Idaho Murder Suspect: What We Know About Bryan Kohberger

Nearly seven weeks after the November 2022 slayings of four University of Idaho students, suspect Bryan Kohberger was arrested on Dec. 30, 2022, in Pennsylvania in connection with the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

Kohberger, 29, was charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary. He appeared in a Pennslyvania courtroom in January 2023 and waived his extradition to Idaho, meaning he had voluntarily agreed to return to the state to face the charges against him.

Goncalves, 21, Mogen, 21, Kernodle, 20, and Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13. Ethan was not a resident in the home, but was staying overnight with girlfriend Kernodle. Two more roommates at the 1122 King Road residence, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were home and unharmed. Early in the investigation, the surviving roommates were ruled out as suspects.

While it was initially believed that Mortensen and Funke both slept through the attack, the probable cause affidavit — which was released in January 2023 after Kohberger returned to Idaho — revealed that one of the surviving roommates said they saw the killer. The roommate described "a figure clad in black clothing and a mask," who walked past her as he left the crime scene, and she heard crying on the night of the killings.

In May 2023, Kohberger was indicted by a grand jury for the murder of the four students. His indictment allowed prosecutors to bypass the previously scheduled June hearing where the two surviving roommates of the victims would have possibly been cross-examined. The next day, Kohberger stood "silent" as the court waited for his plea. The judge ultimately entered a plea of 'not guilty' for him.

Kohberger has since waived his right to a speedy trial and recently appeared in court for two hearings on Jan. 26, 2024. A new trial date has yet to be set by Judge John Judge: the prosecution requested a summer of 2024 trial and the defense asked for a March or summer of 2025 trial.

The Idaho Murders is currently the subject of a new docuseries, #CyberSleuths: The Idaho Murders, now streaming on Paramount+.

Here's everything to know about Bryan Kohberger.

Kohberger claimed he was "shocked" at the allegations against him

Monroe County, Pa., public defender Jason LaBar told CNN in late 2022 that Kohberger was "shocked a little bit" by the accusations against him.

LaBar, who represented Kohberger for the extradition procedures but won't be his attorney for the criminal case, also told The Washington Post in 2022 that Kohberger would waive his right to an extradition hearing in an attempt to get closer to his exoneration.

"He's willing to waive because he's looking forward to being exonerated," LaBar explained. "Those were his words. Whether that means he's innocent or not, it's implicit in saying he wants to be exonerated that he's innocent. He didn't use the word 'innocent.' "

Kohberger may have been bullied — but some allege he was a bully himself

At least one individual who knew Kohberger when they were young recalled Kohberger as being quiet but friendly, and that he was bullied by peers over his weight.

"He was bullied a lot, it started because of his weight and it was mainly by females. He was pretty big," Sarah Healy, who attended elementary, middle and high school with Kohberger in Pleasant Valley, Pa., told PEOPLE. "He was very quiet, very to himself. He was very into his books, he was really sweet and really quiet."

Others who knew Kohberger didn't recall him being bullied at all.

Casey Arntz, who was two years ahead of Kohberger in high school in Pleasant Valley, said she didn't remember Kohberger ever being bullied and alleged that while Kohberger was always nice to her, he actually bullied her brother at times.

"I know that he had anger issues and he would have outbursts and stuff. I never saw them face to face. My brother said that when Bryan would get angry with him, he would kind of gaslight him and get physically aggressive," Casey told PEOPLE. "Bryan never got physically aggressive with my brother, but he was kind of the person who would smash things or punch a wall or something like that."

Casey's brother Thomas Arntz told The New York Times in 2023 that his and Kohberger's friendship ended after what began as playful "ribbing and jabbing" escalated to "meanspirited" bullying, including Kohberger allegedly putting Thomas in a headlock.

An anonymous college classmate of Kohberger's recalled him frequently taking contrarian viewpoints in classes and getting into heated arguments with other doctorate students, according to The New York Times. The classmate said Kohberger seemed to have more disagreements with women, including one incident that led to a female doctoral student storming out of the classroom after accusing Kohberger of "mansplaining."

Kohberger has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in criminal justice

Kohberger earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at a local community college near his eastern Pennsylvania hometown, The New York Times reported. In June 2022, he received a master's degree in criminal justice from DeSales University.

Jack Baylis, who befriended Kohberger in eighth grade, told PEOPLE that Kohberger was very interested in psychology as a teen.

"He is super curious. Probably the most curious [person] who you'll ever meet. Guaranteed," Baylis said. "He was really into psychology, how people thought and whatnot. He's always been really into that kind of stuff."

While studying at DeSales, Kohberger posted a since-deleted call on Reddit for ex-convicts to participate in what he said was a study sanctioned by the University on how "emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime."

