Breaking: Idaho Student Murders FULL 911 Call | What We Now Know

Summary

Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield

Episode: Breaking: Idaho Student Murders FULL 911 Call | What We Now Know

Release Date: March 15, 2025

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Introduction

In this gripping bonus episode of Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield, Ashleigh delves deep into the enigmatic and tragic student murder case from Moscow, Idaho. With over 36 years of true crime reporting under her belt, Ashleigh brings her signature irreverent style to dissect the recently released 911 call transcript, shedding light on the events that unfolded on that fateful morning. This episode offers listeners an in-depth analysis of the case, piecing together clues from the call and exploring potential theories surrounding the mysterious circumstances.

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Release of the 911 Call Transcript

After two and a half years shrouded in secrecy and under a gag order, a pivotal breakthrough emerged this week with the release of the actual 911 call transcript related to the Moscow, Idaho student murder case. Ashleigh emphasizes the significance of this release:

Ashleigh Banfield [00:04]: "I've been waiting two and a half years to figure out what the heck is under the gag order. There has been so much secrecy in this case."

This transcript offers unprecedented insight into the panic and confusion experienced by the individuals on the call, particularly highlighting the voices of Dylan Mortensen—the primary caller—and the surrounding chaos involving neighbors and potentially other parties at the scene.

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Detailed Analysis of the 911 Call

Initial Panic and Confusion

Ashleigh begins by playing the full 911 call, which lasts 4 minutes and 20 seconds. She meticulously breaks down each segment, identifying key moments and potential clues.

Ashley Banfield [00:04]: "You can completely hear the panic and the terror in Dylan's voice."

The call kicks off with Dylan reporting an emergency at their residence:

Dylan Mortensen [01:52]: "Hi. Something is happening. Something's happened to help. We don't know what."

Ashleigh interprets this initial statement as Dylan grappling with understanding the gravity of the situation, possibly fearing for her roommate Zanna's safety.

Address Verification and Circumstances

The dispatcher seeks to establish the exact location, leading to clarifications about the address and the nature of the residence. Dylan mentions:

Dylan Mortensen [02:23]: "1122 King Road."

Ashleigh notes the presence of neighbors attempting to assist:

Dylan Mortensen [02:28]: "We live at the White, so we're next to them."

This indicates that multiple people are involved, potentially providing differing perspectives on the unfolding events.

Emerging Details of the Incident

As the call progresses, Dylan reveals more troubling information:

Dylan Mortensen [02:51]: "One of our. One of the roommates has passed out and she was drunk last night and she's not waking up."

However, Ashleigh points out inconsistencies:

Ashleigh Banfield [06:00]: "This does not sound like we've seen a bloodbath. And there's four dead people. This really sounds more like the female neighbor and Dylan are freaking out because they can't get through Zanna's door."

This discrepancy suggests that the reality of the situation is far more dire than initially conveyed.

Dispatcher's Focus on Immediate Crisis

The dispatcher consistently attempts to redirect the conversation to the present emergency:

911 Dispatcher [03:05]: "What is the address of the emergency?"

Ashleigh Banfield [03:12]: "The dispatcher doesn't wanna know about last night. She's like, stop, we have a crisis now. I need to save a patient now."

This focus underscores the critical nature of the immediate situation, potentially overshadowing past events that may hold answers to the mystery.

Heightened Tensions and Possible Homicide Indicators

Towards the end of the call, tensions escalate as another male voice interjects:

Male Voice [05:16]: "Get out. Get out. Let's get out."

Ashleigh hypothesizes that this individual, identified by Kayla Gonzalez's family as Hunter Johnson—a fraternity brother of Ethan—is a significant figure in the case:

Ashleigh Banfield [07:47]: "I think the guy who said, get out, get out, get out, get out... has something to do with it."

