money Idaho murders - update: Bryan Kohberger went ‘missing’ for several hours on drive to Pennsylvania
Investigators working on the Idaho murders case “lost” Bryan Kohberger for several hours during the cross-country trip from his apartment at Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania, it has been revealed.
Surveillance teams were tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a “person of interest” in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
But, on 13 December, when he began the journey home for the holidays with his father, FBI agents managed to lose him almost as soon as their car pulled out of the parking lot at his graduate housing.
The shocking revelation has come to light in Air Mail’s “The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two”, citing law enforcement sources who admitted that for “several alarming hours – or more” the man believed to have brutally stabbed four University of Idaho students to death had “seemingly vanished”.
Hours later, the car finally pinged miles away in Colorado and surveillance resumed.
Mr Kohberger was arrested on 30 December at his family home and is now behind bars in Moscow on murder charges.
Key points
Bryan Kohberger attorneys receive trove of evidence in case
Kohberger’s attorney has ties to second victim’s family
Xana Kernodle’s mom feels ‘betrayed’ by attorney who dropped her for daughter’s alleged killer
Bryan Kohberger met local police chief and sent him gushing email – months before murders
Chilling online comments from suspect as teen revealed
FBI agents ‘lost’ Bryan Kohberger for hours while he was under surveillance
09:46 , Rachel Sharp
Investigators working on the Idaho murders case “lost” Bryan Kohberger for several hours during the cross-country trip from his apartment at Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania, it has been revealed.
Surveillance teams were tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a “person of interest” in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
But, on 13 December, when he began the journey home for the holidays with his father, FBI agents managed to lose him almost as soon as their car pulled out of the parking lot at his graduate housing.
The shocking revelation has come to light in Air Mail’s “The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two”, citing law enforcement sources who admitted that for “several alarming hours – or more” the man believed to have brutally stabbed four University of Idaho students to death had “seemingly vanished”.
Hours later, the car finally pinged miles away in Colorado and surveillance resumed.
Mr Kohberger was arrested on 30 December at his family home and is now behind bars in Moscow on murder charges.
Why the defence requested evidence about a ‘co-defendant’
13:00 , Rachel Sharp
Earlier this month, Bryan Kohberger’s attorney Ann Taylor filed a discovery request in the case, asking the judge to order the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case within 14 days.
Among the discovery requests were witness statements, digital media and police reports about the case.
It also included a request for information about a “co-defendant” in the case.
“Statements of co-defendant. Any written or recorded statements by a codefendant, and the substance of any relevant oral statement made by a co-defendant whether before or after arrest in response to interrogation by any person known by the codefendant to be a peace officer or agent of the prosecuting attorney, or which are otherwise relevant to the offense charged,” the filing reads.
The request has prompted speculation of evidence suggesting that Mr Kohberger may have had an accomplice – or that the defence could seek to argue that as part of their case.
However, Mr Levin explained that this is just part of the standard requests for discovery in a case.
“These are just very standard requests as part of the defence’s discovery request,” he said.
While ruling out other individuals as possible suspects will likely form part of the state’s case against Mr Kohberger, he said that this does not indicate that there are other suspects.
The probable cause affidavit makes no mention of a co-defendant and law enforcement officials have previously insisted that they believe the suspect acted alone.
The request making mention of a co-defendant is also just one of 18 discovery requests made in the court filing.
“I don’t think I would make much hay of that,” Mr Levin said of the discovery request.
Judge extends gag order in Idaho murders case
12:15 , Rachel Sharp
A court in Idaho has extended a gag order issued earlier this month prohibiting law enforcement officials from revealing information about the murders of four University of Idaho students and the arrest of their accused killer Bryan Kohberger.
The order, issued by the Latah County Chief Magistrate on 4 January, was extended on Thursday and will remain in place throughout court proceedings until a verdict has been reached or unless the mandate is modified by the court.
The earlier court order banned investigators, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, and members of both the prosecution and the defence from sharing any new information about the investigation or the suspect before a verdict is reached at trial.
As a result, Moscow Police Department, which had been sharing updates on the investigation, said in a statement that it will no longer be communicating with the public or the media regarding the case.
The order both extends and expands the earlier measure.
What is the significance of the items seized from Bryan Kohberger’s home?
11:30 , Rachel Sharp
The Independent spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each of the items seized from Bryan Kohberger’s home.
How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?
UI students launch fundraiser selling bracelets in victims’ honour
10:45 , Rachel Sharp
University of Idaho students have launched fundraiser selling bracelets in honour of the four murder victims.
The Vandal Strong bracelets are black silicon bands featuring the names of Ethan, Maddie, Xana and Kaylee.
They are for sale on the UI website with funds from the sales set to go towards a memorial for the victims.
