An Instagram account authorities now believed to have belonged to Bryan Kohberger has been discovered. And sources say the account had reached out to one of the victims multiple times.
According to People, a source with knowledge of the ongoing investigation claims that two weeks prior to the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, the Instagram account believed to belong to Kohberger reached out to one of the victims greeting her.
Investigators Allegedly Find Instagram Account That Belonged to Idaho Murder Suspect
However, when he didn’t receive a reply back, he sent several more messages, but all of them went unanswered. “He slid into one of the girls’ DMs several times but she didn’t respond,” the source allegedly told People. “Basically, it was just him saying, ‘Hey, how are you?’ But he did it again and again.”
It’s unclear if investigators believe this was Kohberger’s motive or how he discovered the Instagram account in the first place.
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, as the search for a motive continues, an attorney for at least one of the victims’ families says neither Kaylee Goncalves nor Maddie Mogen personally knew the man suspected of killing them.
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While the connection between Goncalves, Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin remains a mystery, attorney Shanon Gray says, “I don’t know of anybody that did know him. All those girls were social. They were involved in the college. They were working hard, waitressing, and doing different things. So the idea that he may have run across their paths I don’t think is uncommon.”
The probable cause affidavit revealed to the public is showcased how police narrowed in on 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger as the suspect in the brutal murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
According to reports, the affidavit reveals that Kohberger’s cell phone pinged in the area the night of where the killings took place. Additionally, his cell phone pinged 12 different times prior to November 13.
The first ping coming as early as August 2022. “All of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours of their respective days,” the affidavit explains.
The affidavit also debunks the rumor that the two other roommates in the home the night of the murders slept through the entire incident as their rooms were located on the first floor, while the slayings took place on the second and third floors.
According to the affidavit, one of the surviving roommates was on the second floor and saw the suspected killer. The surviving roommate told police that she opened her door “after she heard the crying and saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her.”
The roommate continued saying she froze in a state of shock as the person in black walked past her and left. That’s when she retreated back to her room and locked the door.
While talking with Xana Kernodle’s father, Jeff Kernodle, Fox News reports that the bruises found on Xana’s body indicate that she put up a fight with her killer. “She’s a tough kid. Whatever she wanted to do, she could do it,” Jeff said of his daughter.
Jeff also revealed that the door to their home was locked with a number code. “Every time you go, you have to go around the house because of the number code so they either knew that or went around and maybe found the slider door open,” Jeff explained.
There were no signs of forced entry, according to the police report.
He also opened up about the last time he was in contact with his daughter, just hours before her death. “I heard from her I think before we went out,” Jeff told 3 TV/ CBS 5. “I think midnight was the last time we heard from her and she was fine.”
“[W]hen I went up there she, I saw her just a week before that and she changed a lot,” Jeff said of the last time he saw his daughter. “She had a life. She got to see what it was like to have a boyfriend you live with.”
“And she really turned around. She was really responsible. Helping him out with his studies and stuff. I was really impressed.”
Police reportedly used genealogy databases to identify Kohberger through DNA. It’s reported that his DNA was left on the button of a knife satchel left at the scene.
Once they had a name, police then tracked Kohberger to Pennsylvania through his vehicle. According to ABC News, the FBI then surveyed Kohberger’s parent’s house for four days before he was eventually arrested and charged.
According to The New York Times, Kohberger was pursuing a Ph.D. in criminology. And just two weeks before the murders took place, he was highly invested in a class discussion about “forensics, D.N.A, and other evidence prosecutors use to win convictions.”
As one of his classmates told The New York Times, Kohberger had been researching the mindsets of criminals and had studied under a professional from Pennsylvania that was known for her expertise on serial killers.
Two days after Kohberger was arrested his family spoke out. According to The Guardian, his parents, Michael and Marianne Kohberger, and his sister, Amanda, said they will continue to cooperate with the police but will “promote Bryan’s presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions.”
They continued to write that they want to “let the legal process unfold and as a family, we will love and support our son and brother.” Bryan’s family then went on to offer condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.
“First and foremost we care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children. There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them.”
Police revealed that they started “zeroing in” on their suspect “being in or going to Pennsylvania, sometime right before Christmas,” CNN reported. Jason LaBar, Kohberger’s public defender, says Kohberger is “shocked a little bit” over his arrest.
Nonetheless, LaBar says the 28-year-old is “eager to be exonerated of these charges.” The SWAT team detained him on December 30.
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