Bryan Kohberger extradition hearing: PhD Idaho murder suspect volunteers to be sent back to Idaho to face four murder charges against him as calm, stoic suspect insists wrong person has been arrested.
‘I’ll clear my name’. Idaho murders suspect Bryan Christopher Kohberger has waived an extradition hearing in Pennsylvania and voluntarily agreed to be sent back to Idaho where state prosecutors have accused the PhD student of murdering four college students as they slept at their off campus residence during the early morning hours of November 13.
Kohberger, 28, denies the murders but is not fighting extradition – saying he is eager to get back to Idaho, where he can answer the charges formally. Come Tuesday afternoon, the PhD student waived contesting extradition and volunteered being sent back to Idaho to formally address four first degree murder charges against him.
The PhD student was arrested at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania on Friday. His family insists police got the wrong man, despite investigators claiming that his DNA matches a sample found at the scene on November 13.
Kohberger following his Tuesday Monroe Court appearance circa 3.30pm was officially on his way to Idaho after voluntarily agreeing with a judge that he wanted to face murder charges against him.
Wearing a red prison jumpsuit and handcuffs, Kohberger struck media with his confidence and stoicism. Upon the conclusion of his ten minute hearing, Kohberger turned and faced his family and quietly said ‘I love you’ as he was led out of the courtroom.
Quaruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger is officially on his way back to Idaho where the court could unseal the probable cause affidavit.@JuliaCourtTV @ChanleyCourtTV #CourtTV
MORE HERE: https://t.co/jFgXm2lj4I pic.twitter.com/l1COpBemhf— Court TV (@CourtTV) January 3, 2023
Kohberger family insist crime is out of character and son is innocent
Much of the case remains a mystery due to the fact that the PhD student who was studying at nearby University of Washington was arrested in a different state than where the crime took place.
Prosecutors are yet to provide a motive for Kohberger, and it remains unclear if he knew any of the victims. Social media sleuths pointed to Instagram posts allegedly belonging to Kohberger stalking the two female victims found slain.
More details are expected to emerge upon the delivery of a probable cause affidavit, a charging document that remains sealed but which will become public once Kohberger is back in Idaho.
Kohberger’s family insists he is innocent.
‘They don’t believe it to be Bryan. They can’t believe this. This is certainly completely out of character, the allegations, and really they’re just trying to be supportive with the understanding these four families have suffered loss, so they’re sympathetic towards that, and that’s why it should remain really private and they don’t want to try this case in the court of public opinion,’ public defender James LaBar told NBC News.
LaBar said Kohberger has been ‘easy to talk to’ and is confident he will be exonerated.
Upon a probable affidavit being served, the defendant can begin to address the specific nature of the charges against him.
WATCH: Bodycam footage released by the Indiana State Police shows a trooper stopping Idaho student murders suspect #BryanKohberger and his father in a white Hyundai Elantra on December 15. pic.twitter.com/Vvv8vsmcWx
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) January 3, 2023
Dr. Baden makes a good point: if they had the DNA while he was still in Idaho, they would have arrested him there. But they followed him all the way back to PA, so there’s something more to it. #bryankohberger #idaho4, #dna #baden #foxnews pic.twitter.com/vOva1gQsiQ
— Lindsey (@LinzoavaBush) January 2, 2023
Jail house behavior
‘He believes he’s going to be exonerated. That’s what he believes. Those were his words. He’s been very easy to talk to. Actually, he’s in a calm demeanor.’
LaBar also said Kohberger is ‘calm’ and ‘polite’ behind bars, where corrections officers have been ‘very accommodating’ of his vegan diet. The assertion contradicts that of a released inmate who claimed the PhD student terrorizing guards, taunting them and allegedly exposing himself to her- a claim many on social media have disputed.
The lawyer added that Kohberger ‘understands the seriousness’ of the charges and that the death penalty is on the table.
He is said to have told his attorney: ‘This will be a long process.’
KHQ reports that he’d been sitting ‘in a ball on the floor’, barely speaking to guards.
LaBar has since ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Kohberger.
No private attorney has reached out to suspect
LaBar is a public defender in Pennsylvania who was assigned the case following Kohberger’s arrest.
He is not expected to represent him in Idaho, and said no other private attorneys had come forward to offer their services to him or his family.
‘They’re not hiring an attorney.
‘Given the situation, given the charges, no attorneys have reached out to them, and they’re not anticipating hiring an attorney,’ he said.
He has been in contact with Idaho’s Public Defense Commission to help the family find a new attorney.
The victims’ families are eagerly awaiting Kohberger’s extradition, and for the probable cause affidavit to become public.
