The Trentonian (Trenton, NJ)

Report claims Kohberger had pictures on phone of 1 student

- By Jessica Schladebec­k

Bryan Kohberger, the Washington State University criminolog­y student accused of murdering four undergradu­ates at the University of Idaho, had photos of one of the victims on his phone, according to a new report.

Kohberger was arrested in December for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. When authoritie­s confiscate­d his phone shortly after, they uncovered images of one of the four victims saved to the device, a source told People.

“He had more than one picture of her,” the source said. “It was clear that he was paying attention to her.”

It’s not clear whether he took the photograph­s or downloaded them from social media.

Police previously said Kohberger attempted to connect online with one of the women he would allegedly go on to kill. He first reached out through Instagram in October and continued to send her direct messages when she did not respond.

Authoritie­s found all four victims dead from fatal stab wounds on Nov. 13 inside a home near the University of Idaho campus in Moscow. The female victims shared the residence with two other women, who were both home at the time of the murders and survived the violence.

Kohberger eluded authoritie­s for weeks before he was taken into custody at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvan­ia on Dec. 30. Prior to traveling to Pennsylvan­ia, he continued to attend classes at Washington State University in

Pullman, 15 minutes away from the scene of the quadruple murder.

Last month, Kohberger waived his extraditio­n to Idaho, meaning he voluntaril­y agreed to return to the state, where he will face four charges of murder and a single count of felony burglary. He was transporte­d back to Idaho on Jan. 4.

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