Idaho police call out 'gross inaccuracies' in Kohberger TV special, special prosecutor investigating leaks
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July to the Nov. 13, 2022 deaths of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20. He also pleaded guilty to one felony count of burglary.
Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. After the sentencing in July, Judge Steven Hippler lifted the gag order preventing any individual involved in the case from speaking to media.
In May, NBC's "Dateline" ran a special episode on the Kohberger case, which included several pieces of new information that hadn't yet been made public.
FBI cellphone tower data obtained by "Dateline" allegedly showed that Kohberger's cellphone pinged nearly a dozen times to a tower that provides coverage to an area within 100 feet of 1122 King Road, where the four University of Idaho students were killed. The late-night drives all allegedly took place starting in July 2022 and continued through mid-August 2022.
According to the report, the late-night drives in the area of the King Road house began following a Moscow pool party that Kohberger had been invited to.
FBI cellphone records also indicated that Kohberger was within 100 meters of the King Road house on 23 occasions, including one time on Nov. 7. All the trips were after dark.
The "Dateline" special also claimed a white Hyundai Elantra resembling Kohberger's was seen turning onto King Road several times in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, when the murders happened.
However, Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson, who was a lead investigator on the Kohberger case, told the Idaho Statesman that "Dateline" got some of their facts wrong.
"There were some gross inaccuracies and just complete falsehoods," Gilbertson said.
"Dateline" reported that the wounds on Chapin were "carved," but Gilbertson said that wasn't the case.
"There was a strike to the back of his leg," Gilbertson said. "None of us believe or concluded that there was any other purpose or that he was doing (something) ritualistic or anything like that. I think it was simply a strike to make sure that Ethan was not going to come after him."
Gilbertson also said Kohberger didn't sit down in Kernodle's bedroom out of exhaustion, as "Dateline" reported.
"Completely false, made up, no idea where that came from," Gilbertson said. "He did not sit down in a chair anywhere in the house."
"Dateline" also reported that Kohberger's main target was Mogen, but Gilbertson said it's unclear if she or Goncalves was the intended target.
Gilbertson said the "Dateline" special did get some components correct.
He said that Kohberger did use his cellphone to search for serial murderer Ted Bundy and also searched for pornography, searching for terms "sleeping," "passed out" and "drugged."
"All that is pretty accurate. There were searches related to pornography, but it wasn't extensive," Gilbertson said. "There was not anything that led us believe, 'OK, you know, he has some type of a sexual desire behavior that's driving this.' But we also know that he deleted and wiped a lot of his devices, so we obviously don't know what he wiped or what wasn't there."
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate where the leaks came from.
"There is a special prosecutor, and I can tell you that we are not included or privy to what the investigation is doing, nor is the defense, is my understanding, nor is Judge Hippler," Thompson said. "It's being overseen completely independently, and whatever the investigation is doing is confidential. That's what we were instructed by the judge."
In a statement to the Idaho Statesman, an NBC spokesperson said the network stands by its reporting.
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