Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a suspect in the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death in their beds in November, authorities announced in a Friday news conference.
Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson confirmed in the Friday press conference that a criminal complaint was filed against Kohberger with four counts of murder and other charges in connection to the case. An affidavit has been sealed until Kohberger returns to Idaho to be served with a warrant, Thompson said.
The prosecutor said that Kohberger is being held without bond in Pennsylvania, also confirming earlier reports that he was a graduate student at Washington State University. In the news conference, few details were given about the suspect, including a possible motive.
“Once he gets here, he will have an initial appearance with a magistrate,” Thompson said.
Earlier Friday, a mugshot of Kohberger was released to various news outlets by the Monroe County Correctional Facility in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Reports indicated that he was arrested near the Pocono Mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania
Kohberger graduated from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania with an associate of arts degree in psychology in 2018, according to college spokesperson Mia Rossi-Marino. A Ph.D. student by the same name is listed in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University, which is a short drive across the state line from the University of Idaho.
DeSales University in Pennsylvania confirmed that a student by that name received a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and completed graduate studies in June 2022.
In a post that was deleted from Reddit after his arrest, a student associated with DeSales University named Bryan Kohberger sought participation in a project “to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.”
Other Details
Four Idaho students identified as Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death at a rental home near the campus sometime in the early morning of Nov. 13. Investigators were not able name a suspect or locate a murder weapon for several weeks, triggering widespread online speculation about a possible suspect and motive.Law enforcement asked the public for assistance in locating a white Hyundai Elantra sedan seen near the home around the time of the slaying on Dec. 7, and the Moscow Police Department received numerous tips.
The next day it had to direct tips to a special FBI call center because so many were coming in. By mid-December, investigators were working through nearly 12,000 tips and had identified more than 22,000 vehicles matching that make and model.
The killings initially mystified law enforcement and shook the small town of Moscow, Idaho, a community of about 25,000 people that had not had a murder for five years. Fears of a repeat attack prompted nearly half of the University of Idaho’s over 11,000 students to leave the city and switch to online classes.
Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington, were members of the university’s Greek system and close friends. Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle lived in the three-story rental home with two other roommates. Kernodle and Chapin were dating and he was visiting the house that night.
A statement read at the news conference from the University of Idaho thanked the outpouring of “compassion and acts of compassion” that were shown to the community in the past several weeks.