This abrupt assertion hints at potential foul play and aligns with later transcript notes indicating:

First Responder (Transcript): "I think we have a homicide."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ashleigh Banfield [00:04]:

  "I've been waiting two and a half years to figure out what the heck is under the gag order."

• Dylan Mortensen [02:51]:

  "One of our... one of the roommates has passed out and she was drunk last night and she's not waking up."
  (Timestamp: 02:51)

• 911 Dispatcher [03:05]:

  "What is the address of the emergency?"
  (Timestamp: 03:05)

• Male Voice [05:16]:

  "Get out. Get out. Let's get out."
  (Timestamp: 05:16)

• First Responder (Transcript):

  "I think we have a homicide."
  (Post-call transcript)

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Ashleigh's Theoretical Framework

Ashleigh meticulously pieces together the call, proposing that the events described are much more sinister than initially apparent. She theorizes that the inability to access Zanna and the presence of a mysterious male figure suggest a combination of personal distress and violent intrusion:

Ashleigh Banfield [06:00]: "It is way worse than we thought. It is a virtual bloodbath up there."

She further speculates that the male voice's urgency to "get out" may be an attempt to conceal the gravity of the situation or expedite the arrival of law enforcement without drawing attention from potential onlookers or other parties involved.

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Implications and Future Insights

Ashleigh anticipates that the upcoming trial will provide more clarity, especially with Dylan expected to testify alongside testimonies from officers on the scene. She underscores the importance of the released transcript in understanding the true sequence of events and the emotional turmoil experienced by those involved.

Ashleigh Banfield [07:47]: "But I think this is extraordinary, extraordinarily telling."

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Engagement and Community Involvement

Towards the episode's conclusion, Ashleigh invites listeners to engage with the podcast by sharing their theories and suggesting future topics. She also highlights another recent episode featuring a body language expert analyzing Lori Valo's interactions with Keith Morrison of Dateline, emphasizing the podcast's commitment to exploring various facets of true crime.

Ashleigh Banfield [07:47]: "I want to hear what your theories are about this as well."

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Conclusion

This episode of Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield serves as a compelling deep dive into the Moscow, Idaho student murder case, leveraging the newly released 911 call transcript to unearth potential truths obscured by years of secrecy. Ashleigh's insightful analysis not only deciphers the frantic emotions captured in the call but also raises pivotal questions about the events leading to the tragedy. As the case progresses towards trial, listeners are left with a heightened sense of intrigue and anticipation for further revelations.

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Additional Resources

• Latest Episode on Lori Valo:

  Dive into Ashleigh's discussion with a military-grade body language expert analyzing Lori Valo's interview with Keith Morrison of Dateline. Available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube.

• Subscribe and Stay Updated:

  Ensure you don't miss out on any Drop Dead Serious episodes by subscribing and enabling notifications for instant updates.

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Remember, in the quest for truth, Ashleigh Banfield ensures that justice isn't just sought—it's drop dead serious.

Transcript

[Ashley Banfield]

Hey, everybody, it's Ashley Banfield with Drop Dead Serious. I'm really glad you're here. This is a special episode, a bonus episode, because huge news has broken in the Moscow, Idaho student murder case. Look, we've been waiting two and a half years to figure out what the heck is under the gag order. There has been so much secrecy in this case. But earlier this week, through a court document, the actual 911 call transcript was released of the call that came in to police the morning that the surviving roommates discovered something was terribly wrong in their home. And the transcript was elucidating, but also left a lot of questions. But now the call itself has been released, and, my God, does it ever shed a lot of light. It adds so much more context. First of all, you can completely hear the panic and the terror in Dylan's voice. She's the caller. You can also hear the panic among the males who have come over, the neighbors who have come over, and a lot of clues as to what they were doing while on that call and what they may have been seeing. The phone call in its entirety. The 911 call is 4 minutes and 20 seconds long, and it is confusing and at times very difficult to hear. I've had to play it multiple times to make out what was being said off the phone and in the distance. But I will go over this. I will go over the transcript after you hear the call and point out the specific places where I think there are important clues as to what was going on. So first, without further ado, I want to play that call for you. Here it is.

