Four murder charges for criminology student arrested in University of Idaho stabbings

Alex Brizee

A graduate student at nearby Washington State University was arrested in Pennsylvania in the killings of four University of Idaho students.

Bryan Christopher Kohberger is a 28-year-old graduate student at Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington, about 9 miles from Moscow. Kohberger just finished his first semester as he sought a Ph.D. in the criminal justice and criminology department.

He faces four state first-degree murder charges and a burglary charge, the Latah County, Idaho, prosecutor said at a news conference Friday.

Pennsylvania State Police confirmed to the Statesman that Kohberger was taken into custody on a “fugitive from justice warrant.” He was arrested at about 1:45 a.m. Friday, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Michael Mancuso, an assistant district attorney, told The New York Times that Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Effort, where he’d been living for the last few weeks.

Kohberger, whom a Pennsylvania court record said is of nearby Albrightsville, is awaiting extradition from the Monroe County Correctional Facility. Kohberger’s Pennsylvania attorney Jason LaBar, who is the chief public defender for the county, told the Statesman by phone that Kohberger plans to waive his extradition rights.

LaBar added that Kohberger plans to ask for a public defender in Idaho as he “does not have the funding to get a private attorney.”

A screenshot of Washington State University's website which showed Bryan Kohberger listed as a graduate student.
A screenshot of Washington State University's website which showed Bryan Kohberger listed as a graduate student.

DNA evidence played a key role in identifying Bryan Christopher Kohberger as a suspect in the killings, and officials were able to match his DNA to genetic material recovered during the investigation, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation, the AP reported.

CNN reported, according to law enforcement sources, that Kohberger drove across the county in a white Hyundai Elantra to his parent’s home in Pennsylvania and that authorities surveilled him while he drove back east and watched the Pennsylvania home.

The four victims in the mass killing at the University of Idaho pose for a photo recently with their two roommates. At top left is Madison Mogen, 21, who is on the shoulders of Kaylee Goncalves, also 21. Ethan Chapin, 20, has his arm around Xana Kernodle, 20, his girlfriend. The roommates are Dylan Mortensen, at left; and Bethany Funke, at right.
The four victims in the mass killing at the University of Idaho pose for a photo recently with their two roommates. At top left is Madison Mogen, 21, who is on the shoulders of Kaylee Goncalves, also 21. Ethan Chapin, 20, has his arm around Xana Kernodle, 20, his girlfriend. The roommates are Dylan Mortensen, at left; and Bethany Funke, at right.

Stabbings’ mystery shocked Moscow, captivated US

The victims were Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; junior Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington.

The slayings shocked the normally placid college town, and the mystery surrounding them captivated the nation. A motive for the killings has not yet been disclosed, and it’s not yet known whether a weapon has been found. Many details of the authorities’ investigation remained guarded as officials kept information confidential to maintain what they said was the integrity of the investigation.

One recent point of interest has been the search for a white Hyundai Elantra that investigators said was near the house where the students were killed the night they died. NBC, citing law enforcement sources, reported that a Hyundai Elantra was taken away from Kohberger’s home in Pennsylvania on Friday. Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed at the news conference that an Elantra had been found.

What happened in the Moscow house

Shortly before noon Pacific time that fateful Sunday, Nov. 13, Moscow police officers responded to a 911 call about an unconscious person in a house near campus. They walked in to find the four victims’ bodies.

Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt reported that the students had been stabbed to death with a large, fixed-blade knife in the early morning hours.

Autopsies confirmed that all four students died from multiple stab wounds and were likely asleep when the attacks started. Some victims showed defensive wounds, indicating that they resisted the attacks. None of the victims showed signs of sexual assault, according to the coroner.

A view from the side of the house on the 1100 block of King Road in Moscow where police found four University of Idaho students stabbed to death.
A view from the side of the house on the 1100 block of King Road in Moscow where police found four University of Idaho students stabbed to death.

There was no sign of forced entry, Fry said at a news conference on Nov. 16.

Goncalves’ father, Steve Goncalves, revealed at a memorial vigil on Nov. 30 that his daughter and Mogen died together. The two victims had been close friends since sixth grade.

The three female victims — Kernodle, Mogen and Goncalves — lived at the King Road home with at least two other roommates, both of whom went unharmed. Letters from those two roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were read at a memorial in Post Falls on Dec. 2.

Chapin was staying the night with Kernodle, whom he was dating, according to family.

Kohberger’s home town in the Poconos

A review of court records in Washington and Idaho showed no evidence that Kohberger had a criminal history aside from an August 2022 infraction for failing to wear a seat belt in Latah County, which includes Moscow.

Albrightsville is a hamlet in the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania. Kohberger was jailed Friday just to the east of Albrightsville in Monroe County, near the New Jersey state line and about 75 miles west of New York City.

Authorities also obtained search warrants for a Chestnuthill Township home on Lamsden Drive and an unidentified vehicle registered to Kohberger. NexisLexis records reviewed by the Statesman showed also confirmed that Kohberger previously lived at the Lamsden Drive home.

Police search suspect’s apartment, office

Reports of the arrest began to emerge just minutes after the Moscow Police Department announced that it would hold the news conference several hours later Friday.

Kohberger was scheduled to appear in court in Monroe County at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday for an extradition hearing.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said Idaho law stipulates that the affidavit with facts of the case against Kohberger has to remain sealed until Kohberger is physically in the state of Idaho.

Washington State University said its Police Department assisted Idaho authorities in searching Kohberger’s on-campus apartment and office on Friday.

Meanwhile, a private company hired by property managers started “remediation” Friday of the King Road house where the students were killed, but after Kohberger was arrested, the cleanup stopped.

“The house cleanup has been halted,” Fry said at the news conference. “And that came by a legal request from the court.”

Recorded earlier: Moscow police announcement on arrest of suspect in U of I killings

McClatchy reporter Michael Wilner in Washington, D.C., Idaho Statesman reporter Kevin Fixler, and Business and Local News Editor David Staats contributed.

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