“Student fundraiser organized by @ASUIDAHO selling #vandalstrong bracelets to raise money towards building a permanent memorial on @uidaho campus for Xana, Ethan, Madison, and Kaylee. A way for us to honor and remember them forever,” tweeted Xana Kernodle’s family member Sheldon Kernodle.
Student fundraiser organized by @ASUIDAHO selling #vandalstrong bracelets to raise money towards building a permanent memorial on @uidaho campus for Xana, Ethan, Madison, and Kaylee. A way for us to honor and remember them forever. Link to buy below:https://t.co/agvLa4CtmB
— Sheldon Kernodle (@amigoshel) January 20, 2023
Restaurant where Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen worked denies Bryan Kohberger rumours
09:30 , Andrea Blanco
Jackie Fischer, owner of the Mad Greek — where slain students Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle were servers — spoke out in a strongly-worded Facebook post on Friday after an anonymous former staff member claimed to People that Mr Kohberger had visited the eatery in the weeks before the killings.
Mogen, Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin were all killed in a violent stabbing attack on 13 November in Moscow.
Mr Kohberger, a Washington State University PhD criminology student who lived 15 minutes from the victims’ home, has been charged with the murders.
According to the People report, Mr Kohberger visited the restaurant in Moscow twice in the weeks leading up to the murders and ordered vegan pizza.
It also alleged that an investigator with insight into the case reportedly told the magazine that authorities knew about the visits to the restaurant, had seized footage and that both staff and owners had been interviewed by law enforcement.
But within hours of the article being published, Ms Fischer slammed the claims and said they were unequivocally false.
“The news/media should really do their due diligence before running a story with completely fabricated information. This person who wants their 5 minutes of fame has now caused a whole bunch of extra work for myself and the investigators,” Ms Fischer wrote in a Facebook post.
Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by police chief for internship months before murders
08:00 , Andrea Blanco
Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by a local police department for an internship position months before the slayings.
New emails show a brief exchange between Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger and the then-chief of Pullman Police Department Gary Jenkins regarding Mr Kohberger’s interview process for the research assistantship for public safety position in April 2022.
In his email to Mr Jenkins, Mr Kohberger wrote that “it was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share [his] thoughts and excitement.” Mr Jenkins replied that it was “great to meet and talk with you as well.”
Read the full story here.
A survivor is defending the surviving roommates in the Idaho murders
06:30 , Andrea Blanco
There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo – none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.
Alanna Zabel tells The Independent’s Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:
She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders
Defence attorneys receive thousands of documents and photos as evidence in Idaho murders case
05:00 , Andrea Blanco
Attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger have now received thousands of documents and photos as evidence in the University of Idaho murders case.
Court filings reveal that prosecutors in Moscow, Idaho, handed over the huge trove of evidence to lawyers for the 28-year-old suspected mass killer last week, including 995 pages of documents, one audio/video file, and 1,865 photos.
The evidence – which shows what led investigators to arrest the criminology PhD student for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – came in response to the defence’s discovery request in the case.
However, the state objected to handing over some information in the case, including the identity of potential informants.
“The State objects to requests by the Defendant for anything not otherwise addressed above on the grounds that such requests are outside the scope of I.C.R. 16 and/or are not subject to disclosure under ICR 16(g) (work product and informants),” prosecutors wrote in the court filings.
These were the items seized from Bryan Kohberger’s Washington state home:
03:30 , Andrea Blanco
Unsealed search warrants have revealed what evidence was seized from Bryan Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.
This included:
- one nitrite type black glove
- one Walmart receipt with one Dickie’s tag
- two Marshalls receipts
- dust container from a vacuum
- multiple possible hair and hair strands
- one possible animal hair strands
- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain
- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains
- items with a ‘dark red spot’
- a computer tower
- a Fire TV stick
No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.
Fraternity member found dead at alleged Idaho murderer’s Washington State University
02:00 , Andrea Blanco
WSU made national headlines last month when one of its criminology graduate students, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, became the main and only suspect in the brutal quadruple murders in the neighbouring college town of Moscow.
The university and its Greek life have now come under scrutiny after 19-year-old freshman Luke Tyler was found dead on 22 January at the Pullman campus.
Foul play is not suspected but Tyler’s official cause of death will be determined by an autopsy later this week, The Daily Evergreen reported.
A group of Tyler’s friends have since claimed that his sudden death followed “a long and cruel pledging process allowed by his fraternity,” Theta Chi, The Spokesman-Review reported.
In a Change.org petition, they demanded that the fraternity is disbanded.
Madison Mogen's father reveals what he did when he learned of Bryan Kohberger’s arrest
00:30 , Andrea Blanco
The devastated father of slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogen has revealed that he just “broke down and cried” when he learned that his daughter’s accused killer had been taken into custody by police.