[911 Dispatcher]

11:55Am 42 Second November 13, 2020291 on location of your emergency.

[Dylan Mortensen]

Hi. Something is happening. Something's happened to help. We don't know what.

[911 Dispatcher]

What is the address of the emergency?

[Dylan Mortensen]

11:22.

[911 Dispatcher]

What is the rest of the address?

[Dylan Mortensen]

Oh, Kings Road.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay, and is that a house or an apartment?

[Dylan Mortensen]

It's a house.

[911 Dispatcher]

Can you repeat the address to make sure that I have it right?

[Dylan Mortensen]

I'll talk to you guys. We're. We live at the White, so we're next to them.

[911 Dispatcher]

I need someone to repeat the address for verification.

[Dylan Mortensen]

The address? 1122 King Road.

[911 Dispatcher]

And what's the phone number that you're calling from?

[Dylan Mortensen]

What's your phone number?

[911 Dispatcher]

And tell me exactly what's going on.

[Dylan Mortensen]

One of our. One of the roommates has passed out and she was drunk last night and she's not waking up.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay.

[Dylan Mortensen]

Oh, and they saw some man in their house last night. Yikes.

[911 Dispatcher]

And are you with the patient. Okay, I need someone to keep the phone, stop passing it around.

[Dylan Mortensen]

Can I just tell you what happened? Very much.

[911 Dispatcher]

What is going on currently? Is someone passed out right now?

[Dylan Mortensen]

I don't really know, but pretty much at 4am Okay, I need to know.

[911 Dispatcher]

What'S going on right now. If someone has passed out. Can you find that out?

[Dylan Mortensen]

Yeah, I'll come. Come on, we got to go check. But we have. She's not waking up.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay, one moment. I'm getting help started that way.

[Dylan Mortensen]

It's.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay. And how old is she? She's 20. 20, you said?

[Dylan Mortensen]

Yes, 20. Hello? Hello?

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay, I need someone to stop passing the phone around because I've talked to four different people.

[Dylan Mortensen]

Sorry, they just gave me the phone.

[911 Dispatcher]

Is she breathing?

[Dylan Mortensen]

Hello?

[911 Dispatcher]

Is she breathing?

[Dylan Mortensen]

No.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay.

[Dylan Mortensen]

Talking to them. Say, I can't talk to them. They need you to talk to me. Hello?

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay, I have already sent the ambulance and law enforcement. Stay on the line. If there is a defibrillator available, send someone to get it now and tell me when you have it.

[Dylan Mortensen]

Say that again. There's a point here. Right now.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay. If there's a defibrillator available, send someone to get it now and tell me when you have it.

[Dylan Mortensen]

Do you have a defibrillator? Yes, we have one.

[911 Dispatcher]

Are you talking to the officer?

[Dylan Mortensen]

Yes.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay, I'm gonna let you go since he's there with you and can help you.

[Dylan Mortensen]

Okay, thank you.

[911 Dispatcher]

Bye.

[Ashley Banfield]

