A prominent attorney has debunked speculation that suspected killer Bryan Kohberger had an accomplice in the stabbing murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

Duncan Levin, former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office and attorney at Levin & Associates, spoke to The Independent about the criminal case against the 28-year-old PhD student.

Last week, Mr Kohberger’s attorney filed a discovery request, asking to receive all discovery from the prosecution within 14 days. In the filing, the defence requested information about a “co-defendant” in the case, prompting speculation that there may be evidence suggesting he had an accomplice – or that the defence could seek to argue that as part of its case.

However, Mr Levin explained that this is just “very standard requests as part of the defence’s discovery request”, adding: “I don’t think I would make much hay of that.”

Meanwhile, one of Mr Kohberger’s Washington neighbours has claimed that Mr Kohberger told him he once submitted DNA to an ancestry website – casting new light on the revelation that investigators used a genealogy database to help match him to DNA evidence from the scene.

Key points

• Attorney debunks speculation about ‘co-defendant’ discovery

• Survivor of similar student attack defends Moscow roommate

• Neighbour says Bryan Kohberger spoke about murders days after attack

• Chilling online comments from suspect as teen revealed

• Affidavit reveals what led investigators to criminology PhD student

• Bryan Kohberger waives right to speedy trial

ICYMI: Bryan Kohberger’s offhand comments about Idaho student murders

10:00 , Andrea Blanco

Suspected killer Bryan Kohberger made an offhand comment about the murders of the four University of Idaho students as he was extradited from Pennsylvania to Moscow to face charges in their killings, it has been revealed.

A law enforcement source told People that the 28-year-old criminology PhD student made small talk about the case to officers, saying that it was “sad what happened” to Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

“He did say, ‘It’s really sad what happened to them,’ but he didn’t say anything more. He’s smarter than that,” said the source, who was involved in the accused killer’s extradition process.

Mr Kohberger seemed “really nervous” during the journey back to Moscow and spoke aloud to himself in an apparent effort to reassure himself, the source added.

“He seemed really nervous. He was narrating to himself everything that was happening,” they said.

Why is the defence requesting evidence about a ‘co-defendant’?

09:40 , Rachel Sharp

Last week, Bryan Kohberger’s attorney Ann Taylor filed a discovery request in the case, asking the judge to order the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case within 14 days.

Among the discovery requests were witness statements, digital media and police reports about the case.

It also included a request for information about a “co-defendant” in the case.

“Statements of co-defendant. Any written or recorded statements by a codefendant, and the substance of any relevant oral statement made by a co-defendant whether before or after arrest in response to interrogation by any person known by the codefendant to be a peace officer or agent of the prosecuting attorney, or which are otherwise relevant to the offense charged,” the filing reads.

The request has prompted speculation of evidence suggesting that Mr Kohberger may have had an accomplice – or that the defence could seek to argue that as part of their case.

However, Mr Levin explained that this is just part of the standard requests for discovery in a case.

“These are just very standard requests as part of the defence’s discovery request,” he said.

While ruling out other individuals as possible suspects will likely form part of the state’s case against Mr Kohberger, he said that this does not indicate that there are other suspects.

The probable cause affidavit makes no mention of a co-defendant and law enforcement officials have previously insisted that they believe the suspect acted alone.

The request making mention of a co-defendant is also just one of 18 discovery requests made in the court filing.

“I don’t think I would make much hay of that,” Mr Levin said of the discovery request.

Madison Mogen’s father says ‘he broke down’ upon learning of Bryan Kohberger’s arrest

09:00 , Andrea Blanco

The devastated father of slain University of Idaho student Madison Mogen has revealed that he just “broke down and cried” when he learned that his daughter’s accused killer had been taken into custody by police.

Ben Mogen had been clinging onto hope that the murderer who violently stabbed his daughter to death alongside her friends Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would be brought to justice.

Finally, seven weeks on from the 13 November slayings, an investigator broke the news to him that a suspect – Bryan Kohberger – had finally been arrested and charged with their murders.

