Netflix’s The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare is the latest true crime story to grab our attention with its investigation of one of America’s most shocking murder cases in recent history. The three-part documentary series revisits the tragic killing of four university students as it follows the night of the crime, the suspect’s escape and his eventual arrest some weeks later.

Currently topping the streaming platform’s top 10 list, we look at the true story behind the documentary below:

What is The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare about?

The series explores the murders of four University of Idaho students – Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle – who shared a home together off-campus in Moscow, Idaho. On 13 November, 2022, the students were fatally stabbed by Bryan Kohberger, a graduate student from the nearby Washington State University. As the documentary covers, it took over a month for the police to track Kohberger down, but for the producers, this wasn’t ever going to be the focus point. Instead, they decided on a victim-first approach that put the students and their families at the centre of the series.

“That choice was probably the easiest choice to make – to really focus on these four individuals and not on the perpetrator,” director Skye Borgman explained to Tudum. “It’s because they deserve [it] … everything that was in the news was talking about ‘Who did this? Who could have done this?’ And their names were not front of mind.”

Although it’s the victims’ stories that are firmly in the spotlight, there was “a need to explain as much as we can, how it all happened and why it all happened,” Borgman acknowledged, highlighting that Kohberger has never publicly given a motive. “We’re never going to know exactly, because he’s never given any reason for doing this.”

How was Bryan Kohberger caught?

With access to video footage from Ring cameras and police bodycams as well as direct interviews with law enforcement officials, the documentary details the manhunt that ensued for almost seven weeks after the victims were first found. Key moments that led to the suspect eventually being caught on 30 December, 2022, include the FBI linking DNA from a knife sheaf left at the crime scene back to Kohberger. Mobile phone data and CCTV footage also confirmed that his car had been seen in the area of the victims’ homes on the night of the murders. Police were suspicious of the fact that Kohberger’s car never returned to Moscow.

Where is Bryan Kohberger now?

Kohberger is in prison at Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, Idaho. He pleaded guilty in July 2025 and was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without parole, plus an additional 10 years for burglary. As he offered no explanation as to why he committed the crimes, his motive remains a mystery.

In July of this year, Kohberger gave an interview from prison to the New York Times and confirmed he was looking to take back his guilty plea. He said it was based on “false promises and blatant disinformation”. In a statement, the family of Kaylee Goncalves described Kohberger as a “narcissist” and said that the “real tragedy” was the amount of attention he would now receive to the detriment of the victims.

‘The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare’ is streaming on Netflix now.