 6 hours after the murders, see my previous post. What I want to address in this post is where the photograph fits into the timeline.

Photograph of Bryan Kohberger taken from his phone on November 13, 2022 at 10:31 a.m.

The times and locations in the following list are excerpted and summarized from the court documents linked at the end of this post. Much more detail regarding the timeline can be found there.

• 4:07:47 a.m. – 1112 King Road, Moscow, ID – Headlights of a vehicle turning north onto Queen Road briefly shine on exterior of 1127 King Road. There is no subsequent vehicle activity captured for approximately 13 minutes after these headlights are seen.
• Between 4:07:47 a.m. and 4:21:05 a.m. – The murders occur.
• 4:21:05 a.m. – 1112 King Road, Moscow, ID – Headlights are seen traveling south on Walenta Drive behind 1119 King Road.
• 5:25:29 a.m. to 5:30:118 am. – Pullman, WA – [Summarized: Multiple surveillance camera sightings of a vehicle matching the description of Vehicle 1.]
• 5:30:18 a.m. – NE Stadium Way at Cougar Way, Pullman, WA – A vehicle matching the description of Vehicle 1 is northbound on NE Stadium Way then turns eastbound onto NE Orchard Drive.
• 9:00 a.m. – Kohberger’s phone indicates he leaves his residence and travels to Moscow, ID.
• 9:12:59 a.m. – 1311 S Main Street, Moscow, ID – A vehicle matching the description of Vehicle 1 is seen traveling southbound on Highway 95.
• 9:12 – 9:21 a.m. – Moscow, ID – Kohberger’s phone utilizes cellular resources that would provide coverage to the King Road Residence (the murder scene).
• 9:32 a.m. – Pullman, WA – Kohberger’s phone utilizes cellular resources that are consistent with the phone arriving back to the area of his residence.
• 10:31 a.m. – Bryan Kohberger takes a photograph of himself in a bathroom, using his cell phone.
• 11:58 a.m. – Dylan Mortensen calls 911. [Note: The time of the 911 call has been alternatively reported as 11:56 a.m.]
• 12:34:15 p.m. – 301 5th Street, Clarkston, WA – An individual matching the description of KOHBERGER enters the main entrance to Costco. The individual appears to approach the front door from the northeast portion of the parking lot.
• 12:34:57 p.m. – 301 5th Street, Clarkston, WA – An individual matching the description of KOHBERGER appears to be denied entry into Costco and leaves out the entrance and returns to the northeast section of the parking lot.
• 12:37:55 p.m. to 1:04:16 pm – Clarkston, WA – There are several other surveillance camera sightings of Bryan Kohberger and his vehicle in Clarkston, WA, including imagery of him using a self-checkout in Albertson’s supermarket.

So, by the time the bathroom selfie was taken, Bryan Kohberger had driven from the area of the crime scene to Pullman and then back to Moscow, according to the investigators’ timeline. The Affidavit of CPL Brett Payne indicates that Kohberger spent approximately 9 minutes in the area of the crime scene on his return trip (9:12 – 9:21 a.m.). The cell phone records indicate he was back in the area of his Pullman residence at approximately 9:32 a.m. The bathroom selfie was taken less than an hour later at 10:31 a.m.

Bathroom of a two-bedroom flat at the Steptoe Village apartments at Washington State University – posted for comparison to the bathroom selfie taken by Bryan Kohberger

A couple of hours later, Kohberger was caught on multiple surveillance cameras in Clarkston, Washington, where he attempted to shop at Costco, used the drive-through lane at Kate’s Cup of Joe, and shopped for an unknown item or items at Albertson’s supermarket. Incidentally, there are several grocery stores and coffee shops in Pullman; the nearest Costco was in Clarkston. One could surmise that he drove 35 miles to go to Costco for something specific; oddly enough, he appears to have been denied entry. It’s unknown if he (or his family) had a Costco membership. I haven’t come across any subpoenas for Kohberger’s Costco account records, should they exist.

