Bryan Kohberger, originally of Pennsylvania is the prime suspect in the November 2022 brutal murders of four University of Idaho Students, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. Bryan Kohberger was a criminology graduate student studying at Washington State University at the time that the murders occurred. Since his arraignment, evidence has been released that Bryan Kohberger was stalking the victims at their home months prior to their murder. There are also reports that Kohberger was a frequent customer at Mad Greek, the restaurant where two of the victims worked, and that Kohberger was messaging one of the victims on Instagram.

There has been no motive released to the public yet, and of course people have their theories. Law enforcement has stated over and over that they have put a gag order in place to keep parts of the investigation out of the hands of the media in order to protect the integrity of the case, evidence, and the safety of the surviving victims. On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho college students were stabbed to death in their home on King Road, at approximately 4 am. At about 12 pm the same day, a 911 call was placed with reports of an unconscious person. It is unknown who made that call, but when the police arrived, they were looking at a brutal murder scene.

Following the terrible attack on these college students, students at the University of Idaho were on edge. The police weren’t sure if the murders were an isolated attack or if the killer was still out there. The case was unsolved for about three months, or so the public thought. Behind the scenes, the police had leads on different aspects of the investigation, but were not releasing the information to the public in regards to the surviving victims’ safety.

Later on, in January, it was announced to the public that a suspect had been taken into custody. When the probable cause affidavit was released, the public became aware that one of the surviving roommates may have seen the suspect while he was in the house. In the affidavit, law enforcement also described the evidence that they found at the crime scene and at Bryan Kohberger’s parents’ house in Pennsylvania that tied him to the four murders. Immediately after the affidavit was released, Kohberger’s former defense attorney issued a statement that stated his client was ready to be exonerated. In an interview with News Nation, defense attorney Jason LaBar told the reporter that the case was “strongly circumstantial and had holes.”

Following these statements made by Kohberger’s defense team, Kohberger requested Anne Taylor, another public defense attorney, but there was a conflict of interest. Anne Taylor had previously represented Cara Kernodle, one of the deceased victims’ mothers. Anne Taylor dropped Cara as a client in order to take on Kohberger’s case. People suspect that the prosecution will include this conflict of interest as part of the prosecution’s case, and possibly bring Cara Kernodle on the stand to testify. As of right now, Bryan Kohberger has waived his right to a speedy trial so that his defense team has more time to prepare for his trial. Bryan Kohberger will face 4 counts of first-degree murder and a count of felony burglary in a preliminary hearing on June 26, 2023 at 9 am.