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The route allegedly driven by Bryan Kohberger on the night of the brutal Idaho murders may be a crucial piece of evidence in the state’s case against the 28-year-old suspect who is facing four counts of first degree murder.
DailyMail.com recently took the circuitous drive to get a clearer picture of Kohberger’s alleged movements on November 13 – the night he’s accused of murdering students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.
In the probable cause affidavit, filed on December 29, Corporal Brett Payne laid out how investigators believe the alleged killer traveled the roughly 10 miles from his Pullman, Washington, apartment to the home in Moscow, Idaho, and subsequently fled the scene after the brutal slayings.
Payne combined cellphone data from Kohberger’s number and CCTV footage of ‘multiple sightings’ of the suspect’s white Hyundai Elantra to stitch together a fairly tight timeline surrounding the stabbing deaths.
The night of the crime: DailyMail.com drove the route police claim Idaho murder suspect, Bryan Kohberger, took too and from the quadruple homicide on November 13. Pictured: Bryan Kohberger is seen at court in Pennsylvania before being extradited to Idaho
Kohberger is accused of the murders of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle on November 13
The first thing that sticks out while driving the route is that it is not an efficient or direct drive from Kohberger’s apartment to the crime scene and contains an out-of-the-way detour, as well as a dangerous, round-about ride home.
According to police, suspect Kohberger’s phone went off the grid at approximately 2.45am near his Washington State University apartment at a location just before reaching Pullman-Moscow Highway (Route 270), the main thoroughfare between the two cities.
Investigators surmise that Kohberger turned his phone off or put it on airplane mode ‘to conceal his location during the quadruple homicide that occurred at the King Road Residence,’ per the affidavit.
When Kohberger’s vehicle is then allegedly spotted via CCTV at 3.26am, it is on the 700 block of Indian Hills Drive, an out-of-the-way street in a small residential enclave of nicely manicured single family homes in Moscow, Idaho.
Kohberger didn’t linger in the area long or appear to make any stops on Indian Hills Drive, and according to the timeline from police, his car is then picked up just two minutes later leaving the neighborhood.
From there, Kohberger’s vehicle allegedly makes its way to the victims’ home. The residential off-campus neighborhood where Xana, Ethan, Maddie and Kaylee were brutally stabbed to death is surrounded by several other single family homes in very close proximity, as well as a small apartment complex with a parking lot that butts up against the back of the victims’ rental property.
Investigators have alleged that Kohberger traveled the roughly 10 miles from his Pullman, Washington, apartment to the home in Moscow, Idaho, and subsequently fled the scene after the brutal slayings
Police combined cell phone data from Kohberger’s number and CCTV footage of ‘multiple sightings’ of the suspect’s white Hyundai Elantra to stitch together a fairly tight timeline surrounding the stabbing deaths, beginning at his apartment in Pullman (pictured)
The first thing that sticks out while driving the route is that it is not an efficient or direct drive from Kohberger’s apartment to the crime scene and contains an out-of-the-way detour, as well as a dangerous, round-about ride home
As seen in DailyMail.com’s exclusive video, the roads around the home are tight – two cars can’t pass comfortably – with no easy exit point since it dead ends into a parking lot. It is not a convenient or easy area to cruise around, and police noted ‘a very limited number of vehicles that travel in the area during the early morning hours.’
Keeping with the police timeline, the suspect’s car is then seen near the home around 3.30am when all of the roommates, as well as Ethan Chapin, would have been inside for the night. It is around then that Kohberger’s car is spotted allegedly casing the house by driving past it three times over the course of 30 minutes.
When he exits the street, he does so via Walenta Drive, which offers a direct line of sight into the back of the home. Many people have asked how the perpetrator knew the roommates were asleep and this movement on the timeline may answer that.
The vantage point here would show if any lights were on, indicating that someone may be awake, in the kitchen as well as the three bedrooms facing the back belonging to Kaylee, Maddie and survivor Dylan Mortensten.
Around 3.30am, when all the victims would have been inside for the night, Kohberger’s car is allegedly spotted casing the house by driving past it three times over the course of 30 minutes
Entry point: DailyMail.com parked in one of the spots facing the back of the home and could see directly into the house; it would take just a few moments from exiting the car to reach the sliding glass doors
Continuing to follow the timeline, Xana Kernodle gets a DoorDash delivery at 4am. Around 4.04am, cops say Kohberger does a fourth and final pass in front of the house, making a three-point turn at the apartment complex next door.
The apartment parking lot loops around the complex and connects to the victims’ sparse wooded backyard which is on a small slope that leads to the patio and sliding glass doors. The slope from the parking lot to the home is short and steep in some parts, but relatively easy terrain on the side near Dylan Mortensten’s second floor room.