One of his classmates at DeSales, Brittany Slaven, told The New York Times that Kohberger seemed rather interested in serial killers and developing theories on what happened at crime scenes based on photos presented in class, but that his behavior didn't raise any red flags for her at the time. "At the time it seemed as if he was just a curious student, so if his questions felt odd we didn't think much of it because it fit our curriculum," she explained.

He interviewed for a job with local police in April 2022

In April 2022, Kohberger interviewed for a job as a graduate research assistant at the Pullman, Washington, police department.

According to email correspondence obtained by The New York Times, Kohberger sent a note to then-Police Chief Gary Jenkins with the subject line "Thank you" after his interview.

"Chief Jenkins, It was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share my thoughts and excitement regarding the research assistantship for public safety. I look forward to hearing from you," he wrote.

Jenkins responded, "Great to meet and talk with you as well."

A local bar issued a warning to Kohberger months before the murders

Several months before the murders, Kohberger was warned about his interactions with women working and frequenting a bar in Bethlehem, Pa., Jordan Serulneck, the owner of Seven Sirens Brewing Company, told NBC News.

Serulneck explained that the bar staff scan IDs of all patrons and that they can add notes that pop up in their internal system. "Staff put in there, 'Hey, this guy makes creepy comments, keep an eye on him. He'll have two or three beers and then just get a little too comfortable,' " Serulneck recalled.

The brewery owner added that Kohberger would often sit alone at the bar "observing and watching" other patrons and that he asked female staff and customers questions about where they lived and who they were at the bar with. Serulneck said that if women weren't interested in conversing that Kohberger "would get upset with them a little bit" and that Kohberger called a female staffer a "b—" when she wouldn't answer his questions.

Serulneck said of his final interaction with Kohberger, "I went up to him and I said, 'Hey Bryan, welcome back. We appreciate you coming back. … I just wanted to talk to you real quick and make sure that you're going to be respectful this time and we're not going to have any issues.'" Serulneck said that Kohberger seemed shocked at his remarks and told the owner, "'I don't know what you're talking about. You totally have me confused.' " Serulneck says that Kohberger never returned to the bar after the conversation.

Kohberger was getting a Ph.D in criminology at Washington State University

At the time of the murders, Kohberger was a Ph.D student in criminology at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, about eight miles from the Moscow, Idaho, residence where the four University of Idaho students were slain. The Washington State University Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology removed its graduate student directory from its website. They replaced it with a statement expressing condolences to the victims and their survivors.

"We removed the webpage containing the listing and contact information for graduate students in the CJC department. This decision was done to protect the privacy of our graduate students," the statement reads in part. "We stand in sympathy with the families of the victims of this horrible crime and remain dedicated to the pursuit of justice."

BK Norton, a classmate of Kohberger at Washington State University who took the same courses as him one semester, described Kohberger to PEOPLE as "intelligent but quiet."

Norton said Kohberger was "more of a loner in the program," and claimed that Kohberger made disparaging remarks about the LGBTQ+ community.

"I didn't socialize with him because he had made anti-LGBTQ comments and I am a queer Individual," Norton told PEOPLE. If indeed Kohberger committed the crimes, Norton said, "As a criminology student, I'm sure he knew what charges he'd receive."

Norton said that Kohberger generally kept to himself, but noted, "I know that there were students meeting with him after the murders. He was quiet and stared a lot, but after the murders he seemed more willing to talk and hold a conversation."

He was a teaching assistant at Washington State University

Joey Famularo had Kohberger as a teaching assistant in one of her classes at Washington State and previously spoke about her experiences with him on TikTok. She recalled that Kohberger was a tough grader early in the semester, but that his behavior changed after Nov. 12, 2022, when the murders occurred.

She noted that there were no real red flags about him and that her class of 150 students "didn't see him very often," but explained, "after November 12th, his behavior changed significantly." Famularo noted that in October 2022, Kohberger had failed all of his students on a test and left several comments on their work.

"Then starting November and December, he started just handing out 100s and leaving very minimal comments," she said. "So that was, I think, probably the biggest behavior change."

Kohberger was pulled over twice on a road trip before his arrest

After Kohberger was arrested, body camera footage was released that showed him getting pulled over twice in one day while on a cross-country road trip from Washington to Pennslyvania with his father. Kohberger was driving a white Hyundai Elantra — the same vehicle authorities were searching for in connection with the case — and was stopped both times for following a vehicle too closely. He was released with a verbal warning on both occasions. After Kohberger's arrest, the vehicle was taken from his family home.

"At the time of the traffic stop, there was no information available on a suspect for the crimes in Idaho, to include identifying information or any specific information related to the license plate state or number of the white Hyundai Elantra which was being reported in the media to have been seen in an around where the crime occurred," the Hancock County Sheriff's Office said in a statement obtained by multiple outlets.

