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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, authorities said Friday.
The killings initially baffled law enforcement and shocked 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 repeated attacks have prompted nearly half of the University of Idaho’s more than 11,000 students to leave the city and switch to online classes.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested early Monday morning by Pennsylvania State Police at a home in Chestnuthill Township, authorities said. He is being held for extradition to Idaho on a warrant for first-degree murder, according to arrest documents filed in Monroe County Court. More details are expected at a press conference on Friday, and an extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
Kohberger graduated from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology in 2018, college spokeswoman Mia Rossi-Marino said.
A PhD student with the same name is registered 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. A message requesting more information was left for officials at WSU. DeSales University in Pennsylvania confirmed that students with that name received their bachelor’s degree in 2020 and completed their graduate studies in June 2022.
Idaho students – Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – were stabbed to death in a rental house near the campus sometime in the morning of November 13. Investigators were unable to name the suspect or find the murder weapon for weeks.
But the case broke after law enforcement asked for the public’s help in locating a white Hyundai Elantra sedan that was seen near the home at the time of the murder. The Moscow Police Department made the request on December 7, and the next day had to direct the tip to a special FBI call center because so many people came in. over 22,000 vehicles matching these makes and models.
Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Chapin, 20, of Conway, Wash., are members of the university’s Greek system and close friends. Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle live in a three-story rental house with two other roommates. Kernodle and Chapin were dating and he visited the house at night.
Autopsies showed that the four were likely asleep when they were attacked. Some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. There were no signs of a sexual assault, police said.
Police said Thursday that the rental house would be cleared of “potential biohazards and other hazardous materials” to collect evidence starting Friday morning. It’s unclear how long the work will take, but a news release said the home will return to the property manager once it’s done.
Shanon Gray, an attorney representing Goncalves’ father, Steve Goncalves, said law enforcement officials called the family Thursday night to let them know about the arrest, but did not provide additional information about how or why they believe Kohberger may have been connected to the killing.
“Obviously he’s relieved that someone was arrested,” Gray said. “You know about as much as we do now.”
‘Just out of left field’
Ben Roberts, a graduate student in the criminology and criminal justice department at WSU, described Kohberger as confident and outgoing, but said it seemed like “he always finds a way to fit in.”
“It’s pretty out of left field,” he said of the news there. “Honestly I just thought he was so awkward.”
Roberts started the program in August – along with Kohberger, he said – and has taken several courses with him. He described Kohberger as wanting to appear academic.
“One of the things we will do, almost without fail, is find the most complicated way to explain it,” he said. “They need to make sure you know that they know.”
The case also prompted online sleuths who speculated about potential suspects and motives. At the start of the investigation, police released few public details. Safety concerns also have the university hiring additional security companies to escort students on campus and the Idaho State Police sending troopers to help patrol city streets.
Kohberger was arrested in Monroe County, located in eastern Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains. The county seat, Stroudsburg, is about 10 miles north of Philadelphia.
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