Ben Mogen had been clinging onto hope that the murderer who violently stabbed his daughter to death alongside her friends Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would be brought to justice.
Finally, seven weeks on from the 13 November slayings, an investigator broke the news to him that a suspect – Bryan Kohberger – had finally been arrested and charged with their murders.
Mr Mogen spoke out about the moment that he learned about the break in the case on ABC’s “Good Morning America” earlier this month.
“He said, ‘Ben, this is the moment we’ve been waiting for,’” he said the officer told him.
“I just broke down, and I just cried.”
The grieving father said that learning about Mr Kohberger’s arrest felt like “a huge weight that got lifted”.
The evidence found inside Bryan Kohberger’s home:
Monday 30 January 2023 21:46 , Andrea Blanco
Unsealed search warrants have revealed what evidence was seized from Bryan Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.
This included:
- one nitrite type black glove
- one Walmart receipt with one Dickie’s tag
- two Marshalls receipts
- dust container from a vacuum
- multiple possible hair and hair strands
- one possible animal hair strands
- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain
- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains
- items with a ‘dark red spot’
- a computer tower
- a Fire TV stick
No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.
Kaylee Goncalves had moved out of student home shortly before the stabbings
Monday 30 January 2023 20:35 , Andrea Blanco
Idaho murders victim Kaylee Goncalves had already moved out of the home where she and three other students were brutally murdered – but tragically returned to Moscow to visit her best friend that fateful weekend.
Goncalves’ parents told NBC’s “Dateline” that the 21-year-old had recently left the student rental property on King Road, Moscow, ahead of her upcoming graduation that December and a move to Austin, Texas, for a new job at a tech firm.
Then, on the weekend of 12 November, she decided to go back to the college town to visit her best friend Madison Mogen.
The two young women had been inseparable since meeting in the sixth grade and Goncalves wanted to show Mogen her new Range Rover that she had saved up for and bought.
The pair also planned to go to a party together on the night of Saturday 12 November.
“These girls were best friends since sixth grade, like inseparable,” said Goncalves’ mother Kristi Goncalves.
“That was the last time that I saw Kaylee.”
Hit-and-run unfolded outside Bryan Kohberger’s home on night of Idaho college murders
Monday 30 January 2023 19:50 , Andrea Blanco
A hit-and-run unfolded outside of Bryan Kohberger’s home on the same night that he allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students, it has been revealed.
At around 11.40pm on the night of 12 November, police were called to a report of a crash in front of an apartment complex on the Washington State University (WSU) campus, in Pullman, Washington state, according to authorities.
The apartment complex, which houses mainly graduate or PhD students, had been home to Mr Kohberger since August when he relocated from his home state of Pennsylvania to start a PhD program in criminal justice at the university.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found two pedestrians – a male WSU student and a woman – with injuries after being struck by a car.
The driver had already fled the scene.
Defence attorneys receive thousands of documents and photos as evidence in case
Monday 30 January 2023 19:08 , Andrea Blanco
Attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger have now received thousands of documents and photos as evidence in the University of Idaho murders case.
Court filings reveal that prosecutors in Moscow, Idaho, handed over the huge trove of evidence to lawyers for the 28-year-old suspected mass killer last week, including 995 pages of documents, one audio/video file, and 1,865 photos.
The evidence – which shows what led investigators to arrest the criminology PhD student for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – came in response to the defence’s discovery request in the case.
However, the state objected to handing over some information in the case, including the identity of potential informants.
“The State objects to requests by the Defendant for anything not otherwise addressed above on the grounds that such requests are outside the scope of I.C.R. 16 and/or are not subject to disclosure under ICR 16(g) (work product and informants),” prosecutors wrote in the court filings.
What can be expected from Bryan Kohberger’s preliminary hearing on 26 June?
Monday 30 January 2023 17:57 , Andrea Blanco
Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes its way through the courts.
Further evidence and information about the case is not expected to be made public until the preliminary hearing on 26 June, after a judge issued a gag order preventing officials from talking about the case.
Behind the scenes, both sides will be “conducting investigative work, examining discovery and moving the case forward,” said Mr Levin.
In the preliminary hearing, the prosecution and the defence will then both lay out their cases in court for the first time, witnesses will likely be called and the defence will have the opportunity to cross-examine them, and Mr Kohberger will enter a plea on the charges.
“I think this case looks like it is headed to trial,” said Mr Levin, adding that due to the complexity of the case it could take some time.
“As a case where the death penalty is on the table, it will take a long time to wind its way through the courts and it will be a lengthy court proceeding,” he said.
“It’s not the kind of case a court regularly handles so whether it’s in 2023 is an open question.”