Okay. 11:59am 2nd November, 13, 2022. Okay. So much to say about this call, you guys. So for starters, you could hear Dylan right off the bat, you know, hi. Something is happening. Something happened in our house. We don't know what we have. You can hear her level of terror? I don't know that it's the level of terror, though upon finding a bloodbath. I think she's scared because she can't get through Zanna's door. It's locked. That's my. This is my theory. She doesn't know why Zanna's not responding. Zanna's not opening her door, and she knows that. She saw a guy in the house last night, and she's thinking maybe. Oh, my God, was that a drug dealer? Did they od? Did Zanna od? And I can't open the door. Okay. A neighbor's over there, too, helping them. You heard that part, right? She says, I'm the neighbor. Or she says, I'll talk to you guys. We live at the right. So we're next to them. And the dispatch is asking, like, Tell me exactly what's going on. And all that's, you know, all that the neighbor's able to say at this point is one of our. One of the roommates who's passed out and she was drunk last night and she's not waking up. And Dylan goes, but no, we saw. And then the female neighbor says, oh, and they saw some men in their house last night. Yeah. This does not sound like we've seen a bloodbath. And there's four dead people. This really sounds more like the female neighbor and Dylan are freaking out because they can't get through Zanna's door. She's not answering. And Dylan remembers seeing some weird guy in the house. Okay, there's more clues ahead here, though. And when the dispatcher says to Dylan on the phone, are you. And are you with the patient? Dylan says, can I just tell you what happened? Pretty much. And dispatch says, what's going on currently? Is someone passed out right now?

[911 Dispatcher]

And.

[Ashley Banfield]

