A roommate of the slain Idaho college students went into a “frozen shock phase” after encountering the killer inside their off-campus home.
Dylan Mortensen, who was identified as D.M. in the affidavit unsealed last week, was said to have entered the mental state when she witnessed the male suspect leaving the home.
“The male walked past D.M. as she stood in a ‘frozen shock phase.’ The male walked towards the back sliding glass door,” the affidavit reads.
The psychological state is a defense mechanism to the intense shock someone feels during a traumatic event, according to a medical expert who spoke with NBC’s “Today” show.