Computer, hair, glove and stained items seized from Idaho murders suspect’s home
Monday 30 January 2023 16:15 , Andrea Blanco
Police investigating the murder of four Idaho students seized a string of items from suspect Bryan Kohberger’s apartment, including possible hair strands, a disposable glove, items with red and brown stains and a computer, according to an unsealed search warrant.
Investigators stated in the search warrant application that they hoped to find hair strands that could link the suspect to the scene of the horrific November crime in Moscow, Idaho.
They said in the application that this could be either through the four victims or through a dog that was at the rental house at the time of the slayings, reported The New York Times.
Police said that one of the items found at the suspect’s apartment at nearby Washington State University was a “possible animal hair strand.”
In the documents, investigators said one item had a “collection of dark red” spotting, and that a pillow had a “reddish/brown stain” on it.
Bryan Kohberger’s attorney has ties to second victim’s family
Monday 30 January 2023 15:30 , Andrea Blanco
The attorney representing Bryan Kohberger has ties to the family of a second victim of the University of Idaho murders, it has been revealed.
Public defender Anne Taylor previously represented the father and stepmother of Madison Mogen in now closed criminal cases, according to court records seen by Inside Edition Digital.
The connection comes after it emerged that Ms Taylor was representing Xana Kernodle’s mother Cara Northington on drugs charges at the time of Mr Kohberger’s arrest.
Court documents, filed on 5 January, showed that the attorney then dropped her as a client – the same day that she took on Mr Kohberger’s case and represented him in court in Moscow for the first time on charges of murdering Kernodle, Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves.
The ties to the victims’ families has raised some concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the case.
How strong is the case against Bryan Kohberger?
Monday 30 January 2023 14:45 , Rachel Sharp
It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.
The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.
For more than six weeks, the murders remained a mystery and left the small college town racked by fear.
Then, on 30 December, Mr Kohberger was arrested 2,500 miles away at his family home in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of murder and one charge of burglary.
Details about the murders and his alleged role in them were laid out in the damning probable cause affidavit released earlier this month.
But just how strong is the case against him? What can we expect next from the defence and the prosecution? And why has Mr Kohberger’s attorney requested evidence about a co-defendant?
Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes it way through the courts.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp writes:
Kaylee Goncalves’ family reveals reason for calls to former boyfriend not long before murders
Monday 30 January 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp
Kaylee Goncalves’ family members have revealed a possible reason for the calls the slain student made to her former boyfriend not long before she was brutally murdered.
In the early hours of 13 November, Goncalves and Mogen both made phone calls to Goncalves’ ex-boyfriend Jack DuCoeur, with whom she shares pet dog Murphy.
Mr DuCoeur did not answer the calls.
Just hours later – at between 4am and 4.25am – Goncalves and Mogen were brutally stabbed to death alongside Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
In a sit-down interview with the YouTube channel Chronicles of Olivia, the Goncalves family spoke out about the calls, saying that they believe their daughter was seeking to rekindle her relationship with Mr DuCoeur.
Goncalves broke up with Mr DuCoeur ahead of her post-graduation move to Texas, but had later voiced concerns that she “might not ever find another Jack” and was considering getting back together with him, they said.
Kaylee’s father Steve Goncalves said that the couple had remained friends and the slain student was looking “for every excuse for [Mr DuCoeur] to pick up the phone.”
The evidence found inside Bryan Kohberger’s home:
Monday 30 January 2023 13:15 , Rachel Sharp
Unsealed search warrants have revealed what evidence was seized from Bryan Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.
This included:
- one nitrite type black glove
- one Walmart receipt with one Dickie’s tag
- two Marshalls receipts
- dust container from a vacuum
- multiple possible hair and hair strands
- one possible animal hair strands
- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain
- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains
- items with a ‘dark red spot’
- a computer tower
- a Fire TV stick
No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.
VOICES: The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case
Monday 30 January 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp
“While America has long been fascinated with true crime, the shocking brutality and seeming randomness of the Moscow murders sent the internet sleuth community into overdrive.
“Conspiracy theories and rumours have dominated the investigation with thousands of people joining social media groups to discuss their take on what transpired and why.”
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp writes:
The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case
Xana Kernodle’s mother says she opposes death penalty for daughter’s killer
Monday 30 January 2023 11:45 , Rachel Sharp
The mother of slain student Xana Kernodle has revealed that she opposes the death penalty for her daughter’s accused killer Bryan Kohberger.
Cara Northington told NewsNation that she wants the suspect to “pay for what he’s done” but is against the death penalty.
“That’s not who I am. I don’t believe in [the death penalty], but I do think that he should spend the rest of his days in prison,” she said.
Her stance comes in opposition to the parents of Kaylee Goncalves who previously said they would support the death penalty for the person responsible for killing the four students.
What can be expected from Bryan Kohberger’s preliminary hearing on 26 June?
Monday 30 January 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco
Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes its way through the courts.
