Shivangi Sinha
In November 2022, news broke that four University of Idaho students had been murdered inside their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. Two residents of the house survived the attack, one of whom was Bethany Funke. She had been staying on the first floor of the home and spent the remainder of the night with fellow housemate Dylan Mortensen. In the aftermath of the crime, the two young women became the subject of widespread online speculation, hate, and unfounded gossip, which deeply affected Bethany. Netflix’s ‘The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare’ explores lesser-known aspects of the case and highlights the ordeal the two of them endured in the wake of the tragedy.
Bethany Funke Hunkered Down in Her Room to Keep Herself Safe on the Night of the Crime
Bethany Funke was only about 18 years old in 2022 and was enjoying her life as a student at the University of Idaho. She lived in a first-floor bedroom of an off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, alongside her roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Dylan Mortensen. On the night of November 13, 2022, Bethany was asleep in her room when, around 4 am, she was awakened by a loud noise she later described as sounding like a firework going off beneath her door. She also heard what she thought was a ping-pong table being moved and Xana Kernodle’s dog barking. She said that at first she believed that one of her roommates was simply awake and moving around the house.
At around 4:30 am, Bethany received a text from Dylan Mortensen, who told her that she had heard someone inside the house and had also seen a masked stranger. Bethany asked Dylan to come to her room, where the two remained locked inside for nearly eight hours. Fearing for their own safety and overwhelmed by the shock of what might have happened, they stayed hidden until later that morning. They eventually called their friends, Hunter Johnson and Emily Alandt, to come and check on the house. It was then that the remains of Kaylee, Madison, Xana, and Ethan Chapin were discovered. Bethany later gave a detailed recorded interview to the responding officers, recounting everything she had heard and experienced throughout the night. She also told them how Xana had felt someone had been watching her a few days before the crime.
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In the aftermath of the crime, before investigators had made an arrest, a great deal of online speculation and discussion surrounded the case. Bethany Funke found herself at the receiving end of widespread hate and accusations, with many people questioning her and Dylan Mortensen’s decision to wait several hours before raising the alarm. However, Bethany was never considered a suspect, and investigators also explained that it is common for people to react differently in dangerous situations. In 2025, during Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing, Bethany did not appear in court herself. Instead, a victim impact statement she had written was read by her friend, Emily Alandt.
In it, Bethany expressed that she was grieving not only the loss of some of her closest and most cherished friendships but also the relentless public scrutiny that followed. She shared that her family had been pursued and harassed by the media and that she had allegedly received death threats. One of the most emotional parts of her statement read, “I hated and still hate that they are gone, but for some reason, I am still here, and I got to live… Why did I get to live and not them?” Shortly after the crime, Bethany transferred out of the University of Idaho. By 2024, she was reportedly a senior majoring in public health and remained a member of the Alpha Tau Omega chapter while also continuing to be involved with soccer. Since then, she has largely stayed out of the public eye and has kept most aspects of her personal life private as she continues to heal.
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