User:Writer444/2022 University of Idaho killings

Lead
- In the early hours of November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed in their off-campus home in the city of Moscow, Idaho. The students were Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. On December 30, 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on four counts of murder in the first degree and felony burglary.

Background:

- It is not uncommon for University of Idaho students to live in rented-off-campus homes. The area is quite rural, which makes renting easy. The three-story home had six bedrooms, with two bedrooms on each floor.

Moscow, Idaho had no had a murder since 2015.

Victims:

The four University of Idaho students that were killed were: Ethan Chapin (20), of Conway, Washington; Xana Kernodle (20), of Avondale, Arizona; Kaylee Goncalves (21), of Rathdrum, Idaho; and Madison Mogen (21), of Couer d'Alene, Idaho. Chapin was a freshman, Kernodle was a junior, and Goncalves and Mogen were both seniors.

Accused

A 28-year-old man, Bryan Christopher Kohberger was taken into custody by an FBI SWAT team and Pennsylvania State Police on December 30 at the home of his parents in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Kohberger was born on November 21, 1994 in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania.

Shortly after finishing Pleasant Valley High School in 2013, he attended Monroe Career and Technical Institute in Bartonsville but dropped out a year later. Kohberger laster attended Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, where he earned an associate degree in psychology in 2018. After graduating from Northampton, he worked as a security guard for the Pleasant Vally School District, the same school district where his father previously worked as a maintenance worker for many years and his mother for a time as a substitute teacher. He received a B.A. in 2020 and an M.A. in 2022 in Criminal Justice from DeSales University, in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.

In the summer of 2022, Kohberger moved to Washington state to pursue a PhD at Washington State University in Pullman; its campus is less than eight miles (13 km) west of Moscow. At the time of the killings, he was a doctoral student in criminology and had completed his first semester there nine days before his arrest. Kohberger had been a teaching assistant at WSU, and less than two weeks before the murders, faculty members met with him to discuss growing concerns about his behavior and conduct. Kohberger was terminated from his teaching assistant role on December 19 with the decision being based on his unsatisfactory performance as a teaching assistant.

Arrest

Kohburger was arrested on four counts of first-degree murder and on felony count of burglary, was appoint a public defender, and was detained without bond at the Monroe County Correctional Facility in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. On his return to the county courthouse on January 3, 2023, he agreed to extradition. On January 4, he was flown to Pullman, driven to the Latah County Jail in Moscow, and held without bail.

Kohberger made his first appearance in the Latah County Courthouse on January 5, and was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, for breaking into a home with the intent to commit a felony. One week later on January 12, Kohberger made his second appearance for a status conference in the same room at the courthouse. A preliminary probable cause hearing was scheduled for June 26 at the same courthouse.

Response

As a resuethlt of the murders, on the evening of November 13, the university canceled classes for November 14. They scheduled a candlelight vigil for the four students, to be held on the UI administration building lawn on November 16. It was postponed for two weeks due to weather. From the beginning, investigators initially said that there was no threat to the community. Three days later they redacted this statement.

Fall break was scheduled for November 18 till November 28. Students and Moscow residents began an early Thanksgiving break a week prior to these dates. Others stayed in the area because they were anxious and cautious.

The father of Goncalves and Chapin were quick to criticize the information flow from the police and the university to the families of the vitcims. People on social media sites: Tiktok, physics, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter took to spreading rumors and speculation. The police told people to stop their speculation and spread of misinformation as it was doing more harm than good for the investigation.

Events That Took Place
In the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho college students were fatally stabbed in a shared rental home close to campus, in which three of them resided. The other two residents were left unharmed. The three female victims were Madison Mogen (21), Kaylee Goncalves (21), Xana Kernodle (20) - lived at the house, while the fourth victim, Ethan Chapin (20), was Kernodle's boyfriend who was spending the night when the attacks occurred. Two other female roommates lived at the house; they were not attacked, although one of them saw the murderer.

Earlier on the evening of November 12, Chapin and Kernodle, were at an on-campus party at the nearby Sigma Chi Fraternity, which Ethan Chapin and his brother were part of. They attended the party from 8pm to 9pm. They returned home at 1:45 am. Their movements in between are currently unknown to the public. Meanwhile, that evening the other two victims, childhood best friends Mogen and Goncalves, had gone to The Corner Club, a downtown sports bar at 10 pm, which they left from at 1:30 am. A video that comes from the livestream platform Twitch by The Grub Truck, a food truck four blocks south at Friendship Square (Main and Fourth Streets), showed Mogen and Goncalves at 1:41 am, chatting and smiling, getting their food ten minutes later, and leaving to take what police initially released was an Uber ride home. The trip was about one mile (1.6 km). The police later changed their statement to say the ride was provided by a "private party", arriving home at 1:56 am.

All Four victims were home by 1:56 am. Seven phone calls were made from Goncalves' phone to her former longtime boyfriend, a fellow student, from 2:26 to 2:52 am. Goncalves' parents ruled him out, by saying it was not uncommon for her to call him several times, as they shared custody of a dog. The same dog who was found at the crime scene. These calls were investigated by the police concluding they did not believe he had been involved. Kernodle received a Doordash order around 4 am, it is uncertain if Kernodle was the one who placed the order.

