Police in eastern Pennsylvania have arrested a suspect in the grisly killings of four University of Idaho students, according to multiple reports on Friday.
Arrest documents filed in Monroe County Court showed Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was being held for first-degree murder, the Associated Press reported. Sources said law enforcement knew who they were looking for and had tracked him to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger mug shot.
Courtesy: Monroe County Correctional Facility https://t.co/gGdWLru0vz pic.twitter.com/JErr0TX1bn
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) December 30, 2022
Court papers show the judge ordered his extradition to Idaho.
Kohberger is reportedly a Ph.D. student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University, which is a short drive from the University of Idaho.
The Idaho student—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin—were stabbed to death at a rental home near campus sometime in the early morning hours of November 13. The slayings initially mystified law enforcement, with investigators unable to name a suspect or locate a murder weapon for weeks.
But the case broke open after law enforcement asked the public for help finding a white sedan seen near the home around the time of the killings. The Moscow Police Department made the request on December 7, and by the next day had to direct tips to a special FBI call center because so many were coming in.
The victims were reportedly members of the University of Idaho’s Greek system and were close friends. Chapin, Kernodle’s boyfriend, was visiting the house that night.
All four were probably asleep when the attack occurred, although some had defensive wounds, the autopsies showed. Each of the victims was stabbed multiple times, and there were no signs of sexual assaults.
The murders took place in the small town of Moscow, Idaho, a farming community with a population of about 25,000 people, including roughly 11,000 students, according to the AP.
The case also enticed online sleuths who speculated about potential suspects and motives. In the early days of the investigation, police released relatively few details publicly.
Fears of a repeat attack prompted nearly half of the University of Idaho students to switch to online classes for the remainder of the semester, abandoning dorms and apartments in the normally bucolic town for the perceived safety of their hometowns. Safety concerns also had the university hiring an additional security firm to escort students across campus and the Idaho State Police sending troopers to help patrol the city’s streets.
A SWAT team arrested Kohberger at around 3am this morning.
“I am told when Idaho quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Christopher Kohberger was in custody — he ‘asked if anyone else was arrested,'” reported News Nation reporter Brian Entin on Twitter. “I’m told he had a ‘quiet, blank stare.’”
The Moscow Police Department is expected to hold a press conference at 4 p.m. ET to provide the community with an update on the arrest.