The University of Idaho student massacre survivor who came face-to-face with a masked man believed to be Bryan Kohberger is asking a Latah County judge to press pause on an order granting the release of video and images that could show her face in a firsthand letter describing how the trauma has upended her life.
"I worry that even appearing in the background of someone’s photo could lead to more people recognizing me or identifying where I am," Dylan Mortensen wrote in an affidavit to Judge Megan Marshall, asking her to reconsider the order.
Mortensen added that she now uses an alias for delivery orders, at her job and even when introducing herself to new people.
"Since November 2022, my family and I have had to move nine times in an effort to protect our privacy and safety," she wrote. "Reporters and strangers investigating the case on their own have shown up outside our homes, followed family members, and invaded our privacy in ways that have made it difficult to feel safe."
Mortensen was one of the first to speak with police after they responded to 1122 King Road in Moscow on Nov. 13, 2022.
Read tried to take back his plea earlier this year. The case is still playing out in front of a different judge.
Marshall, who was the original magistrate judge overseeing Kohberger's case before his arraignment in May 2023, granted the additional release of public records on Oct. 20.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Nov. 12.
Kohberger is due to return to court for a hearing on his petition for post-conviction relief on Dec. 10.