Further evidence and information about the case is not expected to be made public until the preliminary hearing on 26 June, after a judge issued a gag order preventing officials from talking about the case.
Behind the scenes, both sides will be “conducting investigative work, examining discovery and moving the case forward,” said Mr Levin.
In the preliminary hearing, the prosecution and the defence will then both lay out their cases in court for the first time, witnesses will likely be called and the defence will have the opportunity to cross-examine them, and Mr Kohberger will enter a plea on the charges.
“I think this case looks like it is headed to trial,” said Mr Levin, adding that due to the complexity of the case it could take some time.
“As a case where the death penalty is on the table, it will take a long time to wind its way through the courts and it will be a lengthy court proceeding,” he said.
“It’s not the kind of case a court regularly handles so whether it’s in 2023 is an open question.”
Bryan Kohberger attorneys receive thousands of documents and photos as evidence in case
Monday 30 January 2023 10:15 , Rachel Sharp
Attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger have now received thousands of documents and photos as evidence in the University of Idaho murders case.
Court filings reveal that prosecutors in Moscow, Idaho, handed over the huge trove of evidence to lawyers for the 28-year-old suspected mass killer last week, including 995 pages of documents, one audio/video file, and 1,865 photos.
The evidence – which shows what led investigators to arrest the criminology PhD student for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – came in response to the defence’s discovery request in the case.
However, the state objected to handing over some information in the case, including the identity of potential informants.
“The State objects to requests by the Defendant for anything not otherwise addressed above on the grounds that such requests are outside the scope of I.C.R. 16 and/or are not subject to disclosure under ICR 16(g) (work product and informants),” prosecutors write in the court filings.
How strong is the case against him?
Monday 30 January 2023 09:00 , Andrea Blanco
It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.
The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.
Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes its way through the courts.
How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?
Bryan Kohberger’s attorney has ties to second victim’s family
Monday 30 January 2023 07:00 , Andrea Blanco
The attorney representing Bryan Kohberger has ties to the family of a second victim of the University of Idaho murders, it has been revealed.
Public defender Anne Taylor previously represented the father and stepmother of Madison Mogen in now closed criminal cases, according to court records seen by Inside Edition Digital.
The connection comes after it emerged that Ms Taylor was representing Xana Kernodle’s mother Cara Northington on drugs charges at the time of Mr Kohberger’s arrest.
Court documents, filed on 5 January, showed that the attorney then dropped her as a client – the same day that she took on Mr Kohberger’s case and represented him in court in Moscow for the first time on charges of murdering Kernodle, Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves.
The ties to the victims’ families has raised some concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the case.
What is the significance of the items seized from Bryan Kohberger’s home?
Monday 30 January 2023 15:05 , Andrea Blanco
The Independent spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each of the items seized from Bryan Kohberger’s home.
How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?
Xana Kernodle’s mother says Bryan Kohberger lawyer had power of attorney over her as she slams ‘betrayal’
Monday 30 January 2023 05:00 , Rachel Sharp
The mother of slain University of Idaho student Xana Kernodle has claimed that she gave her power of attorney to the public defender now representing her daughter’s alleged killer.
Anne Taylor, the chief of the Kootenai public defender’s office, filed on 5 January to recuse herself from representing Xana Kernodle’s mother Cara Denise Northington in order to become the lead defence attorney for Bryan Kohberger.
In an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday night, Ms Northington spoke out over the sense of “betrayal” she feels after her attorney stepped down from her case, saying she had given Ms Taylor power of attorney over her.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the full story:
Idaho murder victim’s mom says she gave Bryan Kohberger lawyer power of attorney
The tragic reason an Idaho murders victim returned to Moscow after moving out of her student home
Monday 30 January 2023 03:00 , Andrea Blanco
Idaho murders victim Kaylee Goncalves had already moved out of the home where she and three other students were brutally murdered – but tragically returned to Moscow to visit her best friend that fateful weekend.
Goncalves’ parents told NBC’s “Dateline” that the 21-year-old had recently left the student rental property on King Road, Moscow, ahead of her upcoming graduation that December and a move to Austin, Texas, for a new job at a tech firm.
Then, on the weekend of 12 November, she decided to go back to the college town to visit her best friend Madison Mogen.
The two young women had been inseparable since meeting in the sixth grade and Goncalves wanted to show Mogen her new Range Rover that she had saved up for and bought.
The pair also planned to go to a party together on the night of Saturday 12 November.
“These girls were best friends since sixth grade, like inseparable,” said Goncalves’ mother Kristi Goncalves.
“That was the last time that I saw Kaylee.”
Idaho murders victim’s father reveals what he did when he learned of Bryan Kohberger’s arrest
Monday 30 January 2023 01:00 , Andrea Blanco
The devastated father of slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogen has revealed that he just “broke down and cried” when he learned that his daughter’s accused killer had been taken into custody by police.
