Crimes in the idyllic small town of Moscow, where there has been no murder for seven years, are attracting so much attention because they raise so many questions. For weeks, the police groped in the dark and released very little information to the public. Even after suspect Bryan Kohberger was arrested, the murders remain a mystery.
Kohberger, 28, who was pursuing a doctorate in criminal law and criminology at Washington State University, has been in custody since Friday. He had been arrested at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania, practically on the other side of the United States. He is charged with the intentional murder of the four victims and theft.
Four victims, two sleepers
The falls have the makings of a horror movie. The four young students, a group of friends made up of a couple and two women, were stabbed to death on November 13 in the rented apartment in Moscow where three of the victims lived. The crime scenes were apparently two different rooms. Police were alerted by an anonymous emergency call. Two other roommates were unharmed and may have slept through the murders.
More Idaho Quad Homicide Mysteries
In the case of the four students murdered in the small town of Moscow, Idaho, the police are still asking the public for help. A criminology graduate student, Bryan Kohberger, is suspected of murdering four people while they slept in his home in November. The 28-year-old was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania in late December. The motive for the crime is still unclear. Moscow Police Chief James Fry spoke of a “complex and extensive case”.
But no traces of the break-in or murder weapon were found – until today. It is unknown who pressed the emergency call, and it remains unclear whether Kohberger knew the victims or how he could have found them in the first place. Whether he acted alone was also not answered.
genealogy helped
Kohberger, whose university is about a 10-minute drive from the crime scenes, drove across the country to visit his parents over Christmas break. The police were on his trail with different approaches. His car was seen nearby the night of the murder, so investigators followed Kohberger for days.
There was also DNA evidence. Once again, US law enforcement resorted to genealogy research in this case. Authorities are now increasingly looking for perpetrators in globally networked databases into which interested genealogists enter their DNA to find possible relatives. If traces of DNA are found, they can be cleared up in the databases and sometimes the DNA profile of a relative of the perpetrator can be found. In some spectacular cases, such as the “Golden State Killer”, the transfer was successful.
AP/Ted S. Warren Schock in Moscow’s University City: Students want to know the background
family speaks
On Monday, Kohberger’s family spoke for the first time in a statement. She expressed her condolences to the victims’ families and insisted on Kohberger’s presumption of innocence. They work closely with investigators and wait for clarification in advance. “Let the authorities work, as a family we love and support our son and brother,” she said. “First, we are deeply concerned for the four families who lost their precious children. There are no words that can adequately express our sadness and we pray for them every day.”
Look for clues in the area
The family declined to comment on whether Kohberger believed they could have committed the crime. The doctoral student drew media attention not only because of his field, but also because of his character. The “New York Times”, for example, went looking for clues in Kohberger’s environment. In his studies, he was particularly interested in the psyche of serial killers. To others, even friends, he was sometimes “cruel” and mean.
Moreover, according to the newspaper, he had a heroin addiction behind him. A motive does not emerge from this, of course, “but the details of Mr. Kohberger’s deep interest in the psyche of criminals open up another level of mystery in this case, one that traumatizes the college town of Moscow, Idaho, and spawns countless theories from people in the field. who followed the country with tense horror”.
Mysterious shots with the unknown
Indeed, the speculation appears to have been fueled by Kohberger’s arrest, while fears in Moscow have not subsided. Students only went out into the street in groups, and residents slammed doors and windows shut, the newspaper continued. Security precautions and patrols were stepped up at area universities. Several alleged suspects were reported on internet forums, such as ex-boyfriends and also the two roommates who had not noticed anything about the crimes. But nobody thought about Kohberger.
Video recordings that were made public also caused a stir, showing two of the subsequent murder victims in front of a food truck. The two students did not appear to be in danger or in distress, as CNN said, citing the food truck operator. However, other media located a hitherto unknown person in the recordings who would have observed the two and thus caused more speculation about the case.
Suspect ‘a little shocked’
The police have been anything but inactive, since the murders around 300 people have been questioned and 20,000 leads have been traced. However, as she was short on information to the public, frustration mounted among relatives and townspeople. The question arose repeatedly whether the local police were prepared for a case like this.
Portal/Lindsey Wasson Commemorating the four students killed at the scene
Police Chief James Fry backed the information policy with state law. As a result, authorities were only able to provide certain information after Kohberger appeared in court. To do this, he first had to return to Idaho, until then the documents describing the reasonable suspicion remained under lock and key. However, Fry continued to ask people for information so they could finally answer the open questions. “Rest assured that the work isn’t over yet,” says Fry. “It’s just getting started.”
The first court date, albeit in Pennsylvania, was set for Tuesday to deal with the formalities of Kohberger’s transfer to Idaho. The suspect will not contest the extradition, his public defender Jason LaBar told CNN. When Kohberger was able to be flown to Idaho, the attorney was unable to respond. LaBar said he was innocent until proven guilty. Kohberger is working toward exoneration “and hopes to resolve these issues as quickly as possible,” LaBar said. Kohberger was “a little shocked” by the arrest.