And Dylan says, I don't really know. But pretty much at 4am Once again, Dylan's about to go back to the weirdness from the house last night with the guy. But when Dylan says, I don't really know. They don't know that there are four butchered students in that house. Otherwise she'd have been screaming from the rafters. Right. Instead, it sounds like she doesn't know what's going on with her friend Zanna, likely because the door is locked and they can't get in, and they can't get Zanna to respond. And the guy last night, I think that guy last night has something to do with it. And I'll bet the worst thing is that she may have OD'd or is in the process of ODing. Right. This is the tense that I'm getting. The tension that I'm getting in listening to this and seeing the transcripts as well. But the dispatcher doesn't wanna know about last night. She's like, stop, we have a crisis now. I need to save a patient now. The time to talk about last night, that's later. Okay. So the dispatcher interrupts and says, okay, I need to know what's going on right now. If someone has passed out, can you find that out? And this is where Dylan says, yeah, I'll come. Come on, let's. We gotta go check, but we have to. Is she passed out? Six seconds later, you can hear a male voice yelling, zanna, Ethan. In the distance. Then six seconds after that, you can hear Dylan saying, she's passed out. What's wrong, Followed by three knocks in the distance. And then Dylan saying, she's not waking up. And a male voice yelling again, Zanna. Possibly a few more knocks after that. Then there are 40 seconds that pass between that moment and the next very important moment. And in that 40 seconds, there's some dispatch conversation dispatching Moscow law ambulance for 1122 King Road. First responder says 70 is en route. Dispatch says, okay, one moment. I'm getting help started that way. Dylan says, okay, thank you. Followed by what's wrong? Then some heavy, heavy disturbed breathing, almost as though Dylan might be hyperventilating on the phone. And it's 23 seconds of this breathing before you hear Dylan whisper something that sounds like, come on, Kayleigh, or poor Kaylee. And then something unintelligible, which might have been something about Maddie, but this is Dylan very distraught. And then it is followed immediately by that male voice saying, get out. Get out. Let's get out. Followed by what seems like footsteps going down the stairs. And when it comes to that male voice, Kayla Gonzalez's family has said that the male voice on the call is Hunter Johnson, who is a fraternity brother of Ethan's. And it's hard to figure it out because one of the transcripts says male. Yeah, yeah, it's Evan, but it's not on the call. So given what the call says, here's what the conversation is with dispatch after they seem to run out of the house. Dylan. Okay, dispatch. Okay, how old is she? Dylan? She's 20. Dispatch. 20? You said? Dylan. Yes, 20. Here. Do you want to talk to him? Dispatch? Okay, mail. Hello? Hello? And this again, we think is Hunter Johnson, Dispatch. Okay, I need someone to stop passing the phone around because I've talked to four different people, which is, you know, this agitated, angry dispatcher. That male says, okay, sorry, they just gave me the phone. And dispatch asks, is she breathing? Hello, dispatch, Is she breathing? And this is where the male definitively answers, without question of a doubt, no. And then dispatch says, okay, en route. The next thing is important, too, because you can hear that male voice saying, you talk to them, Kay. I can't talk to them. They need you to talk to them. And Dylan gets back on the phone. Okay. Hello? So it's very important to know that they're passing the phone back and forth, but it's helpful to get a picture of the frantic nature of what's going on. And it's also helpful to know that that male voice knows for sure that the person or persons in the house are not breathing at this point, Dylan gets back on. Okay, Hello? Dispatch okay, I've already sent the ambulance and law enforcement. Stay on the line. Dylan okay. Dispatch if there's a defibrillator available, send someone to get it now. Goes on. Dylan says, say that again. There are police here right now. Now, the transcript says this. The transcript says that it's unintelligible, but you can hear it on the call. You can hear her saying, say that again, there's police here right now. Then you can hear the dispatcher saying the patient is not conscious, not breathing. Again, it's been affirmative that there's someone likely dead at this point, Likely because of that male responding no to the question, is she breathing? Dylan Unintelligible. DISPATCH okay, is there a defibrillator available? Send someone to get it. Dylan we don't have one. Dispatch Unconscious, not breathing. There's the third reference to someone not breathing, that they're possibly dead. Dispatch do you have a defibrillator? Responding officer now piping in. Yep. Dylan yes, we have, son. We have one. Dispatch but are you talking to the officer? Dylan yes. Dispatch okay, I'm going to let you go since he's there with you and he can help you. Dylan okay, thank you. Bye. DISPATCH okay. Call ends. Transcript continues this is key. I don't know how long it takes for the next thing that I'm about to read, but if it is only within a minute or so, I think we know a big clue. Let me take you back. Dylan says, okay, thank you, Bye. DISPATCH okay, first responder, this is not on the call, but on the transcript. Moscow 46 out. Dispatch copy. First responder 13, I think we have a homicide. So there's a first responder right away saying, I think we have a homicide. And it's all in line with this transcript. I don't know how much time went between Dylan saying goodbye and the first responder saying, I think we have a homicide. But if it is tight, as tight as it seems on this transcript, I think it means that the guy who said, get out, get out, get out, get out. Footsteps down the. Down the stairs, and then said to the dispatcher, is she breathing? No. Then I think that this guy might have wanted to get off that call, like Bethany. Dylan, you got to take this phone because he's hearing the sirens coming, he's seeing a cop, and he needs to get to that cop ASAP and quietly without the girls hearing. It is way worse than we thought. It is a virtual bloodbath up there. Hence the officer. Then I think we have a homicide. This is just my theory, but I'm trying to piece together such a confusing call through transcript and through, you know, a faceless but voice filled 911 call. Certainly we're going to learn a lot more at trial from the testimony because it is expected that Dylan will testify and from the officers on scene. But I think this is extraordinary, extraordinarily telling. I'd really like to hear what you all have to say about it. Definitely. If you have, you know, been listening to this, subscribe, make sure you get these, you know, instant quick bonus episodes that I drop unexpectedly. Leave your comments, subscribe, get these alerts that we're dropping these. Subscribe and tell me what you think in the comments. I want to hear what your theories are about this as well. I mean, I have mine. I don't know if you disagree, if you're looking at the transcript, if you're hearing the call and you feel differently, then by all means I want to hear from you. I also want to know what other stories you want me to cover. And we just dropped another really great episode this week as well, just yesterday, about Lori Valo. We've got this military grade expert in body language assessment. He works with the US Military, US Government. He has so much to say about Lori Valo's body language as she interviews with Keith Morrison of Dateline. And man, is he knowledgeable. I just was totally, my eyes were so open to Lori Valo after I got his analysis. So make sure you check that podcast out. You can also watch it on YouTube. It's all on drop dead Serious. Folks. I'm so glad you're with me. Thank you again for sitting through this bonus episode. And please remember, if you take nothing else from this episode, that the truth is not just serious, it's drop dead serious.