The University of Idaho student who survived the gruesome quadruple homicide that captured the nation’s attention last year should prepare to be “attacked” by suspect Bryan Kohberger’s defense when she testifies, a trial expert told The Post.
Dylan Mortensen survived the Nov. 13, 2022, massacre that left his friends, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, dead.
He came face to face with the killer moments after the bloody massacre and told authorities he saw a “figure dressed in black clothing and a mask” walking toward the back exit of the house shortly after 4 a.m., according to a police report.
Another roommate, Bethany Funke, also survived the horror.
But Court TV executive producer Ted Rowlands told The Post that he believes Mortensen’s testimony will be critical to the trial, which begins later this month.
“I think Dylan is going to be important because the defense is going to jump on her,” Rowlands, 57, said Friday.
“If she was so scared, locked the door, stayed in the room and froze like she told investigators, then why didn’t anyone call 911 for 12 hours? She will be fundamental.”
Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen (left) can expect Bryan Kohberger’s defense to “take advantage” when she testifies. VSCO / Dylan Mortensen
Rowlands, who produced a Court TV documentary about Kohberger that aired Sunday, said that “at the end of the day, her story will be fascinating” and he believes she will sway the jury to her side.
“His story seems like something out of a horror movie,” he said.
“What she went through was traumatic beyond the ordinary… She is a girl who has been put in a horrible position. I think her story will help the prosecution a lot.”
Bryan Kohberger allegedly rampaged through the off-campus house and killed the other four in their beds.AP
As for Funke, who is fighting a subpoena that would force her to testify, Rowlands isn’t sure her story will have the same impact.
Both girls were home when Kohberger allegedly broke into the off-campus house and stabbed the other four in their beds. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The two girls, who were allegedly texting each other while the murders were occurring, received an avalanche of hate online, especially Mortensen after it was revealed that no one called 911 for several hours after the quadruple murders occurred.
“They have to feel survivor’s guilt,” Rowlands said. “These two were theoretically very close to dying and they survived.”
Mortensen’s story “is straight out of a horror movie,” said Court TV producer Ted Rowlands. Instagram / Maddie Mogen Bethany Funke also survived the horror. “They have to feel survivor’s guilt,” Rowlands said. “These two were theoretically very close to dying and they survived.” instagram
Many have speculated that the 28-year-old criminology student’s defense will also go out of its way to remind the jury that the house was known to be a “party house,” which explains why his DNA was found there.
“I think the fact that he was in that area 12 times in the five months leading up to the murders, I think he had been in that house before and he had gone into those girls’ rooms before,” Rowlands said.
Criminal defense attorney Jack Rice said in Rowland’s documentary that he, too, believed the defense would take this angle.
Rowlands said Kohnerger’s team will argue that he had been in the house before the murder. New York Post
“One of the most important parts of this case is the DNA, and what we know is that this is a party house,” Rice said in a clip, obtained exclusively by The Post.
“We know that there are hundreds of children in this house; it might even have included him. And the thing is, if he was in this house, are you suggesting that these four know everyone who was there? I doubt that.
“Suddenly, you might have a completely different judgment.”
Kohberger’s defense team has also alleged that the Pennsylvania native has an alibi, but has not yet revealed exactly what it is.
His lawyer, Anne Taylor, said over the summer that the alibi will likely be revealed during cross-examination of witnesses.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn