Heroic Final Act: Idaho Murder Victim Xana Kernodle Had Fingers Severed As She Fought Killer — 'Put Up Fierce Fight'
Feb. 4 2023, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Xana Kernodle, is believed to have wildly fought back against her attacker prior to being brutally murdered in her Moscow, Ida., home on Sunday, November 13.
Kernodle was one of the four University of Idaho victims, alongside fellow students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin.
"Xana Kernodle put up a fierce fight when the attacker set upon her, repeatedly grabbing the attacker’s knife, so much so that she sustained deep cuts to her fingers and that her fingers were nearly severed," a source familiar with the investigation spilled, noting that Kernodle was the last of the four to be killed.
The source also shared that Goncalves and Mogen, who had been asleep on the first floor of the house, were first to be slain, followed by Kernodle's boyfriend, Chapin, who may have overheard the noise of the initial killings and walked out into the hallway on the second floor to see what had happened.
Medical personnel confirmed Chapin died near the bedroom doorway and had been cut across his neck. The killer then reportedly set their sights on Kernodle.
The source's comments are similar to details Kernodle's father, Jeffrey, revealed late last year, when the grieving parent implied his daughter had fought back, claiming she had "bruises" and had been "torn by the knife."
"She’s a tough kid," he said at the time. "Whatever she wanted to do, she could do it."
28-year-old Bryan Kohberger was later arrested on Friday, December 30, in connection with the murders. However, as Radar previously reported, Kohberger's attorney has a surprising connection to the Kernodle family.
Cara Northington, Kernodle's mother, revealed she was "heartbroken" when her own lawyer, Anne Taylor, chose to quit the job representing her in a drug case in order to defend Northington's daughter's potential murderer.
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"[Taylor] pretended that she was wanting to help me," Northington said in a recent statement. "And to find out that she’s representing him, I can’t even convey how betrayed I feel ... I don’t understand how she could do this. I don’t understand what happens now."
The source spoke with News Nation on Thursday, February 2.
