Family of Moscow murder victims’ roommate asks public to help her ‘new reality’
Dylan Mortensen’s family is asking the public for help supporting her in “building back her life and her future” after four of her closest friends were stabbed to death by Bryan Kohberger in a home off the campus of the University of Idaho.
Her aunts, Kate and Ellie, created the fundraiser to support their niece, with funding to support moving costs, intensive long-term trauma therapy, and extra security and privacy measures, according to the page. So far, as of Tuesday afternoon, the GoFundMe had over $54,000 of it’s $65,000 goal.
“It’s been two and a half years of Dylan silently and bravely putting one foot in front of the other, cooperating with law enforcement, processing, and healing from the unimaginable,” her aunts wrote. “Dylan has had to learn how to live in her new reality — forever lacking peace, security, safety and her closest friends.”
Mortensen — who glimpsed Kohberger while he was in the house — and Bethany Funke survived the November 2022 attack that left roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle dead. Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was spending the night, was also killed.
All four of them were stabbed to death by Kohberger, who was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University, across the state line in Pullman. The 30-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for four counts of first-degree murder last week, with no chance at parole.
Mortensen, who turned 19 just before the stabbings, said in court last week that she should have been discovering who she was when her friends were murdered. Instead, she was forced to learn how to survive “the unimaginable.”
“What he did shattered me in places I did not know could break,” Mortensen said.
Those unable to support Mortensen financially are asked to share the fundraiser online, her aunts wrote.
“Social media has been unkind, unsupportive and very negative towards Dylan, but we are hoping social media can also show her the positive and loving side of people in the world that care about this brave girl,” the post said. “Thank you for helping us to fill Dylan’s world with support, love and light after such a dark time. We deeply appreciate it.”
