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A suspect in the Idaho quadruple murder was stopped by police twice as he and his father made a 2,500-mile cross-country car journey from Washington state to Pennsylvania.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, drove from his student accommodation in Pullman, Washington, to his home state last month after the murders in Moscow, Idaho – just a 15-minute drive from his property.
His attorney, Jason LaBar claims that Kohberger’s father flew from Pennsylvania to Washington to meet his son before Christmas and head home together.
On Friday, the criminal justice graduate student was arrested in connection with the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on November 13.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, drove from his student accommodation in Pullman, Washington, to his home state last month after the murders in Moscow, Idaho – just a 15-minute drive from his property
The pair drove his white Hyundai Elantra – which is the same vehicle that cops had been hunting for several weeks after the quadruple murders
LaBar told CNN that Kohberger and his father traveled across the country in his white Hyundai Elantra – a vehicle which the cops had been hunting for several weeks.
He added that the pair were pulled over twice during their trip as they passed through Indiana, once for speeding and the other for following a car ahead too closely.
Investigators started tracking Kohbergers movements across the US, with witnesses claiming that they saw both him and his father getting repairs done to the car on December 16.
Police then impounded the vehicle from outside of his parents’ home when they swooped on the property in Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County.
LaBar said that the Kohberger’s arrived home around December 17, and an FBI team kept him under surveillance for several days before his arrest.
It is unclear if Kohberger’s father, who went bankrupt in 2010, or the rest of his family were aware of the murders.
The public defender added that Kohberger is ‘shocked’ after the charges, claiming that he would be waiving his extradition at a hearing on January 3.
Bryan Kohberger was studying in detail how forensics, DNA and other evidential procedures help prosecutors secure convictions just two weeks before the quadruple murdersÂ
The crime took place six weeks ago, 2,500 miles from where Kohberger was arrested. His father flew to meet his son in Washington and drove with him back to their Pennsylvania home
Kohberger was taken into custody in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, a small town in the heart of the Poconos Mountains more than 2,000 miles from where the gruesome killings took place
In a statement, he said: ‘Mr. Kohberger is eager to be exonerated of these charges and looks forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible.’
It is understood that the alleged killer will be returned to Idaho within 72 hours of the extradition hearing.
Graduate PhD student Kohberger had previously studied under a professor in Pennsylvania known for her expertise on serial killers and was studying criminology at Washington State University at the time of the slayings.
Investigators in Moscow, Idaho, have yet to outline a motive in the murders of the four students, but those who knew Kohberger say he had a deep interest in the psychology of criminals.
Kohberger earned a psychology degree at community college in 2018, before studying psychology and criminal justice at DeSales UniversityÂ
Idaho police said the four University of Idaho students were murdered in their sleep between 3am and 4am. Pictured: Victims Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin
Friends from high school claim that he struggled with heroin addiction in his younger years but appeared to have moved past it.
Kohberger earned a psychology degree at community college in 2018, before studying psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University.
He was taught in part by renowned forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland who has written ‘The Mind of a Murderer’ and ‘How to Catch a Killer’.
Ramsland has declined to comment, but spent decades researching serial killers and mass murderers – and is best known for developing a close relationship with serial murderer Dennis Rader – known as BTK.
Federal and state investigators are now combing through his background, financial records and electronic communications as they work to identify a motive and build the case.
Kaylee and Madison were found on the top floor of the Moscow, Idaho home. College lovers Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found in a second-floor bedroom while survivors Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke were sleeping on the first floor
Police were on the hunt for Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra, which officials began tracking around Christmas time as the suspect drove across the countryÂ
The suspect was attending college in nearby Washington State, where he pursued criminology Â
The investigators are also interviewing people who knew Kohberger, including those at Washington State University.
Kohberger may possibly face the death penalty in the state – in which his family can’t afford to hire an attorney to fight.
Investigators are still trying to locate the murder weapon more than six weeks after the murders, which they believe was a large knife.
Kohberger’s family addressed the charges on Sunday and asked for people to refrain from judgment.
In a statement they said: ‘We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family, we will love and support our son and brother.
Police had previously refused to rule out that the killings were targeted, but it remains unknown what connections Kohberger could have had with the victims, who were living just eight miles from the suspect’s campus
Kohberger was allegedly stalking the students in the weeks leading up to the murders. Pictured is the home where the murders took place, just over eight miles from where he worked as a PhD student and teaching assistantÂ
‘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.
‘We have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions.’
Kohberger’s family asked for privacy during this time as they cooperate with law enforcement to get to the bottom of the case.
Moscow Chief of Police James Fry refused to rule out that the killer had an accomplice.
Details of the killings, and the motive for them, are yet to be released, with law enforcement saying a sealed arrest affidavit will be released once Kohberger is extradited back to Idaho.
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