The two surviving roommates Dylan and Bethany had returned home around 1 am. Original reports said they were in their beds on the ground floor of the home. They were unharmed, and original reports stated that both surviving roommates did not awaken during the killings. Dylan, one of the surviving roommates was sleeping on the second floor, the same floor as Kernodle and Chapin. She said she was awoken by what sounded like Goncalves dog, Murphy. She later revealed she heard a roommate saying something similar to that of "there's someone here." It's believed this was Goncalves, although investigators believe this might have been Kernodle speaking, as forensic download of her cellphone showed she was on the app TikTok at 4:12 am. Dylan opened her door twice within a short span of time, and the second time, heard what sounded like crying coming from Kernodle's room and a male voice saying "it's okay, I'm going to help you." Surrounding neighbors security cameras around the home picked up the sound of whimpering, a loud thud, and a dog barking numerous times starting around 4:17 am. Dylan opened her door a third time, and saw "a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person's mouth and nose walking towards her." The man, whom the roommate did not recognize, walked past her and used the sliding glass door to exit; it is unknown if he saw her. Dylan stood in a "frozen shock phase" and locked herself in her room.

Investigation

The investigation of the homicide is being conducted by the Moscow Police Department, supported by the Idaho State Police and Latah County Sherrif's office. There are almost 130 members of law enforcement from the three agencies that are working on the case.

The Latah County coroner is the one that conducted the autopsies on November 17. She said that they appeared to have been stabbed multiple times with fatal wounds in the chest and upper body. It was done with a large knife. At least one victim had defensive stab wounds on her hands, and appeared to have tried to fend off the attacker. Goncalves and Mogen were attacked in bed. None showed signs of sexual assault. All four deaths were ruled homicide by stabbing. The victims were not tied or gagged. No weapon was recovered.

A surviving roommate named Dylan saw the suspected. She described him as a male that was around 5 feet 10 inches, and not very muscular, but athletic built with bushy eyebrows. The other surviving roommate Bethany received a subpoena by Bryan Kohberger's attorney.

On November 19, police requested the public provide any video of the house that had been recorded the night of the killings. A phone tip line and email were created for the homicides to submit potential evidence to officials. As of December 5, it was reported that there had been more than 2,600 emailed tips, 2,700 phone calls, and 1,000 digital media submissions from the public to these tip lines. On December 24, the investigative team reported having received at least 15,000 tips regarding the case.

The police left open the possibility that there could be more than one perpetrator. Police stated that they believe it was a targeted attack. In a press conference on November 23, the Moscow police chief said that authorities had received a number of tips including that Goncalves allegedly had a stalker, but were unable to verify that claim.

On December 15 police announced they were searching records of approximately 22,000 fifth-generation Hyundai Elantras made between 2010 and 2015. A camera in the area of the killings had recorded an Elantra around the time when the killings happened. Investigators noticed that the white Hyundai Elantra that was captured by a camera during the time of the killings appeared to travel towards Pullman, Washington, and twice to the apartment of the victims. Surveillance video also showed an Elantra passing by the victims' home three times, beginning around 3:29am. At 4:04 am, the Elantra returned to the home for a fourth time. At 4:20 am, the car was seen speeding away from the victims' neighborhood.

Investigators traced the ownership of this car to a local individual, Bryan Kohberger, who drove it with his father to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania for the holidays. He was pulled over twice within a nearly five-mile radius by the Indiana State Police on Interstate 70 outside of Greenfield, Indiana, for speeding and tailgating. The FBI denied allegations that they had directed the Indiana State Police to make the stops. Investigators obtained cellphone data that showed that Kohberger's phone stopped connecting to the network around 2:47 am in Pullman on November 13 before reconnecting around 4:48 am near Blaine, Idaho. Which is near the U.S. Highway 95 south of Moscow. Cellphone data also shows that he was near the victims' residence around 9 am on November 13, approximately five hours after the killings. Police obtained data that indicated that he was near the residence at least 12 times between June 2022 and November 13. Investigators had additionally obtained a sample of DNA from the crime scene that didn't belong to any of the victims. The DNA was found on a tan leather knife sheath on Mogen's bed. Using a public genealogy database, authorities identified a partial match to any individual with a familial connection to Kohberger. Investigators then traced the DNA to Kohberger by matching it to DNA found on the trash that was recovered from his family's home in Pennsylvania.

Before the arrest, investigators monitored Kohberger outside of his parents' Pennsylvania home. He was seen multiple times wearing surgical gloves and observed putting trash bags inside of the garbage can of a neighbor. The times were sent to the Idaho State Lab for testing. Authorities also said Kohbeger had cleaned his car, inside and outside, not missing an inch. According to authorities, a search of the home where Kohberger was arrested revealed a knife, a pistol, and a black face mask, as well as ID cards inside a glove inside a box.

At the time of his arrest, authorities found Kohbeger in the kitchen dressed in a shirt and shorts, while wearing examination gloves and putting trash into separate zip-lock baggies.

Aftermath

On February 24, 2023, University of Idaho president C. Scott Green announced that the house where the killings occurred was donated to the university. The house will be demolished. Scholarships in the name of the victims have been created. A memorial garden for the victims on the University of Idaho campus is being planned.