The Idaho quadruple murder case has shocked America for the last couple of months. On November 13th, 2022, four college students were murdered in a rental home in Moscow, Idaho. Two other female students living in the house were not injured. After relentless investigation, the Moscow police department came to believe that a man named Bryan Kohberger, 28, was responsible for the crime. On December 30, 2022, he was arrested at his parent’s house in Pennsylvania. He was subsequently extradited to Idaho, and charged with four accounts of first-degree murder and felony burglary. The authorities believe that this was a one-man job and that Kohberger acted alone. Kohberger remains incarcerated in Idaho and holds a presumption of innocence. 

A lot of mystery surrounded the arrest, as the police did not release a ton of information, until January 5, 2023, when the probable cause affidavit was released. The document describes the actions taken by the police from when they discovered the bodies all the way up until they arrested Kohberger. Next to one of the victim’s bodies, the police found a tan leather knife sheath and discovered DNA that belonged to an unidentified male. 

Investigators were able to construct a partial timeline of the events that occurred in mid-November. On the night of the 12th, five female residents of the house and one male were out in the town of Moscow. All six of them returned to the house by 2 am. They were all in their rooms by about 4 am, and moments later, loud noises and cries were heard from the bottom rooms of the house. Using nearby security footage, the police identified a white Hyundai Elantra, which did not have a front license plate. This vehicle passed the victims’ house four times before the murders and was seen driving out of the city at 4:20 am after the murders.

A Washington State University campus police officer searched the database for a white Hyundai Elantra sedan and found one that was registered with a man originally from Pennsylvania named Bryan Kohberger. The state of Pennsylvania does not require a front license plate on cars, and this is only the first piece of evidence used to incarcerate Kohberger. Kohberger’s driver’s license matched very closely with the description given by the two residents of the house who were not attacked. Kohberger’s cell phone data mirrored the movement of the White Hyundai Elantra, and his DNA matched with the DNA found on the knife sheath. 

Former FBI agent and security expert Pete Yachmetz reported to the New York Post, “The murders may have been an effort to assert some type of dominance. I believe a continued stabbing of a victim indicates an uncontrollable rage and extreme anger,” Yachmetz said. Although Kohberger has been described as socially awkward, he has never been diagnosed with any psychological issues. It is notable that Kohberger is a graduate student at Washington State University studying criminal justice. 

Autumn Hockley (23) said, “I think it’s a cold unfair case to the victims and their families who had so much life to live and so much of their futures waiting for them. I think we should give a platform to them instead of the killer.” 

Kohberger is being held in Moscow without jail and has said through an attorney that he expects to be exonerated. He has pushed his preliminary hearing to June 26, which is thought to be a move made by his attorney to give his defense team more time to prepare.