Family Members of Murder Victims Release Statement Following Suspect Bryan Kohberger’s Arrest

A flyer seeking information about the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found dead is displayed on a table along with buttons and bracelets during a vigil in memory of the victims in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 30, 2022. Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

The family members of four Idaho college students who were killed in November released statements after officials said a suspect, Bryan Christopher Kohberger, was arrested late last week.

After Kohberger’s arrest, Steve Goncalves, victim Kaylee Goncalves’s father, said he saw links between Kohberger and his daughter, a lawyer for the family told ABC News. Nobody in the family recognized the suspect, the lawyer said, adding that he wouldn’t elaborate on the alleged connections.

“Now that there’s a person and a name that someone can specifically look for and see if there’s any connections in any way. So they’re just trying to figure it out,” family attorney Shanon Grey told ABC News.

Jason LaBar, the chief public defender for Monroe County, Pennsylvania, told CNN that Kohberger is “shocked a little bit” after he was arrested last week at his home in connection to the killing of Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, in November. LaBar said Kohberger would waive his extradition this week to expedite his return to Idaho.

“We are relieved this chapter is over because it provides a form of closure. However, it doesn’t alter the outcome or alleviate the pain,” Chapin’s family said in a statement to ABC after his arrest. “We miss Ethan, and our family is forever changed.”

Xana Kernodle’s cousin, Sheldon Kernodle, urged people to come forward with more information. “Our work isn’t done yet,” he wrote on social media.

Bryan Kohberger. (Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Facility via AP)

Other Details

In his interview with the network, LaBar said he did not discuss the murder charges and did not have probable cause documents in connection to the case. LaBar said he is only representing Kohberger in connection to his extradition from Pennsylvania to Idaho.

“It’s a procedural issue, and really all the Commonwealth here has to prove is that he resembles or is the person who the arrest warrant is out for and that he was in the area at the time of the crime,” LaBar said. The attorney, meanwhile, said that waiving the extradition was “an easy decision” because “he doesn’t contest that he is Bryan Kohberger.”

“Mr. Kohberger is eager to be exonerated of these charges and looks forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible,” LaBar also said, adding that his client should be presumed innocent until he is proven guilty. Since his arrest in Pennsylvania, there have been numerous unconfirmed reports from the New York Post and Daily Mail tabloids—citing unnamed sources—about Kohberger and his possible motives.

Officials in Moscow, Idaho, on Dec. 30 held a news conference that named Kohberger as the primary suspect in the case, coming weeks after the murders were reported. For weeks, investigators said they were baffled by the case and frequently asked the public for help in providing possible clues, and 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 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 more than 11,000 students to leave the city and switch to online classes.

Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson confirmed 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, he said.

“Once he gets here, he will have an initial appearance with a magistrate,” Thompson said.

A day later, Moscow Police Department Captain Anthony Dahlinger told The Associated Press that “we believe we’ve got our man.” Investigators obtained samples of Kohberger’s DNA directly from the suspect after he was arrested, Dahlinger said.

“He’s the one that we believe is responsible for all four of the murders,” he said.

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 with 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.