Docuseries director suggests gender-based motive in Idaho murders
The director of a Netflix documentary on the University of Idaho killings theorizes that the perpetrator targeted the victims because they were women, citing testimonies and prior complaints.
A Netflix documentary about the 2022 University of Idaho murders presents a theory that the attacker chose the house because it was occupied primarily by women. Director Skye Borgman told Fox News Digital that the residence housed five women at the time of the killings and that the suspect appeared to have a low regard for women.
The victims, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, while two other roommates escaped by locking themselves in a bedroom. Borgman cited former classmates who described the suspect as unpopular and dismissive toward women, and noted a prior report to Washington State University police after a student felt he was following her.
The series also references the broader “incel” subculture, noting that the suspect’s behavior aligns with patterns of hostility toward women described by the National Institutes of Health. Borgman said the connection is speculative but worth considering.
Kohberger, a former criminology Ph.D. student, pleaded guilty in July 2025 and received four consecutive life sentences. He has since sought to withdraw his plea, claiming he was innocent and that the plea negotiations were flawed. No definitive motive has been established in court.