The world has been waiting for well over a month to see some resolution in the brutal murder of four University of Idaho students in November of last year.
Police have arrested a suspect, Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger. They've hauled him back to Idaho. He'll stand trial for the murders. And on Thursday, officials released key documents detailing the investigation that lead to Kohberger's arrest.
The takeaway? If he's the one who did it, Kohberger is not just a psychopathic killer, he's also really, really, really stupid.
Some key points from the docs:
1. The killer left behind the sheath of the knife used in the attack, and with it a DNA sample.
"I also later 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). 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."
Officers took DNA samples from Kohberger's parents' house in Pennsylvania and matched it to the samples found on the sheath.
"On December 27, 2022, Pennsylvania Agents recovered the trash from the Kohberger family residence located in Albrightsville, PA. That evidence was sent to the Idaho State Lab for testing. 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."
2. The suspect drove his own personal car repeatedly by the scene of the murder on the night of the killings.
"A review of footage from multiple videos obtained from the King Road Neighborhood showed multiple sightings of Suspect Vehicle I starting at 3:29 a.m. and ending at 4:20 a.m. These sightings show Suspect Vehicle I makes an initial three passes by the 1122 King Road residence and then leave via Walenta Drive. Based off of my experience as a Patrol Officer this is a residential neighborhood with a very limited number of vehicles that travel in the area during the early morning hours. Upon review of the video there are only a few cars that enter and exit this area during this time frame."
3. The suspect took his phone with him when he left to allegedly commit the murders and forgot to turn the phone off before leaving.
"On November 13, 2022 at approximately 2:42 a.m., the 8458 Phone was utilizing cellular resources that provide coverage to 1630 Northeast Valley Road, Apt G201, Pullman, WA, hereafter the 'Kohberger Residence.; At approximately 2:47 a.m., the 8458 Phone utilized cellular resources that provide coverage southeast of the Kohberger Residence consistent with the 8458 Phone leaving the Kohberger Residence and traveling south through Pullman, WA. This is consistent with the movement of the white Elantra. At approximately 2:47 a.m. the 8458 Phone stops reporting to the network, which is consistent with either the phone being in an area without cellular coverage, the connection to the network is disabled (such as putting the phone in airplane mode), or that the phone is turned off."
4. The suspect turned his phone on again shortly after the murders were allegedly committed, while he was allegedly still driving home from them.
"The 8458 Phone does not report to the network again until approximately 4:48 a.m. at which time it utilized cellular resources that provide coverage to ID state highway 95 south of Moscow, ID near Blaine, ID (north of Genesee)."
5. The suspect apparently returned to the crime scene hours later.
"Further review indicated that the 8458 Phone utilized cellular resources on November 13, 2022 that are consistent with the 8458 Phone leaving the area of the Kohberger Residence at approximately 9:00 a.m. and traveling to Moscow, ID. Specifically, the 8458 Phone utilized cellular resources that would provide coverage to the King Road Residence between 9:12 a.m. and 9:21 am. The 8458 Phone next utilized cellular resources that are consistent with the 8458 Phone traveling back to the area of the Kohberger Residence and arriving to the area at approximately 9:32 a.m."
If he did it, he's potentially the stupidest mass murderer of all time.