Mr Mogen spoke out about the moment that he learned about the break in the case on ABC’s “Good Morning America” last week.

“He said, ‘Ben, this is the moment we’ve been waiting for,’” he said the officer told him.

“I just broke down, and I just cried.”

The grieving father said that learning about Mr Kohberger’s arrest felt like “a huge weight that got lifted”.

But, despite his relief, he revealed that he has been unable to bring himself to read the full affidavit for Mr Kohberger’s arrest – a document that outlines chilling new details about the horrific murders and lays out what led investigators to the suspect.

“I could only take so much of that,” he said of the document.

“I still haven’t read the rest of it.”

Bryan Kohberger devoted his life to studying crime. The Idaho murders have turned the tables

08:00 , Andrea Blanco

Bryan Kohberger became a household name upon his 30 December arrest in Pennsylvania for the killings of four University of Idaho students.

People from his past – though shocked – build a picture of a bullied loner who could be aggressive; fellow students from his time in Idaho describe a criminology zealot who ‘creeped people out.’ As he faces trial accused of shocking crimes, The Independent’s Sheila Flynn asks: Who really is Bryan Kohberger?

Bryan Kohberger devoted his life to studying crime. Now, the tables have turned

VOICES: I lived through an attack similar to the Idaho murders. We must defend the survivors

07:00 , Andrea Blanco

Like two roommates in the Idaho murders case, Alanna Zabel also survived an attack at a student home.

The incident took place more than 2,000 miles away in Buffalo, and nearly 31 years ago, but one thing remains consistent: survivors deserve a space free of judgement to process their emotions.

“While I personally didn’t see our attacker, as one of the surviving Idaho housemates did, I am sure that both she and her other roommate are devastated just the same,” she writes.

Read Alanna’s piece for The Independent:

I lived through an attack similar to the Idaho murders. We must defend the survivors

Bryan Kohberger’s alleged rap song and chilling posts

06:00 , Andrea Blanco

New details continue to emerge about the suspect as he awaits his next court hearing on 26 June, with his chilling online comments and posts resurfacing.

In one disturbing rap song which appears to have been shared by Mr Kohberger on Soundcloud in 2011, he referred to himself as a “devil” and warned “don’t f*** with us, you underestimate,” the New York Post reported.

“You are not my equal / You are evil but I’m devil,” the lyric reads.

Previously, the New York Times had reported on comments on a forum made also by a profile with the username Exxar, which has been linked to Mr Kohberger.

The posts offered new insight into the alleged murderer’s troubled teenage years and his struggle to feel emotion from a young age.

The Tapatalk profile behind the chilling posts from 2011 was linked to the Washington State University PhD criminology student with the help of recollections from former friends of Mr Kohberger, and a username match with an email account used by him, according to the Times.

In another post, the author explored feelings of self-loathing, regretting that he was no longer the “healthy blonde-haired boy with blue eyes, and in a few years, [he then had] darker hair and darker eyes, half the body weight”.

He then proceeded to say he felt “unintelligent” and as though he was experiencing “depersonalization” and felt “little to no remorse.’

“I often find myself making simple human interactions, but it is as if I am playing a role-playing game such as oblivion; I can see what is going on, I am slightly into it, but I can pause the game and focus on my real life,” the post states.

It continues: “I view everything as I would if I was playing oblivion, pointless and full of nothing, out of reality. I am moving out of my house, my last holidays were already lived, but where was I? As my family group hugs and celebrates, I am stuck in this void of nothing, feeling completely no emotion, feeling nothing.”

“I feel dirty, like there is dirt inside of my head, my mind, I am always dizzy and confused.”

ICYMI: Idaho murders suspect should ‘get an F in criminology,’ prominent criminal defence attorney says

05:00 , Andrea Blanco

Duncan Levin, the former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office and attorney at Levin & Associates who has represented clients including Harvey Weinstein and Anna Delvey, spoke exclusively to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case against the 28-year-old PhD student.

