Dylan Mortensen, who survived the killings of her four roommates at the University of Idaho, is asking a judge to help protect her privacy before investigative recordings and images related to the 2022 murders are released.
Nearly four years after Mortensen, 23, allegedly encountered Bryan Kohberger inside her off-campus home and ultimately discovered her roommates had been stabbed to death, she filed a motion to intervene as unreleased records in the high-profile case are planned to be made public, per People.
Kohberger, 31, received four life sentences in July 23, 2025, after he pleaded guilty to murdering University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in their Moscow, Idaho, home on November 13, 2022
In an affidavit filed with the motion dated Thursday, October 29, and published by Fox News, Mortensen detailed intense public scrutiny, harassment, invasion of privacy, as well as hateful messages and threats she’s received in the years since the killings due to the attention surrounding the case.
With her affidavit, she’s asking a judge to preserve existing redactions blurring her face in police interviews and other footage connected to the murder investigation that haven’t been seen by the public.
“I understand the importance of transparency and why the public has an interest in this case,” Mortensen wrote in the affidavit. “However, I hope the Court will also consider the impact that removing these protections could have on my privacy, personal safety, and ability to move forward with my life. I recognize that my identity is already publicly known and that photographs and videos of me are available online, but I do not believe that means I should lose the limited privacy protections I still have.”
Mortensen wrote that she and her family have moved nine times over privacy and safety concerns, noting that she consistently feels unsafe and has been recognized and approached in public.
She continues by writing that since losing her four friends, “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.”
“I understand that I cannot control what people choose to believe or say about me, but the amount of attention and hostility I have received has affected nearly every aspect of my everyday life,” Mortensen wrote. “It has changed how I interact with people, where I feel comfortable going, and how much personal information I feel safe sharing.”
Mortensen’s affidavit describes a slew of messages she said she’s received over the years from strangers, accusing her of having a role in the killings of her friends and threatening her.
“I have preserved more than 30 screenshots documenting these messages, which span multiple years and demonstrate that the harassment did not end after the initial attention surrounding the case,” Mortensen’s affidavit said. “Some individuals have called me a murderer, accused me of lying, and told me that I should have died that night. Others have expressed hopes that I would be hurt or killed. These messages are difficult enough to receive on their own, but what concerns me most is that some individuals have made statements about finding me or confronting me in person.”
Strangers have also threatened in messages to expose her parents’ address and wished she’d die.
“I am sharing these experiences because I want the Court to understand why the existing facial redactions are important to me,” Mortensen wrote. “I recognize that there are already photographs and videos of me circulating online, and I understand that my identity is publicly known. However, I believe there is a significant difference between the photos and videos people have already seen of me and the lengthy police interviews and body-camera recordings taken during one of the most traumatic and vulnerable periods of my life.”
Mortensen’s motion comes after Kohberger was set to virtually attend a hearing related to his post-conviction relief requests on October 15 before it was canceled two days earlier.
The hearing has been rescheduled to December 10, CBS affiliate KBOI-TV reported.