DailyMail.com parked in one of the spots facing the home and could see into all of the back windows on the second and third floors. It would take just a few moments from exiting the car to reach the sliding glass doors, the killer’s believed entry point.
The neighborhood is very compact, with dozens of windows facing all sides of the home. It is known, based on the affidavit, that dog barking, whimpering and a loud thud were picked up on a security camera nearest to Xana’s room at 4.17am. The barking is thought to be from the dog Kaylee Goncalves’ shared with her ex-boyfriend, which was found unharmed the next day in her third-floor bedroom.
Exit strategy: At 4.20am, the suspect’s vehicle was allegedly spotted peeling out of the King Road location at ‘a high rate of speed’ and taking Walenta Drive out of the neighborhood, according to police
At 4.20am, the suspect’s vehicle was allegedly spotted peeling out of the King Road location at ‘a high rate of speed’ and taking Walenta Drive out of the neighborhood, according to police.
Based on CCTV footage of the white Hyundai and an eye-witness account from surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen, who was awake at the time of the killings, investigators have narrowed down the time frame of the killings to between 4.04am and 4.20am; a window of roughly 15 minutes.
There is a large gap in time where police have to make an educated guess as to the suspect’s movements – between 4.20am and 4.48am – since his phone was still off the grid and no CCTV footage has so far turned up during that timeframe.
‘I believe that Suspect Vehicle I likely exited the neighborhood at Palouse River Drive and Conestoga Drive. Palouse River Drive is at the southern edge of Moscow and proceeds into Whitman County, Washington. Eventually the road leads to Pullman Washington,’ Cpl Payne wrote in his sworn affidavit.
The route from Walenta Drive to Palouse River Drive goes straight through another residential area and DailyMail.com noted many of those well-appointed homes were outfitted with video doorbells and security systems.
Piecing things together: It can be speculated that the route Kohberger is believed to have taken back was chosen due to the lack of any CCTV cameras, but it also may have provided several opportunities to discard any alleged weapon
Dangerous roads: When DailyMail.com took the drive in broad daylight, it was desolate and easy to miss turns; However, in darkness, it was near impossible to see and required driving well below the speed limit in order not to accidentally drive into the deep irrigation trenches
As stated in the affidavit, the road cops think Kohberger took out of Moscow eventually ‘leads to Pullman, Washington’ which means his most likely route would have taken him through a treacherous journey of muddy, pitch dark back country roads, south of Moscow.
There were no street lights or street signs along much of the drive and the roads were narrow and full of deep potholes in places.
When DailyMail.com took the drive in broad daylight, it was desolate and easy to miss turns. However, in darkness, it was near impossible to see and required driving well below the speed limit in order not to accidentally drive into the deep irrigation trenches that lined the road on both sides.
Without the help of GPS, it would have been extremely difficult to get from point A to point B without intimate knowledge of the area. Bearing that in mind, it’s possible that the suspect’s phone was allegedly turned back on or taken out of airplane mode to utilize the GPS. Police said Kohberger’s phone pinged a cell phone tower south of Moscow, Idaho at 4.48am.
Heading to court: The route allegedly driven by Bryan Kohberger on the night of the brutal Idaho murders may be a crucial piece of evidence in the state’s case against the 28-year-old suspect
Charges: Bryan Kohberger, a PhD criminology student at Washington State University, was arrested at his family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, on December 30 for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle
It can be speculated that the route back was allegedly chosen due to the lack of any CCTV cameras, but it also may have provided several opportunities to discard any alleged weapon. It’s unclear if police have searched the area, and the fixed blade Ka-Bar knife presumably used in the crime has yet to be located.
By 5.25am, Kohberger’s car is allegedly captured again on camera on Johnson Road, which is the route that connects the back roads below Moscow back into Pullman. He is then allegedly seen on no less than five cameras on the Washington State University campus heading back to his apartment.
Despite arriving home at 5.30am on November 13, Kohberger’s phone pinged at 9am – suggesting he was on the move again – and cell phone data places Kohberger back in the vicinity of King Rd.
Kohberger, a PhD criminology student at Washington State University, was arrested at his family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, on December 30 for the murders of the four students.
Last week, unsealed court documents revealed that investigators believed that Kohberger likely transferred blood from the crime scene to his apartment in Pullman, Washington after the murders via blood ‘spatter or castoff.’
While executing a search warrant on his home, law enforcement seized stained bedding, strands of what looked like hair and a single glove, among other things.
Kohberger has maintained his innocence but has yet to formally enter a plea, and has said through an attorney that he expects to be exonerated.
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