Based on the evidence outlined in the probable cause affidavit, Mr Levin said that Mr Kohberger did a poor job of “covering his tracks” and that the prosecution has a “very strong case” against him. “In short, he should get an F in criminology class,” he said. “He did not do a good job of covering his tracks.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:

Bryan Kohberger should ‘get an F in criminology’ over Idaho murders, attorney says

Kaylee Goncalves’ family says she was considering rekindling her relationship with longtime boyfriend

04:00 , Andrea Blanco

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed during a 13 November attack in the small college town of Moscow.

The murders gripped the nation and a secretive investigation by the FBI, Moscow Police, and Idaho State Police eventually materialised into the 30 December arrest of Washington State University PhD criminology student Bryan Kohberger.

Goncalves’ family has now shed new light on why she might have been calling her ex-boyfriend Jack DuCoeur in the hours before she was brutally attacked.

In a sit-down interview with the YouTube channel Chronicles of Olivia — filmed two days before Mr Kohberger’s arrest– the Goncalves said their daughter broke up with Mr DuCoeur ahead of her post-graduation move to Texas, but had later voiced concerns that she “might not ever find another Jack” and was considering getting back together with him.

Kaylee’s father Steve Goncalves said that the couple had remained friends and the slain student was looking “for every excuse for [Mr DuCoeur] to pick up the phone.” T

he family noted that they were not just blindly sticking up for Mr DuCoeur, and that they had done their due diligence by looking out for scratches on his body, and potential evidence on his shoes and inside his car.

“Even logically, I think a lot of people assume that we’re blinded by this individual but contrary to that, we’re very capable of removing our emotions for Jack —which is absolute love — and just looking at the situation logically,” Alivea Goncalves, Goncalves’ sister, said on the interview released on Friday. “Looking at this individual logically, looking at a pattern of behaviours of him that we have seen throughout five, six years … In our hearts and in our heads and in every sense of the word, it’s just not [plausible that he committed the crime].”

Mother in Oregon cold case hopes Idaho murders will help find her son’s killer

03:00 , Andrea Blanco

The mother of a man who was stabbed in the middle of the night in 2021 along with his wife, believes that the focus on the Idaho murders might help find her son’s killer.

Online sleuths have been debating the similarities between the murders of four Idaho University students and the Oregon cold case from 13 August 2021. Myra Juetten, the mother of 26-year-old Travis Juetten, said she hoped that the Idaho case will bring attention to the stabbings of her son and his 24-year-old wife Jamilyn Juetten.

Ms Juetten said: “There’s a lot of similarities. I have no proof there’s a connection. But I’m hopeful that this will reinvigorate this case and bring attention to my son’s murder.”

Travis and Jamilyn were stabbed in the middle of the night in Salem, Oregon, as they slept. Travis died and Jamilyn survived 19 stab wounds.

Ms Juetten told News Nation’s Banfield show that “my son was an amazing young man, and it’s very hard not to have any answers. I just wish somebody would come forward just to give that extra piece to the puzzle that we need”.

She continued: “I can’t even start grieving until I have an answer, so it’s very difficult for my family.”

The police investigating the murders of the four students ruled out a possible connection to the Oregon stabbings.

Moscow Police issued a statement that the August 2021 fatal stabbing of Travis Juettern, 26, in Salem, Oregon, is not believed to be linked to the killings of Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen.

“There have been numerous media inquiries about a 1999 double stabbing in Pullman, Washington, and the 2021 double stabbing (with one death) in Salem, Oregon,” the statement read.

“While these cases share similarities … there does not appear to be any evidence to support the cases are related.”

Travis’s mother had previously told The Independent that finding out who killed her son and also catching the killer of the students would be “the best Christmas present ever”.

Online rumours about Bryan Kohberger attending Idaho murders vigil debunked by new footage

02:00 , Andrea Blanco

Rampant online speculation that the suspect arrested in the Idaho murders was in attendance at a vigil for the victims has been debunked by newly-emerged footage.