Why Kohberger returned to Moscow between 9:00 and 9:21 that morning is still a mystery at this point. Some speculate that he returned after realizing he’d lost the KA-BAR knife sheath. However, it would be insanely risky to re-enter the crime scene to look for the sheath, and he doesn’t appear concerned about the loss of the item (or anything else) in the 10:31 selfie. I think it’s more likely he wanted to see if there was any activity at the crime scene indicating the murders had been discovered. According to currently available data, the house at 1122 King Road appeared quiet during the time in question. Dylan was using her phone to access Instagram from 8:05 to 10:00 a.m., and there is no reported activity on Bethany’s phone between 9:05 and 11:21. What must Bryan Kohberger have been thinking? Did he wonder why the murders had not yet been reported? According to Dylan, she saw Kohberger from approximately 3 feet away as he fled the crime scene. Did he see her and let her live? If so, it must have been confusing to him that police were not at the scene by 9:00 a.m.

The documents referenced in this blog post can be found in the State’s Response to Defendant’s Motion in Limine #12, RE: Make and Model of Suspect Vehicle filed on 17 March 2025.

• State’s Exhibit S-1 (Statement of Brett Payne) – begins on p. 10
• State’s Exhibit S-2 (Summary of collected surveillance footage) – begins on p. 28

Bryan Kohberger’s Celebratory Selfie

A steady stream of documents have been released by the Court in regards to the State’s case against Bryan Kohberger for the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Conclaves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin which occurred on November 13, 2022. You can access all of the documents on the State of Idaho’s website here: https://coi.isc.idaho.gov/docs/Cases/CR01-24-31665-25.html

The State included a photograph of the accused in a filing dated 17 March 2025 and titled:

STATE’S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION IN LIMINE #7
RE: WITNESS IDENTIFICATION BY BUSHY EYEBROWS

https://coi.isc.idaho.gov/docs/CR01-24-31665/2025/031725-States-Response-Defendants-MiL-7-RE-Witness-Identification-Bushy-Eyebrows.pdf

The inclusion of the photograph is prefaced with the following statement in the document:

The State intends to introduce a photograph of Bryan Kohberger taken from his phone on November 13, 2022, only hours after the homicides at 10:31 a.m. See State’s Exhibit S-5. Whether or not Bryan Kohberger can be described as having “bushy eyebrows” is a factual determination to be decided by the jury. (p. 12)

The context behind this evidence and argument is that the killer of the University of Idaho students was observed by surviving roommate, Dylan Mortensen, as he fled the scene. Although the killer was wearing a mask, the description provided by Dylan being similar to a black balaclava, she could see his eyebrows and repeatedly described him as having bushy eyebrows. The defense takes issue with her statements and argues that Bryan Kohberger does not have bushy eyebrows.

For the record, I would describe his eyebrows as bushy and low-set. That, in combination with his high forehead, make it logical that Dylan would be able to observe his eyebrows and that they would be a feature made prominent by the balaclava. [See stock image of balaclava below.]

Stock image of a balaclava

In one document, there is an allegation that Dylan made a remark to the other surviving roommate about the killer having a big nose. While there appears to be some uncertainty regarding the authenticity of this remark, I would agree also with this descriptor.

Now to the aspects of the photograph that I find more interesting…

I have seen comments online that there is no shower curtain visible in this photograph. People seem to think this is indicative of Kohberger having used the shower curtain to protect the interior of his vehicle from blood transfer or other trace evidence following the murders. In fact, the shower curtain is visible in the photo on the righthand side of the image. I’m including a screenshot with markups to indicate the top corner of the the shower curtain as well as two visible creases indicating the shower curtain was recently unpackaged at the time this photo was taken. (Note: I think I can see another crease about halfway up between the top corner and the top marked crease, but being uncertain, I elected not to point to it. I’ll leave it to the reader to observe.)

This is not to argue that the presence of the shower curtain hurts the State’s case. On the contrary, these, along with other details, are interesting in and of themselves. The creases in the shower curtain indicate it had been recently unpackaged at the time the photograph was taken. Kohberger had lived in his apartment in Pullman, Washington for approximately 5 months at the time. Why a new shower curtain? Was he replacing one he used for other purposes, or replacing one he feared may have bloodstains or other trace evidence from the crime scene?

The thumbs-up gesture and the self-satisfied expression indicate Kohberger is pleased with a recent or contemporaneous accomplishment. Kohberger appears freshly showered, as exhibited by the condition of his hair, and newly dressed, as exhibited by the imperfection of the up-fold at the back of his shirt collar. His hand appears to have a much redder tone than the skin of his face. I’m not going to draw any conclusions about that at this point. I do wonder what he was listening to on his earphones though.

