Bryan Kohberger Murder Trial: Roommate Who Survived Idaho College Massacre Agrees to Meet With Defense

Bethany Funke, one of the two surviving roommates of the University of Idaho students slain in last year's massacre, has agreed to meet with Bryan Kohberger's counsel, according to court papers obtained by Inside Edition Digital.

Funke will withdraw a court filing she previously submitted asking a judge to quash a subpoena requiring her to testify at the preliminary hearing. Kohberger and his defense team issued a subpoena requesting that Funke appear in Latah County Court for a preliminary hearing in June.

In the affidavit filed with the court, a lawyer for Kohberger writes that Funke has “information material to the charges against Mr. Kohberger.”

Furthermore, the defense says that “portions of information Ms. Funke has is exculpatory to the defendant.” 

Funke and her attorneys responded to the claim that she might have exculpatory evidence, saying this is “without support.” Funke’s lawyers also had said that the court does not have the authority to summon a witness located in Nevada to Idaho for a preliminary hearing.

The defense has agreed to withdraw its subpoenas in exchange for Funke's cooperation in being interviewed. 

Funke slept on the first floor of the home where Kohberger allegedly murdered roommates Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, on Nov. 13, 2022. The four University of Idaho students had been found stabbed to death in the young women's off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho.

The probable cause affidavit released earlier this year notes that Funke spoke with investigators, but the document did not provide any further details.

Dylan Mortenson, the other surviving roommate, told authorities that she saw a man leaving the home on the night her roommates were killed. 

After hearing noises that sounded like crying, Mortenson told police she opened her door and saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person's mouth and nose walking towards her.

The preliminary hearing in Kohberger's has been scheduled for June 26. Kohberger will enter his plea at that time to the four counts of first-degree murder. The public defender assigned to represent Kohberger following his arrest in Pennsylvania said that Kohberger informed him that he expects to be exonerated at trial.

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