In the wake of Bryan Kohberger’s arrest on charges for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, social media sleuths began scouring video of a 30 November vigil for the slain students to see if the suspect may have been present.

The armchair detectives – who have been poring over alleged clues in the case for weeks – seized on a specific clip showing the back of a tall man with brown hair, making wholly far-fetched claims that he could be Mr Kohberger.

The baseless speculation has now been discredited by new footage from Inside Edition, which appears to show the face of the same man the online commenters identified as Mr Kohberger from the back. It is clear on the outlet’s video that the man is not Mr Kohberger.

The vigil rumours marked the latest wild theory to go viral online, only to be swiftly debunked.

Bryan Kohberger’s Idaho murders arrest affidavit was meant to give answers. Instead, it raises these new questions

00:00 , Andrea Blanco

Why did the surviving roommate wait eight hours to call 911 after seeing the killer?

Who was the intended target?

Is Bryan Kohberger the stalker Kaylee Goncalves complained about?

The Independent’s Rachel Sharpreports on the questions still unanswered in the case:

Bryan Kohberger’s Idaho murders arrest affidavit raises these new questions

The tragic reason Kaylee Goncalves returned to Moscow after moving out of her student home

Tuesday 17 January 2023 22:41 , Andrea Blanco

Idaho murders victim Kaylee Goncalves had already moved out of the home where she and three other students were brutally murdered – but tragically returned to Moscow to visit her best friend that fateful weekend.

Goncalves’ parents told NBC’s “Dateline” that the 21-year-old had recently left the student rental property on King Road, Moscow, ahead of her upcoming graduation that December and a move to Austin, Texas, for a new job at a tech firm.

Revealed: Tragic reason an Idaho murders victim returned to Moscow after moving out

Kaylee Goncalves was looking forward to rekindling relationship with longtime boyfriend before murders, family says

Tuesday 17 January 2023 21:12 , Andrea Blanco

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed during a 13 November attack in the small college town of Moscow.

The murders gripped the nation and a secretive investigation by the FBI, Moscow Police, and Idaho State Police eventually materialised into the 30 December arrest of Washington State University PhD criminology student Bryan Kohberger.

Goncalves’ family has now shed new light on why she might have been calling her ex-boyfriend Jack DuCoeur in the hours before she was brutally attacked.

In a sit-down interview with the YouTube channel Chronicles of Olivia — filmed two days before Mr Kohberger’s arrest– the Goncalves said their daughter broke up with Mr DuCoeur ahead of her post-graduation move to Texas, but had later voiced concerns that she “might not ever find another Jack” and was considering getting back together with him.

Read the full story.

The BTK killer sees similarities between himself and Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger

Tuesday 17 January 2023 20:59 , Andrea Blanco

BTK killer Dennis Rader has said that he sees similarities between himself and Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four Idaho students.

Rader, who was convicted of murdering 10 in Wichita, Kansas, told TMZ in a jailhouse email that he can relate to Mr Kohberger’s “dark mind” and believes he may have been motivated by “Fantasy Homicide” to kill – much like himself.

“[Mr Kohberger] may have killed by Fantasy Homicide. Which I did!” he wrote.

While Rader confessed to killing his victims in order to fulfill his sexual fantasies, a motive has not yet been revealed for the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

Mr Kohberger has not yet been asked to enter a plea in Idaho court but is said to plan to fight the allegations.

According to his affidavit, the suspect may have stalked the victims’ home at least 12 times prior to the murders.

BTK wrote in his email that he thinks Mr Kohberger would lie in wait for the victims and stalked them and their student home in Moscow, writing that this was ”much like I did”.

He went on to point out similarities between one of his own attacks and the quadruple murder that Mr Kohberger is now charged with.

In 1974, Rader murdered four members of the Otero family, strangling them to death in their Wichita home.

