Netflix has released a new three-part documentary series about the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. The series, called The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, arrived on the streaming platform on July 29, 2026. It looks at the case through bodycam footage, text messages, surveillance videos, and interviews with the victims’ families, friends, and investigators.
The documentary comes at a time when the case is back in the news. Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of the murders, recently filed a petition to withdraw his guilty plea and reopen his case. He says he is innocent and wants a trial.
What Happened in Moscow, Idaho
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in their off-campus home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho. The victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. Chapin, who was dating Kernodle, was staying over that night.
The killings happened between approximately 4:00 and 4:25 a.m.. A 911 call was placed at 11:56 a.m. reporting an unconscious person at the house. When police arrived, they found all four students dead.
The case shocked the small college town, which had not seen a homicide in seven years. It gained national attention and became one of the most closely followed criminal cases in recent history.
How Police Found the Suspect
More than six weeks after the murders, police arrested Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University. The university is about a 10-minute drive from the University of Idaho.
Prosecutors said DNA found on a knife sheath left at the crime scene linked him to the murders. Cellphone records and surveillance footage also placed him near the scene. Investigators found that his cell phone went off-grid around the time of the murders.
The documentary shows how law enforcement pieced together the evidence. It includes bodycam footage from the day of the murders, some of which had not been seen before.
A Focus on the Victims, Not the Killer
What makes this documentary different from others about the case is its focus. Director Skye Borgman and executive producer Joe Berlinger chose to build the series around the four victims rather than the person who killed them.
“That choice was probably the easiest choice to make — to really focus on these four individuals and not on the perpetrator,” Borgman told Netflix.
Borgman said she felt a responsibility to keep the victims at the center of every decision. The families wanted people to know that the students were more than just victims.
“They weren’t just victims. They were alive, bright, happy, amazing people,” Borgman said.
The series shows video shot by the students and their friends, capturing candid moments of their college lives. It shows the relationship between Chapin and Kernodle, who were a couple, and the close friendship between Goncalves and Mogen.
What the Documentary Reveals
The three-part series includes several details that had not been widely seen before.
Bodycam footage shows police officers’ reactions when they entered the home. One officer can be heard saying “F—!” upon finding the first two bodies. Another officer says, “I think we have a homicide. Two college-aged people appearing both to be deceased. Lots of blood”. Officers can be heard whispering “Oh man” when they found the other two victims.
The documentary also includes interviews with the surviving roommates. Dylan Mortensen told investigators she heard noises and a male voice she did not recognize. She recalled hearing a man say, “You’re going to be OK. I’m going to help you,” but said it was said “in a weird way”.
Another roommate, Bethany Funke, recalled that Goncalves had told her about seeing a man’s silhouette staring at her while she took the dog out about a month before the murders.
The Guilty Plea and What Happened Next
Kohberger initially pleaded not guilty. A trial was scheduled to begin in August 2025. But a little over a month before the trial, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all four murders and one burglary charge. The plea deal took the death penalty off the table. He was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without parole and an additional 10 years for burglary.
Some family members had wanted the death penalty. Kaylee’s mother, Kristi Goncalves, said in the documentary:
“What I want, is I want for him to die. I will not say his name. Never ever. Nope, absolutely not. Justice would only be if the kids came back and that doesn’t work that way. The kids are gone, they are never coming back, but I want him to die.”
Kohberger Now Wants to Change His Plea
On July 27, 2026, just days before the documentary premiered, Kohberger filed a petition to withdraw his guilty plea. He told The New York Times that he has an “absolute claim of innocence” and wants to stand trial.
“My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn,” Kohberger said in a statement.
He said his defense team misled him and persuaded him to enter a false guilty plea. He told the Times from prison that “a lot went wrong in those plea discussions”.
The legal process for withdrawing a guilty plea is difficult. Idaho law allows it, but a person must meet a high bar to prove the claims being made.
The Motive Remains Unclear
Even after the guilty plea and conviction, the motive for the murders remains unknown. Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger says in the documentary:
“Ultimately we never have been able to answer that question that everybody wants answered: ‘Why?’ We don’t know, ‘Why these four?’ We don’t know, ‘Why this house?’ I don’t think we’ll ever know.”
The documentary suggests that Kohberger may have been studying criminology to carry out the perfect crime. A former classmate from DeSales University, Lilly Karaban, said Kohberger dominated class discussions about serial killers and was “in his own world”. The series also highlights a Reddit questionnaire Kohberger posted as part of a research project, asking people who had been incarcerated how they chose and approached victims.
Viewer Reactions
Viewers have responded strongly to the documentary. On Reddit, one person wrote: “This show does a really good job of looking at the victims as people. It’s really heartbreaking”. Another said: “I feel like the documentaries we had so far had a part for them, but they focused so much on their killer. Glad it’s different this time”. A viewer on X wrote: “It literally sends a chill through me. The ambiance of the scene, is so scary and dark. You can sense the evil that came through the house that night”.
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How to Watch
The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare is available to stream on Netflix. All three episodes are currently available. Each episode runs about 44 minutes. The series is rated TV-MA and includes sensitive content, including graphic crime-scene imagery.
The episodes are titled:
- 1122 King Road – Covers the 911 call and discovery of the murders
- The Intruder – Follows the investigation and search for the suspect
- This Is Forever – Covers the arrest and the families’ fight for justice
Netflix describes the series as “visceral and intimate but told with sensitivity”. The streaming service has warned viewers about the graphic content.
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