Officially, the police have remained incredibly tight-lipped about it University of Idaho homicide investigation. Unofficially, we don’t know the process by which the killers may have gone.
Six weeks after the brutal slayings of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapinand Maddie Magen at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, so it looks like the police have a tone. But then on December 30, they surprised us by catching.
Bryan Kohbergerstudents nearby Washington State Universityonly about 15 miles from the scene of the murder, it was captured by FBI all the way in Pennsylvania. How did they track him down? We heard from two law enforcement insiders we spoke with CNN it was DNA evidence that pointed to Kohberger. Apparently the criminology student had left DNA at the scene – though there’s no word on whether it was hair, blood from the struggle, or some other bodily fluid.
Related: Kohberger Does Research Project Ask Criminals How They Choose Their Victims
That has now been confirmed by a new police source who spoke ABC News. He went one step further, explaining that Kohberger was caught using a genealogy database! PhD students have no records, so their DNA is not in the criminal database. But as they did with the Golden State Killer, authorities can compare the DNA found at the scene with what’s on file thanks to the website. 23 and me and Ancestry.com. Apparently they found a match for a family member – and a further connection in the family to the white Hyundai Elantra, matching the vehicle that has been spotted near the scene. No wonder they keep asking about the car!
According to the source said to ABCAfter they finally managed to find the elusive Hyundai, they knew the suspect had fled to the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania – and after several days of staking out the house, they got him.
Wow, amazing work from a team that includes many police officers who have never been to a crime scene before!
Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for more information. Moscow authorities have made it clear they will release the arrest affidavit if the suspect is re-arrested in Idaho. And that should happen soon. According to public defender Pennsylvania Kohberger Jason Labar, he “wanted to waive the extradition hearing to speed up transportation to Idaho” during the hearing. Why?
“[Bryan] wants to be cleared of the charges and looks forward to resolving the matter as soon as possible.”
wow OK. We’ll see how he does. Our guess isn’t good – but we’ll have a better idea if we know why his DNA was at the murder scene…
[Image via KTVB/YouTube/Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram.]