Idaho student murders: Criminal justice student charged with four counts of murder

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Bryan Christopher Kohberger is accused of four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary, ITV News' Charlie Frost reports

A criminal justice graduate student is being held as a suspect in the mysterious stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students last month, authorities said.

Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested in eastern Pennsylvania on Friday, over 2,500 miles from the crime scene.

The students - Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin - were stabbed to death at a home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, sometime in the early morning hours of November 13.

Idaho students Madison Mogen (top left), Kaylee Goncalves (bottom left), Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found dead in November. Credit: Instagram / Kaylee Goncalves

Moscow Police Chief James Fry said Kohberger attends Washington State University, which is only a few miles across the state line from Moscow. Investigators are still looking for a weapon, Fry said at a press conference. He was emotional as he announced the arrest, calling the victims by their first names.

Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry. Credit: Austin Johnson/Lewiston Tribune via AP

The four students were members of the university’s Greek system and close friends. Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle lived in the three-story rental home with two other roommates. Kernodle and Chapin were dating and he was visiting the house that night. Autopsies showed all four were likely asleep when they were attacked. Some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. There was no sign of sexual assault, police said. Ethan Chapin’s family emailed a statement after the press conference. “We are relieved this chapter is over because it provides a form of closure. However, it doesn’t alter the outcome or alleviate the pain,” the family wrote. “We miss Ethan, and our family is forever changed.”

A memorial was held outside the restaurant Mogen and Kernodle worked at two days after their deaths. Credit: AP

The killings initially confounded law enforcement and shook the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a murder for five years.

But tips began pouring in after law enforcement asked the public for help finding a white Hyundai Elantra seen near the home around the time of the killings.

An unnamed law enforcement official told AP that DNA evidence played a role in identifying the suspect.

In recent days, federal investigators had been watching Kohberger and arrested him early on Friday morning at a home in Chestnuthill Township, Pennsylvania.

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Boise State University students pay their respects at a vigil in November. Credit: Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman via AP

He is being held without bond in Pennsylvania, and will be held without bond in Idaho once he is returned, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said. The affidavit for four charges of first-degree murder in Idaho will remain sealed until he is returned, as required by state law. Kohberger is also charged with felony burglary in Idaho, Thompson said. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Kohberger just completed his first semester as a PhD student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University. “This horrific act has shaken everyone in the Palouse region,” said WSU provost Elizabeth Chilton in a statement.

“We will long feel the loss of these young people in the Moscow-Pullman community and hope the announcement today will be a step toward healing.”

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