The arrest affidavit for Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old PhD student at Washington State University, has been released revealing new information about the murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Maddie Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. Kohberger was arrested on December 30 at his family’s home in Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The release of the arrest affidavit suggests that the police have solid evidence linking Kohberger to the murders and have arrested the right suspect.
The Evidence
It is likely that DNA evidence played a crucial role in the arrest of Bryan Kohberger, the 28-year-old PhD student accused of committing the murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Maddie Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. It is highly unlikely for a perpetrator to carry out four violent attacks without leaving behind DNA evidence, such as blood, hair, saliva, or skin. According to the probable cause affidavit completed by Brett Payne, an officer with the Moscow Police Department, DNA was discovered on the button of a leather sheath designed to carry a large knife. When Payne and his fellow officers entered the crime scene, they found Xana Kernodle’s body on the ground inside one of the bedrooms, clearly killed with an edged weapon.
Ethan Chapin’s body was also discovered in the same room as Kernodle’s. He, too, had been stabbed.
When officers entered the third floor of the crime scene, they observed a dog in one of the bedrooms. The dog was later identified as belonging to victim, Kaylee Goncalves.
In another room, the bodies of Goncalves and Maddie Mogen were discovered in the same bed with “visual stab wounds.”
On the bed beside Mogen lay a tan leather knife sheath.
“The sheath was later processed and had ‘Ka-Bar’ ‘USMC’ and the United States Marine Corp 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.”
Officer Payne
On December 27, 2022, the police in Pennsylvania obtained a bag of trash from outside the Kohberger family residence in Albrightsville, PA. After analyzing the DNA found on the trash, the Idaho State Lab discovered that it closely matched the DNA found on the knife sheath discovered at the crime scene.
“On December 28, 2022, the Idaho State Lab reported that a DNA profile obtained from the trash and the DNA profile obtained from the sheath, identified a male as not being excluded as the biological father of Suspect Profile. At least 99.9998% of the male population would be expected to be excluded from the possibility of being the suspect’s biological father.”
The Car
In early December, the police announced that they were searching for a white Hyundai Elantra from the years 2011-2013, as the occupants of the car may have important information related to the case. However, it was later revealed that the car in question was actually a 2015 model. Surveillance footage showed the vehicle, lacking a front license plate, in the vicinity of the crime scene around the time of the murders, and it was registered to the suspect, Bryan Kohberger.
The car was seen on multiple cameras in the area, making several passes by the crime scene, before attempting to park or turn around in front of the residence and leaving the area at a high speed. Kohberger’s car was also spotted on surveillance cameras in Pullman, Washington, and on the Washington State University campus. A police officer located the vehicle in a parking lot at the university and confirmed it was registered to Kohberger. This led to the discovery of Kohberger’s physical description, which matched eyewitnesses accounts of the perpetrator.
Right Place… Right Time
Cell phone evidence may be a crucial aspect of the case against Bryan Kohberger, the alleged killer. The investigation revealed Kohberger’s whereabouts on the morning of the murders and in the weeks leading up to the attacks. However, it could also potentially be a point of contention for the prosecution. When police checked the cell phone number associated with Kohberger, they found no records of the phone connecting to any cellular towers in the vicinity of 1122 King Road between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the day of the murders. This could potentially be used by the prosecution to challenge any link between Kohberger and the crime scene. However, it should be noted that the lack of cell tower pings does not necessarily mean that Kohberger was not near or in the house on November 13.
Officer Brett Payne wrote in the affidavit:
“Based on my training, experience, and conversations with law enforcement officers that specialize in the utilization of cellular telephone records as part of investigations, individuals can either leave their cellular telephone at a different location before committing a crime or turn their cellular telephone off prior to going to a location to commit a crime. This is done by subjects in an effort to avoid alerting law enforcement that a cellular device associated with them was in a particular area where a crime is committed.”
“I also know that on numerous occasions, subjects will surveil an area where they intend to commit a crime prior to the date of the crime. Depending on the circumstances, this could be done a few days before or for several months prior to the commission of a crime. During these types of surveillance, it is possible that an individual would not leave their cellular telephone at a separate location or turn it off since they do not plan to commit the offense on that particular day.”