His DNA was found on the sheath of a knife left at the crime scene

According to the affidavit, which was reviewed by PEOPLE, a sheath of the knife used in the murders was left at the scene in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found. The affidavit states that this is where detectives found DNA linking Kohberger, which they then matched to trash taken from Kohberger's parents' home in Pennsylvania. In June 2023, prosecutors revealed that a DNA sample taken directly from Kohberger matched DNA found on the sheath of a knife.

The affidavit also alleged that around 4:20 a.m. on the night of the killing, a white sedan referred to as "Suspect Vehicle 1" in the affidavit was seen leaving the area of the home at a fast rate of speed. The document also stated that the vehicle and phone associated with Kohberger returned to the scene between 9:12 a.m. and 9:21 a.m.

Additionally, the affidavit alleged that while investigating previous cellphone pings, authorities learned that the cell phone associated with Kohberger pinged in the area of the 1122 King Road home, where the killings took place, on at least twelve occasions prior to November 13, 2022.

"All of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours of their respective days," the affidavit read.

He spoke about the slain students during his extradition

Though Kohberger has largely remained silent after he was charged, a police source who was involved in the process told PEOPLE that he spoke to officers while he was being extradited.

"He seemed really nervous," the source said. "He was narrating to himself everything that was happening. At one point, he was saying something to himself like 'I'm fine, this is okay.' Like he was reassuring himself that this whole thing wasn't awful."

While Kohberger didn't speak directly to officers about the case, the police source said he did make an offhand comment about it. "He did say, 'It's really sad what happened to them,' but he didn't say anything more," the source said. "He's smarter than that." Kohberger was read his Miranda rights during his arrest, and cannot be questioned about the case without an attorney present.

Kohberger followed all three female victims on Instagram — and messaged one

While authorities have not revealed if the victims knew Kohberger, the suspect's now-deleted Instagram account — which was reviewed by PEOPLE before it was removed — followed the accounts of Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle. None of the victims followed him back.

Two weeks before the students were killed, Kohberger sent a series of messages to one of the victims on Instagram, an investigator familiar with the case told PEOPLE.

An account that authorities believe belonged to Kohberger sent a greeting to a female victim in late October. When he didn't get a reply, he sent several more messages to her.

"He slid into one of the girls' DMs several times but she didn't respond," the source told PEOPLE. "Basically, it was just him saying, 'Hey, how are you?' But he did it again and again."

The source added that the victim may not have ever seen the messages, as they went into the message request folder on Instagram.

"There's no indication that he was getting frustrated with her lack of response," the source said, "but he was definitely persistent."

Kohberger also allegedly visited the Mad Greek restaurant in Moscow — where both Mogen and Kernodle worked as servers — in the weeks leading up to the slayings. According to a former employee, he came in at least twice to grab vegan pizza — though it's unclear if either woman ever waited on Kohberger or if they interacted.

He visited the Idaho student union before the murders

In February 2023, three different University of Idaho students told PEOPLE they believe they saw Kohberger at the Student Union building on campus in the weeks leading up to the murders.

"It was really early in the semester," recalled Chelsea, a sophomore at the University of Idaho. "He was at the food court [of the Student Union], drinking water. He sat by himself."

"He was the type to stare," she said. "He wouldn't look away if you caught him staring. Like he wanted you to notice that he was looking at you. He didn't smile, didn't nod, didn't say anything. Just stared."

Another student told PEOPLE that Kohberger visited frequently enough that she assumed he was a student at the school.

"It's not a huge school; it's like a small town," she said. "So you start seeing the same faces again and again. They become familiar, like you know that you've seen them in class or around campus. I definitely saw him more than once. He was just really quiet and really intense, staring. He made me uncomfortable."

He allegedly had photos of a victim on his phone

A source familiar with the investigation told PEOPLE that Kohberger had photos of one of the female victims on his phone. They did not specify whether the images were taken by Kohberger or pulled from social media.

"He had more than one picture of her," the source said. "It was clear that he was paying attention to her."

In March 2023, an unsealed search warrant revealed items that were taken from Kohberger's parents' home after he was arrested.

The items included two knives, a Glock handgun with three empty magazines, black face masks, black gloves, a black hat, "green leafy substance in plastic bag," a "book with underlining on page 118" and the suspect's AT&T bill.

The warrant said that documents, vehicle paperwork, books, a prescription, a cell phone, laptop and power cable were also collected.

Kohberger claims he has an alibi for the night of the murders

According to Kohberger's defense attorney, his client was driving outside of Moscow on the night of the murders. The defendant claims he went to "hike and run and/or see the moon and stars."

The defense will attempt to corroborate the alibi by using Kohberger's cell phone data.