Bryan Kohberger Indicted By Grand Jury on 5 Charges in Connection to the University of Idaho Murders

Bryan Kohberger, the primary suspect in the University of Idaho murders, has been indicted by a grand jury on five charges related to the killing of four students in Nov. 2022. He has yet to enter a plea, but he’s expected to enter a plea when he appears for his arraignment in Moscow, Idaho on Monday (May 22). 

Kohberger was arrested on December 30, 2022 at his parent’s house in Pennsylvania and was later charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in January. Investigators have uncovered an overwhelming amount of evidence against the 28-year-old over the past few months. 

“We are just grateful another step in the process has been completed and we believe this was the best option for the circumstances,” said Steve Goncalves, the father of one of the slain victims, Kaylee Goncalves. Her family is working with the University of Idaho to set up a scholarship in her honor.

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The gruesome and violent attack is believed to have happened between 4:00 and 4:25 a.m. on November 13. There were six people in the house at the time of the attack – five roommates and one boyfriend – but only four of them were targeted by Bryan Kohberger and the two surviving roommates slept through it all.

The four slain bodies were discovered by one of the surviving roommates later that morning. The police were called immediately and arrived on the scene moments later – the four roommates were pronounced dead with stab wounds. Both surviving roommates were ruled out as suspects early in the investigation.

The victims were identified as Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. All four of them were students at the University of Idaho and they each had so much more to give the world – Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were a couple at the time of their deaths. 

Investigators started to circle in on Bryan Kohberger several weeks after carrying out the attack – his car was seen near the crime scene around the time of the murders. Over the next month, investigators began to piece the puzzle together as more and more evidence connected Bryan Kohberger to the crime scene. 

Who Is Bryan Kohberger?

Bryan Kohberger was pursuing a Ph.D in criminology at the time of the murders. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Northampton Community College before receiving another bachelor’s at DeSales University – where he completed his graduate studies and earned a master’s degree in criminal justice. 

Kohberger was also a teaching assistant at Washington State University, where he was attending at the time of his murders, and even applied for a job at a local police department in April 2022. Records show he has a history of heroin use as a teenager and was causing trouble at a bar months before the murders.

Among the loads of evidence against Kohberger is his DNA on a knife sheath that was left at the crime scene. The sheath was found in the bed that Goncalves and Mogen were sleeping in at the time of the attack. Investigators also uncovered several cellphone pings that confirm he was in the area at the time.

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Further adding to the prosecution is the fact that Bryan Kohberger followed all three of the female victims on Instagram, he had pictures of one of the victims in his phone, and even messaged one of the victims on social media. He also visited the University of Idaho Student Union weeks before the attack happened.