On December 23, Officer Brett Payne obtained a search warrant for Bryan Kohberger’s phone records, with the intention to review the suspect’s cell phone activity between midnight on November 12 and midnight on November 14. The examination of phone records revealed that Kohberger’s phone connected to several cellular towers as he traveled between his home and 1122 King Road between 9 a.m. and 9:32 a.m. on November 13. However, it did not connect to a cell tower that provides service to Moscow on November 14, though investigators believe the phone was still in the area. The phone did not connect to any Moscow towers after the 14th.
Stalking
If Bryan Kohberger is indeed the killer, it seems that the murders were not random act of violence. There is no current evidence to suggest that he knew the victims personally, but his cell phone records indicate that he had been stalking them for weeks leading up to the attacks. On December 23, 2022, Officer Brett Payne obtained a search warrant for Kohberger’s cell phone records dating back to June 23, 2022. The records uncovered were disturbing.
On August 21, 2022, Bryan Kohberger was stopped by Latah County Sheriff’s Deputy CPL Duke while in the area. On November 13, Kohberger’s cell phone records indicate that he traveled from Pullman, Washington to Lewiston, Idaho via US Highway 195. His phone connected to a cell tower near Kate’s Cup of Joe coffee stand in Clarkston, WA at that time. Surveillance footage also captured a white Elantra, similar to the one Kohberger was known to be driving, passing by Kate’s Cup of Joe at the same time the phone connected to the tower.
At approximately 12:46 p.m., cell towers again picked up the Elantra in Clarkston, this time at an Albertson’s grocery store. Kohberger was seen exiting the vehicle and then going inside, where he purchased several items before leaving at approximately 1:04 p.m.
“Additional analysis of records for the 8458 Phone indicated that between approximately 5:32 p.m. and 5:36 p.m., the 8458 Phone utilized cellular resources that provide coverage to Johnson, ID. The 8458 Phone then stops reporting to the network from approximately 5:36 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. That is consistent with the 8458 Phone being in the area that the 8458 Phone traveled in the hours immediately following the suspected time the homicides occurred.”
Affidavit
It would be a huge coincidence if Kohberger’s vehicle was spotted near 1122 King Road a dozen times before the murders, on the morning of the murders, and then never again after November 13, 2022.
Witness
Early on in the investigation, a video of Kaylee Goncalves and Maddie Mogen at a local food truck was released to the public. While the video did not provide any significant information related to the case, it did give an indication of when the two victims returned to 1122 King Road and that they did not appear to be in distress. It helped to establish a timeline of the events surrounding the crime.
According to a “private party” (ride share driver), the women were driven back to the King Road residence around 1:56 a.m.
The affidavit states:
“On the evening of November 12, 2022, Chapin and Kernodle are seen by B.F. at the Sigma Chi house on the University of Idaho campus at 735 Nez Perce Drive from approximately 9:00 p.m. on November 12 to 1:45 a.m. on November 13. B.F. also estimated that at approximately 1:45 a.m., Chapin and Kernodle returned to the King Road residence. B.F. also stated that Chapin did not live in the King Road residence but was a guest of Kernodle.”
“B.F.” refers to surviving roommate Bethany Funke.
Meanwhile, Kaylee and Maddie were at the Corner Club bar in downtown Moscow. Surveillance footage from the bar showed the two women inside the establishment between 10:00 p.m. on Nov. 12 and 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 13.
Kaylee and Maddie were spotted on surveillance at the food truck at approximately 1:30 a.m. and, as stated previously, were driven home around 1:56 a.m.
B.F. and D.M. (D.M. referring to surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen) both stated in interviews that the occupants of the house were home by 2 a.m. and in their rooms or asleep by 4 a.m. on Nov. 13. The one exception was Xana Kernodle, who received a DoorDash order at approximately 4 a.m.
Other Evidence
As investigators analyzed the crime scene inside 1122 King Road, they found a latent shoe print with a diamond-shaped pattern on the soles, similar to those found on a pair of Vans shoes. The print was detected through the use of first a presumptive blood test, then Amino Black, “a protein stain that detects the presence of cellular material.”
The killer left the print just outside D.M.’s bedroom door. Payne wrote that “This is consistent with D.M.’s statement regarding the suspect’s path of travel.”
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