A man has been arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the gruesome November 13 murders of four University of Idaho students.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested early Friday morning in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Kohberger is detained in Monroe County awaiting extradition to Moscow, Idaho, to face first degree murder charges, according to an Associated Press report.
The report noted law enforcement confirmed the arrest, conditioned upon being granted anonymity. The source was reportedly not supposed to reveal information about the arrest before a 1 p.m. (Pacific Time) news conference scheduled by Moscow police.
Washington State University, which is a short drive from Moscow, Idaho, lists a Ph.D. student with the same name as the arrested man, the report noted. That individual is studying at the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.
The big break in the case came after police asked December 7 for help identifying a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra spotted on surveillance footage near the murder scene. Moscow police received so many tips they turned the tips over to the FBI to handle the next day, the AP report added.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were murdered in their three-story rental unit at 1122 King Road early November 13, police said.
Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were at Corner Club, a club at 202 N. Main Street, in downtown Moscow, between 10 p.m. and 1:30 a.m., November 13, police said in a statement. Kaylee and Madison were seen on video at a local food vendor called the Grub Truck at 318 S. Main Street around 1:40 a.m.
They received a ride from a private party to their 1122 King Road home at 1:45 a.m., according to police.
Investigators determined Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were at the Sigma Chi house on the University of Idaho Campus at 735 Nez Perce Drive. They returned to the 1122 King Road residence around 1:45 a.m., also. Chapin did not reside at the home but stayed overnight with his girlfriend.
Detectives believe two surviving roommates had also been out in the Moscow community that night but not with the victims. They returned home by 1 a.m. November 13, police said, adding, the survivors did not wake up until later that morning.
The surviving roommates summoned friends to the residence because they believed one of the second-floor victims had passed out and was not waking up, police said in the statement.
“At 11:58 a.m., a 911 call requested aid for an unconscious person,” police said. “The call originated from inside the residence on one of the surviving roommates’ cell phone. Multiple people talked with the 911 dispatcher before a Moscow police officer arrived at the location. Officers entered the residence and found two victims on the second floor and two victims on the third floor.”
The Latah County coroner confirmed the identity of the four murdered individuals and their cause and manner of death as homicide by stabbing after autopsies were performed November 17.
Coroner Cathy Mabbutt said the four victims were likely asleep, some had defensive wounds, and each was stabbed multiple times. There was no sign of sexual assault, she added.
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