Who is Bryan Kohberger? PhD student accused of Idaho killings- State seeks death penalty against him

Prosecutors in Idaho, intend to seek the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students last November. The accused Kohberger has insisted he has “no connection” with the death of four university students. The top prosecutor in Latah County, Bill Thompson, wrote in a court filing on Monday that the nature of the November killings met the standards for a death penalty.

Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the deaths at a rental house near the city of Moscow in Idaho, in November last year.

A not-guilty plea was introduced in the case on Kohberger’s behalf earlier this year. A hearing, in this case, is scheduled for Tuesday.

2022 University of Idaho killings

In the wee hours of 13 November 2022, four students of the University of Idaho were fatally slain in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. Bryan Kohberger, the accused was arrested on December 30 from Monroe, Pennslyvania, on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.

Several University of Idaho students lived in a rented off-campus apartment in the rural college town of Moscow, Idaho. There had not been a murder in the city since 2015.

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The bodies of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found on the night of the murder. These four killings left the rural Idaho community in shock.

Police pieced together DNA evidence found on a knife sheath inside the home where students were killed. The DNA impressions match Kohberger, and a cellphone belonging to him was also found near the victims’ home on a dozen occasions before the killings.

Who is Bryan Kohberger? Accused in the University of Idaho killings

Bryan Kohberger, 28, was a student of criminology in the PhD program at the time of the killings. He was enrolled at neighbouring Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman. He received a BA in 2020 and MA in 2022 in Criminal Justice from DeSales University in Pennsylvania. Kohberger had been working as a teaching assistant at WSU, and less than two weeks before the murders, faculty members met with him to discuss growing concerns about his behaviour and conduct.

On December 19 last year, Kohberger was terminated from his assistant role with the decision being based on "his unsatisfactory performance as a teaching assistant, including his failure to meet the 'norms of professional behaviour' in his interactions with the faculty."

The case so far and what’s next

Kohberger has been in jail since he was arrested in December 2022 from his parent’s home in Pennsylvania. He is scheduled to go on trial in October. The authorities have not indicated what they believe Kohberger’s motive might have been.

For weeks after the killings, investigators were unable to identify a suspect, but they eventually began focusing on Kohberger after using genetic genealogy. It is a technique that was previously used in cold cases that compare crime scene DNA against profiles on consumer ancestry websites, allowing the police to try to build a family tree.

The authorities have said that Kohberger’s DNA was linked to a knife sheath found on a bed next to one of the victims. They also said video footage showed a white vehicle circling the neighbourhood around the time that investigators believe the killings occurred. Kohberger drove a white sedan.

A hearing has been set for Tuesday, in which Kohberger’s lawyers are seeking access to records about how investigations handled the DNA in the case.

(With inputs from agencies)

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