Ben Mogen had been clinging onto hope that the murderer who violently stabbed his daughter to death alongside her friends Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would be brought to justice.
Finally, seven weeks on from the 13 November slayings, an investigator broke the news to him that a suspect – Bryan Kohberger – had finally been arrested and charged with their murders.
Mr Mogen spoke out about the moment that he learned about the break in the case on ABC’s “Good Morning America” this week.
“He said, ‘Ben, this is the moment we’ve been waiting for,’” he said the officer told him.
“I just broke down, and I just cried.”
The grieving father said that learning about Mr Kohberger’s arrest felt like “a huge weight that got lifted”.
Potential reason why victim called ex-boyfriend before Idaho murders
Sunday 29 January 2023 23:00 , Andrea Blanco
A University of Idaho student stabbed to death in her sleep may have called her ex-boyfriend on the night of her murder to rekindle their relationship, her family believes.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed during a 13 November attack in the small college town of Moscow.
The murders gripped the nation and a secretive investigation by the FBI, Moscow Police, and Idaho State Police eventually materialised into the 30 December arrest of Washington State University PhD criminology student Bryan Kohberger.
Goncalves’ family has now shed new light on why she might have been calling her ex-boyfriend Jack DuCoeur in the hours before she was brutally attacked. In a sit-down interview with the YouTube channel Chronicles of Olivia — filmed two days before Mr Kohberger’s arrest– the Goncalves said their daughter broke up with Mr DuCoeur ahead of her post-graduation move to Texas, but had later voiced concerns that she “might not ever find another Jack” and was considering getting back together with him.
Kaylee’s father Steve Goncalves said that the couple had remained friends and the slain student was looking “for every excuse for [Mr DuCoeur] to pick up the phone.” The family noted that they were not just blindly sticking up for Mr DuCoeur, and that they had done their due diligence by looking out for scratches on his body, and potential evidence on his shoes and inside his car.
“Even logically, I think a lot of people assume that we’re blinded by this individual but contrary to that, we’re very capable of removing our emotions for Jack —which is absolute love — and just looking at the situation logically,” Alivea Goncalves, Goncalves’ sister, said on the interview. “Looking at this individual logically, looking at a pattern of behaviours of him that we have seen throughout five, six years ... In our hearts and in our heads and in every sense of the word, it’s just not [plausible that he committed the crime].”
What was found inside Bryan Kohberger’s home:
Sunday 29 January 2023 21:00 , Andrea Blanco
Last week, police in Washington unsealed search warrants for Bryan Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU).
The unsealed documents reveal that investigators seized a string of items from his home.
This included:
- one nitrite type black glove
- one Walmart receipt with one Dickie’s tag
- two Marshalls receipts
- dust container from a vacuum
- multiple possible hair and hair strands
- one possible animal hair strands
- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain
- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains
- items with a ‘dark red spot’
- a computer tower
- a Fire TV stick
No items were seized from his office which he shared with other PhD students.
Hit-and-run unfolded outside Bryan Kohberger’s home on night of Idaho college murders
Sunday 29 January 2023 19:00 , Andrea Blanco
A hit-and-run unfolded outside of Bryan Kohberger’s home on the same night that he allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students, it has been revealed.
At around 11.40pm on the night of 12 November, police were called to a report of a crash in front of an apartment complex on the Washington State University (WSU) campus, in Pullman, Washington state, according to authorities.
The apartment complex, which houses mainly graduate or PhD students, had been home to Mr Kohberger since August when he relocated from his home state of Pennsylvania to start a PhD program in criminal justice at the university.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found two pedestrians – a male WSU student and a woman – with injuries after being struck by a car.
The driver had already fled the scene.
Bryan Kohberger met local police chief for interview months before Idaho murders
Sunday 29 January 2023 17:00 , Rachel Sharp
Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by a local police department for an internship position months before the slayings.
New emails show a brief exchange between Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger and the then-chief of Pullman Police Department Gary Jenkins regarding Mr Kohberger’s interview process for the research assistantship for public safety position in April 2022.
In his email to Mr Jenkins, Mr Kohberger wrote that “it was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share [his] thoughts and excitement.” Mr Jenkins replied that it was “great to meet and talk with you as well.”
Read the full story here:
Bryan Kohberger was interviewed by police chief for internship months before murders
VOICES: The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case
Sunday 29 January 2023 15:00 , Andrea Blanco
Even now Bryan Kohberger is in police custody, the online rumour mill shows no signs of winding down.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case
Forensic experts weigh in on evidence seized from Bryan Kohberger’s home:
Sunday 29 January 2023 13:00 , Rachel Sharp
Authorities have lifted the lid on alleged evidence found in the home of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger, marking the latest development in a horror case that has gripped the nation for two months.
