A suspect has finally been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of four University of Idaho students last month.
According to reports from the Associated Press and ABC News, Bryan Christopher Kohberger was taken into custody in Chestnuthill Township, Pennsylvania on Friday morning after a nationwide search for the person responsible for a quadruple murder at an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. He is currently being held without bail and awaiting extradition to Idaho.
According to authorities, Kohberger is a 28-year-old criminology graduate student at Washington State University, which is only 10 miles away from where he allegedly stabbed Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, while they were asleep on the second and third floors. Two other roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were also inside when the attack occurred, though both slept through the incident.
It is currently unclear what motivated the crime, though investigators think that he broke into the home "with the intent to commit murder." However, police told journalists that Kohberger was partially identified through DNA forensics and his car, which was previously identified as a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra. They also have yet to find the suspected weapon, which is believed to be a fixed-blade knife.
“These murders have shaken our community, and no arrest will ever bring back these young students,” as Moscow Police Chief James Fry said during a press conference. “However, we do believe justice will be found through the criminal process.” Meanwhile, Moscow Mayor Arthur Bettge said he hoped that Kohberger's arrest was the beginning of finding "the answers that we have all sought in our attempts to understand this senseless act," with the University of Idaho later adding in a statement that the news has been "a relief for our community."
The university continued, "It has been a stressful time for our university, but we never lost faith that this case would be solved."
Photo via Getty / Angela Palermo / Idaho Statesman / Tribune News Service
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