An unsealed court filing reveals a defense expert said a second weapon was used to attack Kaylee Goncalves — and prosecutors did not object to the claim

Kaylee Goncalves and Bryan Kohberger

Kaylee Goncalves, Bryan Kohberger.Credit : Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram; Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty

Why Bryan Kohberger murdered four University of Idaho students — and whether he was targeting one of them — may never be fully understood, as he has refused to speak publicly about the crime.

But a recently unsealed court filing obtained by PEOPLE reveals that Kohberger chose to use two weapons on one of the four victims, according to an expert.

Dr. Brent Tarvey, the forensic criminologist hired by Kohberger’s legal team, stated that Kaylee Goncalves was attacked with two different weapons and suffered two different forms of wounds in his review of her autopsy report, a portion of which appears in this unsealed court filing.

Kaylee Goncalves

Kaylee Goncalves.Kaylee Goncalves/instagram

This finding was used to support Tarvey’s argument that there were two killers in the house that night, a notion that prosecutors reject in the filing by saying a single individual can carry out two different types of attacks.

Tarvey wrote: “At least two suspects were involved in this attack. This is indicated by the fact that multiple weapons were used against Kaylee; that multiple types of lethal force were used against Kaylee.”

Prosecutors responded by saying: “A single perpetrator can certainly use more than one weapon and can use multiple types of lethal force.”

They did not, however, dispute Tarvey’s determination that two weapons were used to attack Goncalves.

The use of a second weapon was first shared by Goncalves’s parents after Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders in July 2025.

This filing is the first time an expert has stated they believe there was a second weapon.

Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves, Byran Kohberger

Autopsy Reports Reveal Horrific New Details About the Final Moments of 4 University of Idaho Stabbing Victims

Xana Kernodle

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What that second weapon may have been is still unclear, but Goncalves’s parents had previously said it was used on their daughter’s face during the attack.

Unlike the other three victims, Goncalves suffered blunt force injuries to the head and had a number of other injuries, including: scalp laceration, bleeding around the brain, nasal fracture, scrapes on the nose and cheeks, bruising around the eyes, and patterned bruises extending across the lower face.

She is also the only victim whose wounds were so severe that even the medical examiner could not determine an exact count.

Those wounds were all to her scalp, face, and neck, and she was stabbed at least 24 times total in those parts of her body.

She is also the only of the four victims to have suffered injuries to the teeth and tongue.

Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves

Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.Kaylee Goncalves Instagram

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Goncalves and Madison Mogen — her best friend, who was killed alongside her as they slept in bed — both died of multiple sharp force wounds.

Both women were stabbed dozens of times during the attack, but the injuries they sustained were all above the waist.

Their autopsy reports also determined that neither of the two ever stood up during the attack, and that it was likely they woke up to Kohberger stabbing them.

There is a possibility that Kohberger planned to use that second weapon on Mogen as well, but had to abandon his plan when roommate Xana Kernodle walked in on the crime before she was killed.

Kohberger is now spending four lifetimes in prison and has yet to speak publicly about his crimes.

There may soon be even less of a chance Kohberger will speak publicly, with the Idaho Statesman reporting that lawmakers in Idaho are considering the passage of a ‘Son-of-Sam Law,” which would make it illegal for a prisoner to profit off of their crime.