Strange happenings weeks before Bryan Kohberger stabbed 4 students detailed in police documents
A woman who lived nearby told police that in either August or September 2022, she and her daughter saw a man in their yard who 'looked nervous.' She said she was almost certain it was Kohberger.
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Officers eventually identified Kohberger — a doctoral student in criminology at nearby Washington State University — using a DNA sample found on a knife sheath at the crime scene. They tracked his movements that night with cellphone data, obtained online shopping records showing he had purchased a military-style knife, and linked him to a car that repeatedly drove by the students' house.
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The documents include memos memorializing the subpoenas or warrants they served seeking records and the responses to those requests. Investigators served a warrant on the dating app Tinder, looking for accounts Kohberger might have created with certain emails and which might link him to his victims.
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No such evidence emerged, and the motive for the killings remains a mystery.
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Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, about six weeks after the killings. He was taken to a state police barracks to be interviewed by officers from the Moscow police department, Idaho State Police and the FBI.
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They chatted about the Washington State football team, Kohberger's doctorate studies in criminal justice, his required duties to be a teaching assistant while in college, and why he wanted to become a professor.
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Kohberger eventually said he understood they were engaging in small talk, but he would appreciate if the officers explained what they wanted. One detective told him it was because of what had happened in Moscow. Asked if he knew what had transpired, he replied, 'Of course.'
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Did he want to talk about it? 'Well, I think I would need a lawyer,' Kohberger replied.
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He continued speaking, though — asking what specific questions they had and asking if his parents and dog were OK following his arrest.
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A man incarcerated at the Latah County Jail who was once housed next to Kohberger's cell told a detective Sept. 16, 2024, that Kohberger would often question him about his past criminal offenses and why he was in the maximum security wing of the facility.
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The man said Kohberger's habits annoyed him, including how he washed his hands dozens of times each day and spent 45 minutes to an hour in the shower. He said Kohberger stayed awake almost all night and would only take a nap during the day.
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— Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press journalists Hallie Golden, Audrey McAvoy, Martha Bellisle, Mark Thiessen and Jesse Bedayn contributed.
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