What to Know
- Four University of Idaho students, three women and a man in their early 20s, were killed in their beds at a house across the street from campus on Nov. 13; very few details had been released on the case
- Court records show a suspect, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, was arrested Friday on an active first-degree murder warrant out of Moscow, Idaho; he is expected to be extradited there to face charges
- Idaho police had been looking for a white Hyundai Elantra last seen in the area of the Kings Road home the morning the students were killed; one was seized in connection with Friday's arrest
A 28-year-old man has been arrested in Pennsylvania on a first-degree murder warrant issued in connection with the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students whose bodies were found in a rental home near campus last month, officials announced Friday.
Bryan Kohberger was taken into custody Friday in Monroe County's Chestnuthill Township by the Pennsylvania State Police, with the assistance of the FBI, court records and sources confirm.
Kohberger, a Pennsylvania resident, is expected to be extradited to Idaho to face charges in the case that has both captivated and mystified the globe. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. He is also charged with felony burglary in Idaho.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said investigators believe Kohberger broke into the students’ home “with the intent to commit murder.”
He is the first to be named a suspect in the killings since they happened. A possible motive is still unknown, and any hint at answers remain in a probable cause affidavit locked to the public until Kohberger returns to Idaho, officials said.
The Moscow Police Department said it received more than 19,000 tips related to the case, in addition to thousands of digital media submissions.
Few details have been released publicly in the gruesome Nov. 13 slayings of 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, and 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The four friends, members of the university’s Greek system, were discovered across the street from campus, leaving the small town of Moscow, Idaho, deeply shaken.
Moscow police had said they were looking for a white Hyundai Elantra believed to be in the immediate area of the King Road residence early on the morning the students were believed to have been killed. A few days before Christmas, they said a white sedan found in Eugene, Oregon, was not connected to the murders. Two senior law enforcement officials say a white Elantra was taken away from the Pennsylvania home where Kohberger was apprehended Friday.
“We are still looking for the weapon,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said. “I will say that we have found an Elantra.”
The King Street residence remains an active crime scene under police control, authorities said this week.
The killings have drawn worldwide attention, especially among true crime aficionados. That's likely because so few facts have been released about the case, said Julie Wiest, a sociology professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and an expert on extreme violence in media.
“Usually by now, there’s more facts that have been released by law enforcement, so I could see that ramping up the sort of digging and almost grasping at straws by people," Wiest said. "It’s not that typical, except in high-profile cold cases, where you might see people digging in that way.”
