SUSPECT IN 4 SLAYINGS EXPECTS TO BE CLEARED

The man charged with killing four University of Idaho students plans to allow himself to be extradited to Idaho from Pennsylvania to face the accusations, the public defender representing him said Saturday.

After being arrested in Pennsylvania, Bryan Kohberger, 28, plans to waive his right to an extradition hearing in court on Tuesday, public defender Jason Labar of Monroe County, Pa., said. If he follows through, it will speed up his removal to Idaho and accelerate the release of information that police say implicates him in the case.

“He’s willing to waive because he’s looking forward to being exonerated. Those were his words,” Labar said by phone Saturday, about an hour after speaking to Kohberger. “Whether that means he’s innocent or not, it’s implicit in saying he wants to be exonerated that he’s innocent. He didn’t use the word ‘innocent.’”

The arrest of Kohberger, a Washington State University doctoral student, was announced Friday. He is being held in jail in northeastern Pennsylvania, where he is from.

“We believe we’ve got our man,” Moscow, Idaho, Police Department Captain Anthony Dahlinger said Saturday.

Investigators obtained samples of Kohberger’s DNA directly from the suspect after he was arrested, Dahlinger said.

“He’s the one that we believe is responsible for all four of the murders,“he said.

Bill Thompson, a prosecutor in Latah County, Idaho, said during a news conference Friday that investigators believe Kohberger broke into the University of Idaho students’ home near campus “with the intent to commit murder.” The bodies of the students were found on Nov. 13, several hours after investigators believe they died.