Bryan Kohberger PhD murder suspect DNA found on knife sheath, matched DNA taken from family trash outside Pennsylvania home. Probable cause affidavit cites suspect stalking murdered four University of Idaho college home no less than 12 times.
The DNA of PhD Idaho murder suspect was revealed to have been found on a knife sheath at the crime scene, an investigator said in court documents unsealed Thursday.
The affidavit written by Moscow, Idaho Police Cpl. Brett Payne was made public just minutes before a court hearing began for the man accused in the Nov. 13 deaths, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger.
Kohberger arrived in Idaho on Wednesday after voluntarily agreeing to an extradition request following his arrest at his family’s Pennsylvania residence on Friday.
Other documents released during a probable affidavit hearing included Bryan Kohberger having stalked his victim’s home in his white Hyundai Elantra before choosing to strike.
Kohberger who is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary in relation to the murder of four University of Idaho college students was denied bail today during a brief court appearance in Moscow. He will return to court on January 12 for a status hearing.
VIDEO: Bryan Kohberger makes initial court appearance in Idaho, where judge orders him held without bail and he is to have no contact with surviving roommates or victims’ families. Next hearing set for Jan. 12. #IdahoFour #BryanKohberger @livenowfox pic.twitter.com/0DtOFouoUf
— Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowTV) January 5, 2023
Court TV’s @JulieCourtTV breaks down 3 major discoveries from the probable cause affidavit that led to the arrest of Bryan Kohberger.
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Probable cause affidavit highlights
If found guilty, Kohberger, a criminology doctorate student at nearby Washington University faces life in prison or the death penalty in the murders of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
The 19-page probable cause affidavit reveals the following accounts surrounding the case which has gripped the U.S:
- Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen saw Kohberger in a black mask
- She had heard cries and victim Goncalves say ‘there’s someone here’
- Xana Kernodle ordered a DoorDash which arrived 20 minutes before the killing
- Kohberger visited the house at least 12 times before the murder
- He turned his phone off on the night of the killings to avoid detection
- Mortensen told police the killer had ‘bushy eyebrows’ – which they noticed in Kohberger once they’d identified him
The most damning piece of evidence is the fact that a DNA sample taken from Kohberger’s family’s home trash in Pennsylvania matched DNA found on the snap button enclosure of a knife sheath found at the murder scene.
The sheath is described as ‘tan leather’ with the USMC (United States Marines Corps) and ‘KA-BAR’ insignia stitched on its exterior.
A similar sheath can be purchased online for less than $20.
According to Moscow PD Officer Brett Payne – a rookie who joined the force in 2020 – the sheath was found on a single bed next to the stabbed corpses of Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
‘I noticed what appeared to be a tan leather knife sheath laying on the bed next to Mogen’s right side (when viewed from the door).
99.98 percent match
‘The sheath was later processed and had “Ka-Bar” ‘USMC” and the United States Marine Corps eagle globe and anchor insignia stamped on the outside of it.
‘The Idaho state lab later located a single source of male DNA (suspect Profile) left on the button snap of the knife sheath,’ Payne wrote.
That DNA sample was sent for lab processing and then onto the FBI‘s genetic genealogy branch.
Through extensive research of public DNA databases, a match led to Kohberger’s home.
Police had already zeroed in on Kohberger by linking his white Hyundai Elantra to the scene.
On December 27, an undercover team of police stole trash from Kohberger’s family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. That sample returned a 99.98 percent match with the sample found at the scene to Kohberger’s father.
Case build up leading up to arrest
Kohberger’s public defender in the extradition proceedings said the suspect believes he will be exonerated, and Kohberger’s family has also indicated they were cooperating with law enforcement to promote his ‘presumption of innocence.’
The affidavit also indicates one of the deceased students’ roommates told authorities she heard what she thought was crying coming from another bedroom in the house at about 4 a.m. on the night of the stabbings.
Moments later, she saw a man who wore black clothing and a mask covering their mouth and nose walking toward her as she stood in a ‘frozen shock phase,’ before the man walked toward a back sliding glass door, according to the affidavit.
The roommate, who did not indicate she recognized the suspect, allegedly described him as 5’10’’ or taller with an athletic build and bushy eyebrows.
The documents indicate authorities used video footage to identify a white Hyundai Elantra as the suspect’s vehicle, ultimately tracking it to Kohberger’s residence in Pullman, Washington.
Through a search warrant, authorities allegedly received location data from Kohberger’s cell phone that indicates he left his residence, located near the Idaho border, just before 3 a.m. on the night of the stabbings.
The documents allege Kohberger disconnected his phone from the network, and it reconnected just before 5 a.m. south of the town where the stabbings took place minutes earlier.
Five days after the students’ deaths, Kohberger received a new license plate for the car when he changed the registration from Pennsylvania to Washington, according to the affidavit.
Kohberger later traveled by car to his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, and he was stopped twice by Indiana police on the way. Initial reports told of the driver being pulled over at the request of the FBI who had sought to see if the 28 year old had injuries to his hands, with social media sleuths speculating that the stops were made as a pretext for authorities to begin tracking who they believed on December 15 to be the likely suspect.
A subsequent announcement by the FBI on Thursday debunked those claims.
The PhD student was not issued a ticket during either traffic stop as authorities proceeded to build their case against the 28 year old before his eventual arrest on Friday.
