Suspect in Deaths of Idaho Students Arrested in Pennsylvania

2022-12-30

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HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA —Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a suspect in the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death in their beds more than a month ago, local Police Chief James Fry said Friday.

Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested early Friday morning by the Pennsylvania State Police at a home in Chestnuthill Township, authorities said. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said investigators believe Kohberger broke into the students' home "with the intent to commit murder."

Kohberger is being held without bond in Pennsylvania and will be held without bond in Idaho once he is returned, Thompson said, and the affidavit for four charges of first-degree murder in Idaho will remain sealed until he is returned. He is also charged with felony burglary in Idaho, Thompson said. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Kohberger is a PhD student 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.

He graduated from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania with an associate of arts degree in psychology in 2018, said college spokesperson Mia Rossi-Marino. DeSales University in Pennsylvania said that he received a bachelor's degree in 2020 and completed graduate studies in June 2022.

The Idaho students - Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin - were stabbed to death at a rental home near campus sometime in the early morning hours of November 13. The slayings initially mystified law enforcement, with investigators unable to name a suspect or locate a murder weapon for weeks.

But the case broke open after law enforcement asked the public for help finding a white sedan seen near the home around the time of the killings. The Moscow Police Department made the request December 7, and by the next day had to direct tips to a special FBI call center because so many were coming in.

Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, 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.

Autopsies showed all four were likely asleep when they were attacked. Some had defensive wounds, and each was stabbed multiple times. There was no sign of sexual assault, police said.

Police said Thursday the rental home would be cleared of "potential biohazards and other harmful substances" to collect evidence starting Friday morning. It was unclear how long the work would take, but a news release said the house would be returned to the property manager upon completion.

The stabbing deaths shook the small town of Moscow, Idaho, a farming community of about 25,000 people - including roughly 11,000 students - tucked in the rolling hills of the northern Idaho's Palouse region.

The case also enticed online sleuths who speculated about potential suspects and motives. In the early days of the investigation, police released relatively few details publicly.

Fears of a repeat attack prompted nearly half of the University of Idaho students to switch to online classes for the remainder of the semester, abandoning dorms and apartments in the normally bucolic town for the perceived safety of their hometowns. Safety concerns also had the university hiring an additional security firm to escort students across campus and the Idaho State Police sending troopers to help patrol the city's streets.

Monroe County is located in eastern Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains. The county seat, Stroudsburg, is about 161 kilometers north of Philadelphia.