A search warrant was executed at Mr Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington, on 30 December, the same day he was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania on charges for the 13 November stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.
A record of evidence recovered during the apartment search was unsealed on Wednesday, revealing the seizure of 15 items including hairs, receipts, a computer tower, a disposable glove and items with peculiar stains.
The record reignited a frenzy of speculation online - despite its simplicity and lack of conjecture.
But what significance, if any, can actually be gleaned from the list? The Independent’s Andrea Blanco spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each item.
What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohberger’s home
Computer, hair, glove and stained items seized from Idaho murders suspect’s home
Sunday 29 January 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco
Police investigating the murder of four Idaho students seized a string of items from suspect Bryan Kohberger’s apartment, including possible hair strands, a disposable glove, items with red and brown stains and a computer, according to an unsealed search warrant.
Investigators stated in the search warrant application that they hoped to find hair strands that could link the suspect to the scene of the horrific November crime in Moscow, Idaho.
They said in the application that this could be either through the four victims or through a dog that was at the rental house at the time of the slayings, reported The New York Times.
Police said that one of the items found at the suspect’s apartment at nearby Washington State University was a “possible animal hair strand.”
In the documents, investigators said one item had a “collection of dark red” spotting, and that a pillow had a “reddish/brown stain” on it.
Restaurant where two Idaho murders victims worked denies Bryan Kohberger rumours
Sunday 29 January 2023 09:00 , Andrea Blanco
Jackie Fischer, owner of the Mad Greek — where slain students Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle were servers — spoke out in a strongly-worded Facebook post on Friday after an anonymous former staff member claimed to People that Mr Kohberger had visited the eatery in the weeks before the killings.
Mogen, Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin were all killed in a violent stabbing attack on 13 November in Moscow. Mr Kohberger, a Washington State University PhD criminology student who lived 15 minutes from the victims’ home, has been charged with the murders.
According to the People report, Mr Kohberger visited the restaurant in Moscow twice in the weeks leading up to the murders and ordered vegan pizza. It also alleged that an investigator with insight into the case reportedly told the magazine that authorities knew about the visits to the restaurant, had seized footage and that both staff and owners had been interviewed by law enforcement.
But within hours of the article being published, Ms Fischer slammed the claims and said they were unequivocally false.
“The news/media should really do their due diligence before running a story with completely fabricated information. This person who wants their 5 minutes of fame has now caused a whole bunch of extra work for myself and the investigators,” Ms Fischer wrote in a Facebook post.
Stained items seized from Bryan Kohberger’s Washington state home
Sunday 29 January 2023 07:00 , Andrea Blanco
In the search warrant record, investigators list several items with stains, including cuttings of a mattress cover, a “reddish/brown” stain on an uncovered pillow and a “collection of dark red spot”.
Forensic expert Dr Monte Miller and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told The Independent that police likely believe those stains could be blood.
“A reddish or brown stain is a euphemism for, ‘We found something that looks like blood,’” Dr Miller said. “It might be blood from the victims, might be his blood. They don’t know until they test it, but they’ll be able to get DNA if it is blood. We don’t know what the stains in the cover sheets look like, but again they’re looking for any kind of DNA, evidence that might have come from the crime scene.”
Bryan Kohberger is facing murder charges in the killings of four University of Idaho students
Ms Coffindaffer added: “They don’t call it blood, but it’s definitely inferred that it was blood.”
Dr Miller noted that while stains on clothing and bedding are not necessarily unusual, investigators will try to link the evidence found at the Pullman apartment to the crime scene in Moscow.
“The likelihood that any of those stains came from the crime scene, is going to be dependent on how well he cleaned up,” he said.
A survivor is defending the surviving roommates in the Idaho murders
Sunday 29 January 2023 05:00 , Andrea Blanco
There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo – none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.
Alanna Zabel tells The Independent’s Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:
She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders
Speculation around ‘co-defendant’ in Idaho murders case is debunked
Sunday 29 January 2023 03:00 , Andrea Blanco
Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office and attorney at Levin & Associates, spoke to The Independent about the criminal case against the 28-year-old criminology PhD student.
Among the discovery requests made by the defence were witness statements, digital media and police reports about the case. It also included a request for information about a “co-defendant”.
The request prompted speculation online that there may be evidence suggesting that Mr Kohberger had an accomplice in the killings – or that the defence could be planning to argue that as part of their case.
However, Mr Levin explained that this is just part of the standard requests for discovery in a case.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:
Speculation that Bryan Kohberger has ‘co-defendant’ in Idaho murders case debunked
She slept through an attack that nearly killed her roommate. Now, she’s defending a stranger in the Idaho murders
Sunday 29 January 2023 01:00 , Rachel Sharp
There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo – none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.
