One year later: Kohberger's arrest stuns the Poconos

A saturday night out is not unusual for college students and this november weekend didn't seem any different....

20-year-old Ethan Chapin and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, spent the night at a fraternity party, returning home around 2 a.m.

21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves and her lifelong best friend, 21-year-old Madison Mogen, were at a bar in Moscow, Idaho. The girls then stopped at a food truck and headed home.

Their two other roommates were also at the house along King Road.

Then, around 4 a.m., one of the roommates heard a noise. She brushed it off, thinking it was Kaylee playing with her dog until she heard another noise and looked out of her bedroom door.

She told investigators she heard crying and saw a figure wearing black clothing and a mask walk past her and towards a sliding glass door.

Police say the roommate stood there, frozen in shock, and then locked her bedroom door.

The next morning, police responded to the home. When they arrived, they found the bodies of Xana, Ethan, Kaylee, and Madison. All four were stabbed to death.

Fear on campus grew over the next few weeks while police combed through hundreds of thousands of tips.

But no arrests were made until the morning of December 30, when authorities arrested Bryan Kohberger at his parents' home in Chestnuthill Township, near Brodheadsville.

"These murders have shaken our community, and no arrest will ever bring back these young students. However, we do believe justice will be found through the criminal process. This was a very complex and extensive case. We developed a clear picture over time," Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry said at the time of the arrest. 

Kohberger, 28, drove a white Hyundai Elantra, the same car police said they found on multiple security cameras the night of the murders.

According to the affidavit, the sedan passed by the victims' home three times. Then, on a fourth, stopped only to take off a few minutes later at a high speed.

This is the timeframe in which the police believe the murders took place.

It was a few weeks later that police announced they were looking for a car spotted near the murder scene.

A tip was called in from Washington State University saying a car that matched the description belonged to a student who lives on campus: Bryan Kohberger.

He also matched the description one of the surviving roommates gave to police.

Then came what might have been the biggest break in the case. Investigators said a knife sheath was found underneath one of the victims, and the Idaho State Lab later found a single source of male DNA on the button snap.

The DNA didn't match anyone in the national criminal database, so FBI agents compared it with DMA shared publicly on genealogical research websites, and the DNA pointed investigators to Kohberger.

Officers in the Poconos then collected DNA from outside his family's home. The DNA from the trash matched Kohberger's father, and investigators say that the sample matched the father of the person whose DNA was found on the knife sheath at the crime scene.

Prosecutors wrote in court documents that it's a one in 5.37 octillion chance it could be anyone other than Kohberger. An octillion has 27 zeros after it.

Dr. David Rusak, the head of the forensic chemistry program at the University of Scranton, told Newswatch that is strong evidence against the native of Monroe County.

"The chances that this DNA came from someone other than the suspect are just astronomically slim," Rusak said.

A few days into the new year, the accused killer was in Monroe County court for an extradition hearing. He agreed to be taken back to Idaho to face charges.

Pennsylvania State Police flew him across the country the next day.

Then came the day the families of Xana, Ethan, Kaylee, and Madison had waited for—the day their accused killer was in an Idaho courtroom.

In May, a grand jury indicted Kohberger on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. During his arraignment, Kohberger was asked how he pleads, but he didn't respond. His lawyer told the judge they would be standing silent. The judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

In late June, The state of Idaho announced it would pursue the death penalty. 

His defense team tried to get the charges against him thrown out, arguing that the grand jury indictment was flawed. A judge ultimately decided in the state's favor.

Then, earlier this month, prosecutors asked the judge to schedule Kohberger's trial for June of 2024. Their hope is to hold the expected six-week trial during a time when both public schools in Moscow and the University of Idaho are closed for the summer. 

Some of the victims' families had tried to delay the demolition of the King Road house until after the trial, saying it should be preserved as evidence until the case is resolved. It appears, though, that their efforts were unsuccessful as the University of Idaho planned to level the building before classes resumed for the spring semester. 

A gag order has been in place since Kohberger's arrest, meaning investigators and lawyers cannot talk about the case publicly. As a result, many details remain unknown, including exactly what, if any, connection Kohberger has to Ethan, Xana, Kaylee, and Maddie.

Newswatch 16 has followed the court proceedings in the coase closely, it is chronicled in our web series Case of Interest: Kohberger.