On the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were brutally stabbed to death in their off campus home in Moscow, Idaho. Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were killed in what the police initially stated as a “targeted attack.” In late December, after weeks of investigations, Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old Ph.D student of Criminology at Washington State University, was arrested as a primary suspect.
“These tragic murders took four young, vibrant members from our community. This has been a difficult time for the families, the university, the Moscow community, and the people of Idaho. However, it has also proven that communities come together in tough times,” said Colonel Kedrick Wills of the Idaho State Police in a press statement after Kohbergers arrest in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 30.
The court unsealed an affidavit on Thursday that outlined how authorities tracked down Kohberger and linked him to the murders.
On the night of Nov. 13, two pairs of roommates went out separately and arrived home shortly before 2 a.m. According to the affidavit, Chapin and Kernodle arrived home first, followed by Mogen and Goncalves. Two other roommates, who were not killed, were in the house at the time of the murders. There is footage of the Moscow neighborhood showing a white Hyundai Elantra driving around the student’s townhouse three times just before 3:30 a.m. Around 4 a.m Kernodle received a DoorDash delivery, the same time one of the surviving roommates was woken up by what she said sounded like her roommate playing with her dog upstairs. At about 4:04 a.m, the Elantra made its fourth round by their home. Court documents revealed Kernodle’s phone records, which showed that she was on Tik Tok until 4:12 a.m. Sometime after 4 a.m, crying was heard from Kernodle’s room as well as a male voice saying something near the lines of “It’s ok, I’m going to help you,” her roommate told police. The roommate also stated that she opened her bedroom door and saw a man with bushy eyebrows, black clothes, and a mask covering their mouth and nose walk past her as she stood frozen in shock in the doorway to her room. She went back into her room and locked the door as he walked out towards a sliding-glass door in the home. Around 4:20 a.m the Elantra was seen speeding away from the Moscow area, according to the affidavit. Police did not arrive on the scene until noon that day, after a 911 call was made reporting an unconscious person.
On Jan. 3, Kohberger waived his extradition, and he was transported to Idaho on Jan. 4. Kohberger appeared in court on Thursday, Jan. 12, where a judge scheduled a preliminary probable cause hearing to begin on June 26. He used his right to a speedy probable cause hearing within 14 days, and spoke only briefly while answering the judge’s questions. Kohberger’s public defender requested the judge allow four or five days for the probable cause hearing this summer, and the judge implied she would block the week of June 26 for the matter. The judge also ordered Kohberger to remain remanded in state custody with no bond. Following his extradition from Pennsylvania, Kohberger has been held without bail in the Latah County Jail in Idaho. Right now, they’re still awaiting a plea from Kohberger on the charge of felony burglary. The court has also administered an order that prohibits the prosecution and defense from commenting beyond referencing the public records of the case.