Survivor Calls Murderer "Hollow Vessel" as Witness List Revealed

On July 23, 2025, survivor Dylan Mortensen delivered an emotional testimony at the sentencing of Bryan Kohberger, the man who murdered four of her best friends in Moscow, Idaho. Mortensen described Kohberger as a "hollow vessel" and "something less than human" with no empathy or remorse.

Mortensen's powerful words came to light as a recently unsealed court filing revealed Kohberger's planned witness list for his trial. The list included not only Mortensen, but also Bethany Funke, the only other person who survived the November 13, 2022 attack. Funke was too traumatized by the incident to attend the sentencing, and instead had a friend read her statement in court, saying she "was scared the person who did this would come for me next."

Kohberger's witness list also included the ex-boyfriend of victim Kaylee Goncalves, as well as other students who were first to arrive at the scene that fateful morning. In the end, only Mortensen and her friend Emily Alandt found themselves face-to-face with the killer in the courtroom. Mortensen spoke about the victims, saying "Because of him, four beautiful, genuine, compassionate people were taken from this world for no reason."