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Bryan Kohberger sentencing today: Surviving roommate's powerful victim impact statement, ‘I still carry so much regret’
The sentencing hearing of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger started with an emotional victim impact statement from surviving roommate Bethany Funke.
The sentencing hearing of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger started with an emotional and powerful victim impact statement from surviving roommate Bethany Funke in the Boise, Idaho, courtroom. Funke and Dylan Mortensen were in the house during the crime, unaware that their four friends were being stabbed to death. Kohberger has been accused of killing Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, at a rental home near their campus in Moscow, Idaho.
During the sentencing, Funke’s statement was read aloud by a friend on her behalf. "Never in a million years would I have thought that something like this would have happened to my closest friends," Funke wrote.
Also Read | Idaho murders: Who were Ethan, Xana, Kaylee and Madison? Remembering the victims
“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,” Funke further wrote, adding, "That was the worst day of my life, and I know it always will be."
Funke added that even as she was grieving, she was harassed by the media, and on social media. She claimed that she even got death threats.
“I was grieving, numb and unsure if what had happened was even real, and at the same time, I was getting flooded with death threats and painful messages from people who did not know me at all or know the dynamic of our friendship,” Funke wrote. “The media harassed not just me, but also my family. People showed up at our house, they called my phone. My parents phoned other family members’ phones and we were chased while I was still trying to survive emotionally and grieve.”
Funke explained that this was made “worse” by social media, where “strangers made up stories to entertain themselves.”
‘What happened that night changed everything’
The other surviving movement, Mortensen, also spoke out in court, describing the trauma she has suffered after Kohberger’s crime. "I can't breathe," she said, adding that she had panic attacks and would constantly need to plan escape routes.
"What happened that night changed everything," Mortenten added, as Kohberger stared at her with furrowed brows. "Because of him, four beautiful, genuine, compassionate people were taken from this world for no reason."
Mortensen said that Kohberger “took away my ability to trust the world around me” and “shattered me in places I didn’t know could break.” “I was barely 19 when he did this. We had just celebrated my birthday at the end of September. I should’ve been figuring out who I was. I should’ve been figuring out the college experience … instead I was forced to learn how to survive the unimaginable. I couldn’t be left alone. I had to sleep in my mom’s room because I was too terrified to close my eyes,” she added.
