Overview
- The parents of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin filed a 126-page complaint in Skagit County, seeking unspecified damages for negligence, wrongful death and Title IX violations.
- The filing alleges WSU received at least 13 formal complaints in fall 2022 describing Kohberger’s discriminatory, harassing and stalking behavior, yet allowed his conduct to escalate.
- Plaintiffs say women requested safety escorts and faculty held a mandatory harassment session on November 8, 2022, but the university failed to conduct a proper threat assessment or escalate concerns.
- The complaint asserts some WSU faculty suspected Kohberger after the killings yet did not alert law enforcement and that administrators avoided decisive action partly over legal exposure worries.
- Kohberger, a WSU criminology PhD student and teaching assistant at the time, pleaded guilty in July 2025 and is serving four consecutive life sentences without parole as WSU declines comment and prepares a legal response.