Authorities in Pennsylvania have arrested a suspect in the slayings 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 .
The killings initially baffled law enforcement and shook the small town of Moscow, Idaho, a farming community of about 25,000 people that hadn’t had a homicide in five years. Fears of a repeat attack prompted nearly half of the more than 11,000 students at the University of Idaho to leave town and switch to online classes.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested early Friday morning by 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.”
Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Center via AP
Kohberger is being held without bond in Pennsylvania and will be held without bond in Idaho upon his return, Thompson said, and the affidavit on four counts of first-degree murder in Idaho will remain sealed until he is returned. He is also charged with felony theft in Idaho, Thompson said. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
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Kohberger is a doctoral student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University. University police helped Idaho law enforcement execute search warrants at Kohberger’s home and office on campus, the university said.
WSU is a short drive across the state line from the University of Idaho. The two universities are partners in several academic programs, and students sometimes attend classes and seminars or work at neighboring schools. That doesn’t appear to be the case for Kohberger: University of Idaho President Scott Green wrote in a memo to students and staff Friday evening that the Idaho school had no record of him.
Kohberger graduated from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology in 2018, college spokeswoman Mia Rossi-Marino said. DeSales University of Pennsylvania said he received a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and completed graduate studies in June 2022.
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The Idaho students — Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — were stabbed in a rental home near campus sometime in the early morning hours of Nov. 13.
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Investigators were unable to name a suspect or locate a murder weapon for weeks.
But the case appeared to be unraveling after law enforcement asked for the public’s help in finding a white Hyundai Elantra sedan seen near the home around the time of the murders. The Moscow Police Department made the request on Dec. 7, and the next day had to direct tips to a special FBI call center because so many were coming in. As of mid-December, investigators were working through nearly 12,000 tips and had identified more than 22,000 vehicles matching that make and model.
“We’re still looking for the gun,” Fry said. “I’ll say we found an Elantra.”
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Fry became emotional as he announced the arrest, calling the victims by name. The chief has said in the past that everyone in the force feels strongly about solving crime, sometimes choking up when talking about the impact on victims’ families and the close-knit rural community.
Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Chapin, 20, of Conway, Wash., were members of the university’s Greek system and close friends. Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle lived in the three-story rental house with two other roommates. Kernodle and Chapin were dating and he was visiting the house that night.
Autopsies showed that all four were likely asleep when they were attacked. Some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. There was no indication of sexual assault, police said.
Chief Fry said they are still “putting all the pieces together” to determine the motive.
Police said Thursday that the rental home would be cleared of “potential biohazards and other harmful substances” to collect evidence beginning Friday morning. It was unclear how long the work would take, but a press release said the house would be returned to the property manager once it was completed.
Shanon Gray, an attorney representing Goncalves’ father, Steve Goncalves, said law enforcement officials called the family last night to inform them of the arrest, but did not provide any additional information about how or why they think he might be connected to the murders.
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“Obviously they’re relieved that somebody was arrested,” Gray said. “You guys know as much as we do right now.”
Ben Roberts, a graduate student in WSU’s criminology and criminal justice department, described Kohberger as confident and outgoing, but said he seemed like he was “always looking for a way to fit in.”
“It’s pretty out of left field,” he told the news on Friday. “Honestly, I had just called it super awkward.”
Roberts started the program in August _ along with Kohberger, he said _ and took several courses with him. He described Kohberger as wanting to appear academic.
“One thing I would always do, almost without fail, was find the most complicated way to explain something,” he said. “He had to make sure she knew that he knew.”
Ethan Chapin’s family sent a statement via email after the press conference. “We are relieved that this chapter is over because it provides some form of closure. However, it does not alter the outcome or ease the pain,” the family wrote. “We miss Ethan and our family has been changed forever.”
The Chapin family also thanked the University of Idaho and the Sigma Chi fraternity where Ethan was a member for their support.
“We also appreciate the kind words from so many others, which we will need as we enter the next chapter of this nightmare,” the family wrote.
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The case attracted online detectives speculating about possible suspects and motives. Security concerns also prompted the university to hire an additional security company to escort students across campus and the Idaho State Police to send troopers to help patrol city streets.
Kohberger was arrested in eastern Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains. No attorney for Kohberger was listed in court documents, and phone calls to the county public defender’s office were returned Friday.