Beyond all of that, how fortunate it is for the State and unfortunate for the defendant that Bryan Kohberger took this celebratory selfie. Not only is it useful to illustrate the status of the defendant’s eyebrows contemporaneous to the crime, but the jury is likely to find the photograph creepy and disturbing. Perhaps, this is the real reason the Defense wants to exclude the introduction of any mention of the killer having bushy eyebrows.

I’m back, baby…well, maybe

I reckon anyone who read Friction Powered when I was regularly posting content has disappeared. So, I expect to be starting afresh in gaining readers…if that even occurs. Nevertheless, I’m not dead and have continued to quietly follow investigations over the intervening years, electing for the most part not to write publicly about my thoughts and theories. As you can see in the collage, few of the cases that have held my interest include the following, in no particular order:

• The Delphi murders
• The Idaho 4
• Alex Murdaugh
• Jacob Wetterling
• Laci Peterson
• JonBenét Ramsey
• The Zodiac Killer
• The Golden State Killer
• Madeleine McCann
• Meredith Kercher

I also kept up with the appeals filed by Jason Young which were rejected by the North Carolina Court of Appeals. As you can see by looking at this blog, the Michelle Young case made up the lion’s share of the content. The Laci Peterson case, the JonBenet Ramsey case, and the O.J. Simpson case probably would been given equal focus had this blog existed when those cases began. The only thing I’ve found interesting about the Simpson case in the last decade was the interview of O.J. by Judith Regan. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend that you do. I don’t know that I’ll ever return to writing as extensively about any case as I’ve done in the past, but, as the saying goes, never say never.

When I considered returning to writing, I thought I would start with JonBenét because of recent activity in the case and my belief that it remains solvable. If you’re not aware, John Ramsey and his son, John Andrew, are pressing for authorities to conduct advanced DNA testing on some of the evidence and, if possible, use investigative genetic genealogy to identify JonBenét’s killer. I hope they are successful. Despite my interest in writing about the Ramsey case, I have some things to say about the Delphi case, as well. I realize it ended in a conviction, but there are still things to be discussed. If nothing else, the allegations by defenders of Richard Allen (better characterized as those who accuse investigators, the prosecutor, and the judge of corruption) deserve to be refuted. Hopefully, I’ll soon settle on one case to start with and get something published. I’m more than a little rusty though. This will likely be slow-going and sporadic. As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.

If, by chance, anyone drops by, feel free to say hello in the comments.

The Pines Postcard

Did Zodiac send it? Was Victim 12 Donna Lass?

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery received a postcard purported to be from the Zodiac Killer on March 22nd, 1971. It included an artist’s rendering of a condominium development as well as several words and phrases of text. The postcard was examined by handwriting expert Sherwood Morrill who determined that the letters in the handwriting on the address side of the card “conformed and are consistent with all other Zodiac writings I have examined” despite the fact that the card contained very little handwriting. As you can see in the images of both sides of the postcard, most of the text had been cut from newspapers and pasted onto the card. Only the words “Zodiac” in the return address position and “Att. Paul Averly = ChronicLe” at the bottom of the card, along with the two Zodiac symbols were handwritten. Granted, I am not a questioned documents examiner, but I do have more than a layperson’s knowledge and understanding of the discipline. In addition to my belief that the handwriting sample on the postcard is insufficient for a positive identification of the author, I see characteristics in the handwriting that call Morrill’s assessment into question.

• 

• 

Zodiac intended for the Z-340 to be cracked

Anyone who has followed the case of the Zodiac Killer should be aware by now that the Z-340 cipher was recently solved by a team of codebreakers – David Oranchak of the United States, Sam Blake of Australia, and Jarl Van Eycke of Belgium. Mr. Oranchak has posted a video on his YouTube channel explaining how the team arrived at the solution. It is recommended that you watch Oranchak’s video before reading any more of this blog entry. You can also read about his efforts to solve the cipher on his blog — zodiackillerciphers.com. Side note: You may notice that his video is Episode 5 of a series. It’s quite interesting to go back and watch the first four episodes after viewing the fifth.

