Families of slain Idaho students sue WSU, alleging failures before murders
Family of Kaylee Goncalves to sue Washington State University
The family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four University of Idaho students murdered by Bryan Kohberger, plans to sue Washington State University, where the killer was a criminology grad student.
The families of four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in November 2022 have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Washington State University, alleging the school failed to act on repeated warnings about Bryan Kohberger before the murders.
Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, along with the women's two other roommates in Kaylee Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the slayings. (kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
The civil complaint was filed in Skagit County Superior Court and names Washington State University as the sole defendant. The plaintiffs are the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were killed in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
Kohberger, a former WSU Ph.D. student and teaching assistant, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and is serving four consecutive life sentences without parole.
What the lawsuit alleges
According to the complaint, Kohberger was hired by WSU in 2022 as a teaching assistant in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology while pursuing a doctoral degree. The lawsuit alleges that shortly after arriving in Pullman, he developed a reputation for "discriminatory, harassing, and stalking behavior," particularly toward women.
The filing claims at least 13 formal complaints related to Kohberger were made to the university, including reports to faculty, supervisors and WSU’s Office of Compliance and Civil Rights.
Several female students and staff members allegedly reported feeling unsafe, seeking security escorts, altering their routines or avoided certain spaces because of Kohberger’s behavior.
One graduate student is quoted in the complaint as describing Kohberger as a "stalker" or "sexual assaulter type." A faculty member allegedly said, "Mark my words, I work with predators, if we give him a Ph.D. that’s the guy that in that many years when he is a professor, we will hear is harassing, stalking, and sexually abusing […] his students."
Idaho Students Killed: New Details Emerge in Kohberger Case Files
The Moscow Police Department has released hundreds of pages of documents detailing the investigation into the murders of four University of Idaho students, following Bryan Kohberger's life sentence.
Claims of inaction by WSU
Despite those reports, the lawsuit alleges WSU failed to meaningfully intervene.
The complaint argues the university had both the authority and responsibility to act under multiple policies, including Title IX, employee conduct rules and campus safety standards. Instead, it alleges WSU continued to employ Kohberger, provide him access to students and faculty, and house him in university-owned graduate housing.
The lawsuit also claims WSU failed to properly investigate complaints or escalate concerns through its threat assessment processes.
"As a result of WSU’s actions and failures," the complaint states, "four young college students were brutally murdered."
When asked about the lawsuit, a spokesperson for WSU told FOX 13 Seattle: "Our hearts remain with the families and friends impacted by this horrific tragedy. Because this is a legal matter, we are declining further comment at this time."
Focus on campus safety and threat assessment
The filing details WSU’s internal threat assessment systems and alleges they were not properly used in Kohberger’s case. The complaint describes stalking as a known risk factor for escalating violence and alleges Kohberger’s behavior matched recognized warning patterns that should have triggered intervention.
The lawsuit also references prior issues within the WSU Police Department, alleging a broader pattern of failures that discouraged reporting and contributed to inaction at the time Kohberger was employed.
How this ties to the criminal case
Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 and later pleaded guilty to murdering Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin. Investigators linked him to the killings through DNA evidence, cellphone data and surveillance footage.
While the criminal case focused on Kohberger’s actions, the civil lawsuit centers on whether earlier intervention by WSU could have prevented the killings. The complaint describes the tragedy as "foreseeable—and, in fact, predictable."
What happens next?
The case will proceed in Skagit County Superior Court unless it is moved or dismissed.
The allegations outlined in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the lawsuit filed in Skagit County, Washington along with Washington State University and previous FOX 13 Seattle reporting.