A woman who matched with Bryan Kohberger on Tinder just weeks before the 2022 quadruple murder of University of Idaho students has come forward with a chilling account of their interaction. According to newly unsealed police documents, what began as a casual chat quickly turned disturbing.
The conversation shifted to horror movies and murders, during which Kohberger reportedly asked her: “What do you think is the worst way to die?” When she answered “a knife,” he followed up with: “Like a Ka‑Bar?”—the exact model of military‑style knife later identified in the crime. The woman said she Googled the knife, felt alarmed, and ended the interaction. Investigators noted she could not confirm her identity again, citing that it was no longer accessible through her Tinder account.
Kohberger, a former Washington State University criminology Ph.D. student, was linked to the murders via DNA on a knife sheath found at the scene, cellphone data, vehicle tracking, and other evidence. He pled guilty in June 2025 and was sentenced on July 23 to four consecutive life sentences plus additional years for burglary, avoiding the death penalty.
The case, which claimed the lives of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin on November 13, 2022, remains a grim chapter in modern criminal history.