Suspect in slayings of 4 Idaho college students is arrested in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa. —  Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a suspect in the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death in their beds in Moscow, Idaho, more than a month ago, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said Friday.

The killings initially mystified law enforcement and shook the small city of Moscow, a farming community of about 25,000 people that had not had a murder for five years. Fears of a repeat attack prompted nearly half of the University of Idaho’s more than 11,000 students to leave the city and switch to online classes.

Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested early Friday morning by the Pennsylvania State Police at a home in Chestnuthill Township, authorities said. Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson said investigators believe Kohberger broke into the students’ home “with the intent to commit murder.”

Kohberger is being held without bond in Pennsylvania, Thompson said, and the affidavit for four charges of first-degree murder will remain sealed until he is returned to Idaho, where he will also be held without bond. He is also charged with felony burglary in Idaho, Thompson said. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Kohberger is a PhD student in the department of criminal justice and criminology at Washington State University. He is also a teaching assistant for the criminal justice and criminology program, according to WSU’s online directory.

Campus police assisted Idaho law enforcement in executing search warrants at Kohberger’s home and office on campus, the university said. University officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his work as a teaching assistant.

Washington State University is a short drive across the state line from the University of Idaho. The two universities are partners in several academic programs, and students sometimes attend classes and seminars or work at their neighboring school. But that doesn’t appear to be the case with Kohberger: University of Idaho President Scott Green wrote in a memo to students and employees on Friday evening that the Idaho school had no record of him.

Kohberger graduated from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania with an associate of arts degree in psychology in 2018, said college spokesperson Mia Rossi-Marino. DeSales University in Pennsylvania said that he received a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and completed graduate studies in June 2022.

The Idaho students — Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — were stabbed to death at a rental home near campus in the early morning hours of Nov. 13. Investigators were unable to name a suspect or locate a murder weapon for weeks.

But the case broke open after law enforcement asked the public on Dec. 7 for help finding a white Hyundai Elantra sedan seen near the home around the time of the killings. By the next day, the Moscow Police Department was receiving so many tips that it had to direct them to a special FBI call center. By mid-December, investigators were working through nearly 12,000 tips and had identified more than 22,000 vehicles matching that make and model.

“We are still looking for the weapon,” Fry said. “I will say that we have found an Elantra.”

Fry was emotional as he announced the arrest, calling the victims by their first names. The chief has previously said that everyone on the force feels strongly about solving the crime, and has choked up at times when discussing the impact on the victims’ families and the close-knit community.

Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Chapin, 20, of Conway, Wash., 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. Chapin was dating Kernodle and was at the house that night.

Autopsies indicated all four were probably asleep when they were first attacked. Each was stabbed multiple times, and some had defensive wounds. There were no signs of sexual assault, police said.

Fry said they’re still “putting all the pieces together” to determine the motive for the attack.

Police said Thursday that the rental home would be cleared of “potential biohazards and other harmful substances” in order to collect more evidence starting Friday morning. It was unclear how long the work would take, but a news release said the house would be returned to the property manager upon completion.

Shanon Gray, an attorney representing Goncalves’ father, Steve Goncalves, said law enforcement officials had called the family Thursday night to let them know about the arrest, but they gave no additional information about how or why they believe Kohberger was connected to the murders.

“Obviously they’re relieved that someone has been arrested,” Gray said. “You guys know about as much as we do right now.”

Ben Roberts, a fellow graduate student in the criminology and criminal justice department at Washington State, described Kohberger as confident and outgoing, but said it seemed like “he was always looking for a way to fit in.”

“It’s pretty out of left field,” he said Friday of Kohberger’s arrest in the case. “I had honestly just pegged him as being super awkward.”

Roberts started the program in August along with Kohberger, he said, and had several courses with him. He described Kohberger as seeking to appear academic.

“One thing he would always do, almost without fail, was find the most complicated way to explain something,” Roberts said. “He had to make sure you knew that he knew it.”

Ethan Chapin’s family said in an emailed statement after the news 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. We miss Ethan, and our family is forever changed.”

The family also thanked the University of Idaho and the Sigma Chi fraternity, which Chapin belonged to, for their support.

“We also appreciate the outpouring of kind words from so many others, which we’ll need as we enter the next chapter of this nightmare,” the family wrote.

The case had enticed online sleuths to speculate about potential suspects and motives. Safety concerns prompted the university to hire an additional security firm to escort students across campus, and the Idaho State Police sent troopers to help patrol Moscow’s streets.

Kohberger was arrested in the Pocono Mountains in eastern Pennsylvania. No lawyer was listed in court documents as representing him, and phone calls to the county public defender’s office went unanswered Friday.