Figure 1: The Zodiac Z-340

The Z-340, thus named because it contains 340 characters, is one of four ciphers mailed to newspapers by the Zodiac in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Prior to the achievement of Oranchak and team, it was commonly theorized that the 340 contained no encoded text but was merely a collection of random symbols meant to mislead. It was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on November 8^th, 1969 in the same envelope with a greeting card later dubbed the Dripping Pen Card. It appears that the killer wanted to make the 340 more difficult to solve than its predecessor, the Z-408 which had been mailed in three parts to three different newspapers in August of 1969 – the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, and the Vallejo Times-Herald. A school teacher, Donald Gene Harden, and his wife Bettye June Harden cracked the 408-character cipher in a matter of hours after it was published by the newspapers. 

In reviewing the mailings of the Zodiac, I’ve come to believe that his desire to make the code more complex was more an attempt to demonstrate his cryptographic prowess rather than a means to make the cipher unbreakable. There is nothing of great significance in the content of the message as you can see in the following screenshot of Oranchak’s video.

Justice: Proverbs 6

 

 

 

16 These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

20 My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
21 Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you roam, they[b] will lead you;
When you sleep, they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;

 

 

 

Jason Young Trial

For the second time, Jason Young will be tried for the 2006 murder of his pregnant wife, Michelle Marie Fisher Young.  The first trial, which was conducted last summer, ended in a mistrial.  Opening statements are set to proceed at 9 a.m. EST tomorrow.  WRAL.com will be live-streaming from the courtroom.  Click the link below to follow the trial on their website.

WRAL.com’s Jason Young Trial page.

LINK to Live-Stream of trial, courtesy of WRAL.com.

Join the discussion at the FPX forum:  LINK

Jason Young Trial: Back to Square One

Jury selection begins today in a Wake County courtroom for the second trial of Jason Young in the murder of his pregnant wife, Michelle Marie Fisher Young.  Jason Young’s first trial ended in a mistrial when twelve juror were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. As such, the prosecution begins anew; jury selection is expected to take several weeks with opening statements due to follow on February 6.

With the prosecution back at square one, I think it’s an appropriate time to revisit the way in which Michelle Young’s murder was discovered and the investigation began.

Michelle was bludgeoned to death in the bedroom of her Raleigh, North Carolina, home on November 3, 2006. Her body was discovered by her sister, Meredith Fisher, who was sent to the house by Jason Young to retrieve a printout of Coach purses for sale on eBay which he claimed to have forgotten on the printer when leaving for a business trip the prior evening.

Meredith arrived to find things in an unusual state to say the least.  The pillar lights at the end of the driveway were on; the backyard gate was standing open; a water hose was trickling in the backyard; the Youngs’ dog, Mr. Garrison was whining plaintively from within the house, Michelle’s car was in the garage; tiny bloody footprints dappled the floor of an upstairs bathroom.  In the master bedroom,  Michelle’s battered body lay on the floor next to the bed in a pool of blood; the walls and furniture were spattered with blood; and Cassidy, Jason and Michelle’s 2 1/2 year old daughter, was hiding beneath the covers of the bed.  Meredith promptly called 911 to try to get help for her sister, though she feared that Michelle was already dead.

I have previously posted on this blog a transcript of the 911 call which I typed while listening to the recording on WRAL.com’s website.  However, during the trial last summer, a more complete version of the 911 call was played.  What follows is a transcript of the call as played during Meredith’s testimony.  Please note:  This is not an official transcript.

Jason Young: Verdict Watch

Testimony in the trial of Jason Young for the first degree murder of his pregnant wife, Michelle Marie Fisher Young, wrapped up yesterday.  Defense attorneys and prosecutors presented their closing arguments to the jury today, and the fate of Jason Young is now in the hands of twelve jurors. 

As fate would have it, the forum we have been using to discuss the trial is down for maintenance.  In the meantime, I’ve opened a Verdict Watch thread at our original forum.

Original Forum:  Friction Powered Information Exchange
Alternate Forum:  FPX II (temporarily down for maintenance)

Update:

FPX II is back online.  We’ll continue the discussion there.  Sorry for any confusion.

Jason Young Trial

http://wwwcache.wral.com/presentation/v2/flash/video/vp-wral.swf?v=20100913a

Discussion of the trial has been moved to FPX II due to ongoing technical difficulties at the original FPX.