Suspect Arrested in the Murder of Four University of Idaho Students
Nearly two months after four University of Idaho students were brutally killed in their off-campus residence, a suspect has been arrested. Bryan Kohberger, 28, was apprehended in Albrightsville in northeastern Pennsylvania on December 30, and has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, according to law enforcement.
Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were fatally stabbed in their home on November 13, 2022. Goncalves, Mogen, and Kernodle rented the home with two other roommates — who were home at the time of the murders but were unharmed — while Chapin, Kernodle’s boyfriend, was staying overnight.
The murders have completely shaken the University of Idaho campus and the surrounding community, as details continue to come out about the case.
According to CNN, authorities recovered a knife sheath at the crime scene. Surveillance video also revealed a white Hyundai Elantra seen around the home at the time of the attacks, which officers at Washington State University later identified in late November. The registration was traced back to Kohberger, who was a Ph.D. student in criminal justice and criminology at the school, NBC News reports.
The Washington State University campus in Pullman, Washington is located about seven miles from the University of Idaho campus in Moscow, Idaho.
In December 2022, authorities obtained trash from the Pennsylvania home of the suspect’s family and found that it matched DNA on the knife sheath. Kohberger was apprehended on December 30 and on January 4, 2023, arrived back in Idaho after waiving extradition from Pennsylvania, according to CNN.
According to a probable cause affidavit released to the public on Thursday, January 5, one of the surviving roommates saw a “figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her” the day of the murders, CNN reports. The roommate also heard crying and a voice say, “It’s OK, I’m going to help you.” Authorities believe that the murders happened between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. local time, according to the affidavit.
A motive for the murders has still not been released by authorities. The suspect made an initial appearance in court on January 5, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 12 at 10 a.m. PT/1p.m. ET.
You Might Also Like
