Bryan Kohberger was arrested in Chestnuthill Township, Pa. on December 30, 2022 for the murder Xana Kernodle, Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin. He has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
New information revealed points to DNA matches that identified Kohberger as the main suspect in the Idaho Murder case.
According to a report by CNN, police apparently took DNA from the scene, ran it through a public database, then used genetic genealogy techniques to connect the DNA to Kohberger through his family members.
“What most likely happened is that the crime scene was a mess and there was DNA evidence left all over the place,” Pete Yachmetz, a security consultant and former FBI agent, told The New York Post Sunday. “So what they did was retrieved all the DNA evidence they could and analyzed it.”
That process, Yachmetz explained, takes time, as authorities first identify the DNA of the victims and then “start looking for DNA of someone who should not have been there.”
Kohberger, 28, was a graduate student at Washington State University, police said at a press conference on Dec. 30, and had a residence in both Pennsylvania and Pullman, Wash., which is about 10 miles from Moscow, where the murders took place.
Washington State University has issued a comment via a press release.
“On behalf of the WSU Pullman community, I want to offer my sincere thanks to all of the law enforcement agencies that have been working tirelessly to solve this crime,” said Elizabeth Chilton, chancellor of the WSU Pullman campus and WSU provost. “This horrific act has shaken everyone in the Palouse region.”
No motive has been given by investigators.
