Newly unsealed court filings reveal that 20-year-old Xana Kernodle was stabbed 67 times after confronting Bryan Kohberger during the Nov. 13, 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students. Evidence indicates Kernodle heard noises while eating, went to investigate, and engaged in a desperate struggle as Kohberger pursued her. Forensic findings — including blood transfer, DNA under fingernails and a KA-BAR sheath with Kohberger's DNA — helped secure his guilty pleas and life sentences instead of the death penalty.
Autopsy: Xana Kernodle Stabbed 67 Times After Confronting Attacker in Moscow Killings
Xana KernodleXana Kernodle/Instagram
Newly unsealed court filings obtained by PEOPLE detail the autopsy of 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, who investigators say was stabbed 67 times by Bryan Kohberger during the Nov. 13, 2022, break-in that left four University of Idaho students dead in an off-campus rental in Moscow, Idaho.
Evidence Shows a Struggle
According to the filings, forensic and crime-scene evidence indicate Kernodle was likely eating a delivered meal in the second-floor kitchen when she heard noises upstairs, went to investigate and encountered Kohberger after he had already killed two roommates. Photos show a partially eaten Jack in the Box meal in the kitchen, and transfer stains of blood from Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were found on Mogen's bedroom door, the stairwell and walls near Kernodle's room—consistent with movement through the house after those victims were incapacitated.
Kernodle, who was not in bed at the time of the attack, attempted to flee back to her bedroom and was overtaken by Kohberger. Though unarmed and shorter than her attacker, she resisted. Investigators report that her body displayed signs of active defense: blood on the soles of her feet, wiped blood on her body, wounds to the hands that extended into bone, and blood and DNA exchange between her and fellow victim Ethan Chapin.
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Autopsy Findings
The autopsy lists 67 stab and incised wounds distributed across multiple regions: 23 wounds to the face, neck and scalp; seven to the chest; four to the abdomen; three to the back; 25 to the upper extremities; and five to the lower extremities. More severe injuries included punctures to the skull's outer shell, perforations of the jugular vein, heart, lung and pulmonary blood vessels, and hemorrhage into the chest cavities.
Forensic testing found Kernodle's blood and DNA under Chapin's fingernails and Chapin's blood and DNA under both of Kernodle's fingernails, supporting the conclusion that the two were in close proximity during their final moments. Investigators also recovered a KA-BAR knife sheath with traces of Kohberger's DNA at the scene.
Impact On The Case
Prosecutors say the physical evidence from the struggle — including the knife sheath and the wounds observed on Kohberger after the killings — played a significant role in the case. Kohberger ultimately entered guilty pleas to four counts of murder in exchange for life sentences without the death penalty.
Sensitivity note: This article contains details of violent injuries. Families of the victims and community members have expressed profound grief and the legal proceedings remain an important part of seeking accountability.
Source: Court filings and autopsy reports referenced in reporting by PEOPLE.
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