Photo Credit: Getty Images
Dylan Mortensen, one of the surviving roommates of the four University of Idaho students murdered in 2022, says she and her family have moved nine times since the killings because of threats, harassment and unwanted attention from strangers.
Mortensen, now 23, made the claims in a court filing asking a judge to keep her face blurred in police interviews, body-camera footage and other investigative recordings connected to the murders.
The request follows a decision by Judge Megan Marshall to allow the release of previously withheld footage and images after a public records request by EWU Media, a true-crime media company.
In her filing, Mortensen said revealing her face in the recordings would make her more recognisable and expose her to further harassment. She stressed that she was not asking for the footage itself to be withheld from the public, but wanted the existing facial redactions to remain.
"I am not asking for the interviews or body-camera recordings to be withheld from the public, nor am I for information about the investigation to be hidden," she wrote. "I am asking the Court to consider what additional information is actually gained by removing the blurring from my face."
Mortensen said the attention surrounding the case has affected almost every part of her life. She claims strangers have accused her of being involved in the murders, blamed her for the deaths and sent messages threatening to find her or harm her.
"Some individuals have called me a murderer, accused me of lying, and told me that I should have died that night," she wrote, adding that she has kept more than 30 screenshots documenting the harassment.
She also described how she has changed her daily routines to protect herself. According to the filing, she uses an alias at work and when introducing herself to new people. Even receiving deliveries has become a concern because she fears her real name could be linked to her location.
Mortensen said reporters and people independently investigating the case have appeared outside her family's homes and followed relatives, contributing to their repeated moves. She also avoids being photographed and is uncomfortable going out alone because she does not know how strangers might approach her.
The surviving roommate believes releasing footage showing her face could encourage further online speculation about her behaviour during the night of the killings.
"I worry that removing the blurring would give those same individuals another opportunity to pause recordings, take screenshots, isolate specific expressions, and create new theories based on how they believe I should have looked or reacted," she wrote.
Mortensen was inside the Moscow, Idaho, home when four students — Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — were killed on November 13, 2022.
She previously told investigators that she saw a masked man inside the house at around 4 a.m. She later testified for the prosecution against Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to the four murders in July 2025 and was sentenced to four consecutive life terms.
During his sentencing hearing, Mortensen spoke about the lasting psychological impact of that night, explaining that she constantly plans how to escape dangerous situations.
A hearing on her request to retain the facial redactions is scheduled for November 12. Her attorney is also asking the court to pause the release of the disputed material while the matter is considered.
