Investigators have been unraveling the mystery of the murders of four University of Idaho students for weeks, but the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Law enforcement is beginning to find clues about the motive.
A couple of weeks before the four University of Idaho students were murdered on November 13, it is believed that accused killer Bryan Kohberger was sending one of the victims messages on Instagram, according to sources familiar with the case. The young woman did not reply to the messages, but Kohberger continued to send them to her.
The source said the suspect sent her direct messages (DM’s on Instagram) several times, which said, “Hey, how are you?”
Kohberger was also said to have been following all the female victims on Instagram.
Police also claim that Kohberger was stalking the female victims. Cell phone data showed he was at the same location as the students in the weeks before the murder.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin were stabbed at their off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, in the early morning of November 13. The intruder somehow entered the house and murdered the four students using a fixed-blade knife.
A month and a half later, police arrested 28-year-old Kohberger, a Ph.D. criminology student at Washington State University, not far from Idaho State University. They charged him with four counts of murder and one felony burglary count for entering the house.
Kohberger was arrested at his parent’s home in Pennsylvania on December 30. He voluntarily agreed to return to Idaho to face murder charges, waiving his extradition. He returned to Idaho on January 4.
A probable cause affidavit states that one of the surviving roommates told detectives that she saw the killer, a man dressed in black with a mask. She described his appearance and said he walked past her as he left the house.
DNA and cellphone data also linked Kohberger to the crime scene at the time of the murders, and show that he returned to the scene in the morning.
Authorities have not revealed the motive for the gruesome murders or publicly discussed the connection between the victims and the suspect, but the evidence is starting to give clues.
Police are still trying to figure out if the victims were aware of Kohberger. He was aware of them.
Kohberger’s preliminary hearing will be on June 26.