Alanna Zabel tells The Independent’s Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:
She slept through an attack in her home - and has a message about the Idaho murders
Xana Kernodle’s mother says Bryan Kohberger lawyer had power of attorney over her as she slams ‘betrayal’
Saturday 28 January 2023 23:00 , Rachel Sharp
The mother of slain University of Idaho student Xana Kernodle has claimed that she gave her power of attorney to the public defender now representing her daughter’s alleged killer.
Anne Taylor, the chief of the Kootenai public defender’s office, filed on 5 January to recuse herself from representing Xana Kernodle’s mother Cara Denise Northington in order to become the lead defence attorney for Bryan Kohberger.
In an interview with NewsNation on Wednesday night, Ms Northington spoke out over the sense of “betrayal” she feels after her attorney stepped down from her case, saying she had given Ms Taylor power of attorney over her.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the full story:
Idaho murder victim’s mom says she gave Bryan Kohberger lawyer power of attorney
Kohberger’s attorney has ties to second victim’s family
Saturday 28 January 2023 21:00 , Andrea Blanco
The attorney representing Bryan Kohberger has ties to the family of a second victim of the University of Idaho murders, it has been revealed.
Public defender Anne Taylor previously represented the father and stepmother of Madison Mogen in now closed criminal cases, according to court records seen by Inside Edition Digital.
The connection comes after it emerged that Ms Taylor was representing Xana Kernodle’s mother Cara Northington on drugs charges at the time of Mr Kohberger’s arrest.
Court documents, filed on 5 January, showed that the attorney then dropped her as a client – the same day that she took on Mr Kohberger’s case and represented him in court in Moscow for the first time on charges of murdering Kernodle, Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves.
The ties to the victims’ families has raised some concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the case.
Legal expert debunks speculation about ‘co-defendant’
Saturday 28 January 2023 19:00 , Rachel Sharp
Last week, Bryan Kohberger’s attorney Ann Taylor filed a discovery request in the case, asking the judge to order the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case within 14 days.
Among the discovery requests were witness statements, digital media and police reports about the case.
It also included a request for information about a “co-defendant” in the case.
“Statements of co-defendant. Any written or recorded statements by a codefendant, and the substance of any relevant oral statement made by a co-defendant whether before or after arrest in response to interrogation by any person known by the codefendant to be a peace officer or agent of the prosecuting attorney, or which are otherwise relevant to the offense charged,” the filing reads.
The request has prompted speculation of evidence suggesting that Mr Kohberger may have had an accomplice – or that the defence could seek to argue that as part of their case.
However, Mr Levin explained that this is just part of the standard requests for discovery in a case.
“These are just very standard requests as part of the defence’s discovery request,” he said.
While ruling out other individuals as possible suspects will likely form part of the state’s case against Mr Kohberger, he said that this does not indicate that there are other suspects.
The probable cause affidavit makes no mention of a co-defendant and law enforcement officials have previously insisted that they believe the suspect acted alone.
The request making mention of a co-defendant is also just one of 18 discovery requests made in the court filing.
“I don’t think I would make much hay of that,” Mr Levin said of the discovery request.
Forensic experts discuss evidence seized from Bryan Kohberger’s home:
Saturday 28 January 2023 17:00 , Rachel Sharp
Authorities have lifted the lid on alleged evidence found in the home of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger, marking the latest development in a horror case that has gripped the nation for two months.
A search warrant was executed at Mr Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington, on 30 December, the same day he was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania on charges for the 13 November stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.
A record of evidence recovered during the apartment search was unsealed on Wednesday, revealing the seizure of 15 items including hairs, receipts, a computer tower, a disposable glove and items with peculiar stains.
The record reignited a frenzy of speculation online - despite its simplicity and lack of conjecture.
But what significance, if any, can actually be gleaned from the list? The Independent’s Andrea Blanco spoke to two experts - Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert for the Texas Department of Public Safety; and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer - for their takes on each item.
What forensic experts say about evidence seized from Bryan Kohberger’s home
Kohberger’s attorney has ties to second victim’s family
Saturday 28 January 2023 15:00 , Rachel Sharp
The attorney representing Bryan Kohberger has ties to the family of a second victim of the University of Idaho murders, it has been revealed.
Public defender Anne Taylor previously represented the father and stepmother of Madison Mogen in now closed criminal cases, according to court records seen by Inside Edition Digital.
The connection comes after it emerged that Ms Taylor was representing Xana Kernodle’s mother Cara Northington on drugs charges at the time of Mr Kohberger’s arrest.
Court documents, filed on 5 January, showed that the attorney then dropped her as a client – the same day that she took on Mr Kohberger’s case and represented him in court in Moscow for the first time on charges of murdering Kernodle, Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves.
The ties to the victims’ families has raised some concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the case.