“Murder four, much like the Oteros, up close and personal stabbed,” he wrote in the email comparing the two crimes.

BTK and Mr Kohberger have an eerie connection.

Mr Kohberger had gained a Master’s degree in criminology in 2022 from Pennsylvania’s DeSales University, where he was taught by Dr Katherine Ramsland.

Dr Ramsland is the leading academic authority on the BTK killings and wrote the 2016 book Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews and phone conversations with the serial killer to delve deep into his psyche.

Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys requested his court hearing be pushed back to June to review evidence

Tuesday 17 January 2023 20:39 , Andrea Blanco

Mr Kohberger’s public defender Anne Taylor requested on Thursday that his next court date be pushed back until June.

The prosecution agreed to the request and the judge scheduled the preliminary hearing for the week beginning 26 June.

The entire week has been set aside for the hearing – when evidence of the case against Mr Kohberger will be laid out for the first time in court and he is likely to enter a plea on the charges.

His request for a delay before the next court appearance came after the defence asked the prosecution to hand over all discovery in the case in the next 14 days – including witness statements, digital media and police reports.

Ms Taylor told the judge that waiving the 14-day deadline would give the defence more time to review all the evidence in the case.

Now, the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin will have to wait six more months to face their childrens’ accused killer in the court.

Until then, Mr Kohberger will be held behind bars at Latah County Jail after he was ordered to be held on no bail for a second time.

Bryan Kohberger’s former classmates allege suspected killer was bullied before becoming a bully himself

Tuesday 17 January 2023 20:01 , Andrea Blanco

Former high school classmates of the man accused of murdering four students at the University of Idaho have alleged that suspected killer Brian Kohberger was bullied before becoming a bully himself and allegedly using heroin.

The former classmates made the comments on an episode of 48 Hours titled “The Idaho Student Murders” aired last week on Paramount+.

One former classmate knew Mr Kohberger in college at Washington State University, and recalled him being opinionated but otherwise “comfortable around other people,” according to a CBS News report about the episode.

“He was very quick to offer his opinion and thoughts,” Mr Roberts said. “He would describe things in the most complicated, perhaps academic way possible.”

Craig Graziosi has the story for The Independent:

Bryan Kohberger’s childhood friends say he was a bully and used heroin in high school

How strong is the case against Bryan Kohberger?

Tuesday 17 January 2023 19:30 , Andrea Blanco

It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

Prominent attorney Duncan Levin speaks to The Independent’s Rachel Sharp about the case against Bryan Kohberger and what to expect for the next moves from the defence and the prosecution.

How strong is the case against Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?

Bryan Kohberger’s odd behaviour after Idaho murders revealed

Tuesday 17 January 2023 19:09 , Andrea Blanco

During a period of surveillance, investigators observed Mr Kohberger behaving suspiciously, including wearing surgical gloves, secretly dumping trash and rigorously cleaning his car.

The 28-year-old criminal justice PhD student has been charged with the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin that rocked the small, college town of Moscow, Idaho.

The net had been closing in on Mr Kohberger for several weeks and he was placed under surveillance by law enforcement for four days leading up to his arrest at his family home in Pennsylvania on 30 December.

The surveillance team was tasked with both keeping eyes on the suspect so that authorities could arrest him as soon as a warrant was obtained and obtaining a DNA sample that investigators could use to try to match him to DNA found at the crime scene.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:

Bryan Kohberger’s peculiar behaviour after Idaho murders revealed

Will Bryan Kohberger get the death penalty?

Tuesday 17 January 2023 18:45 , Andrea Blanco

Accused killer Bryan Kohberger may face the death penalty for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

The 28-year-old criminal justice PhD student is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary over the 13 November attack.

Under Idaho state law, he faces the death penalty or life in prison on each murder charge.

Goncalves’ parents have already said that they support him receiving a death sentence, saying that life imprisonment is not enough for his alleged crimes.

Why did the killer spare the two surviving roommates?

Tuesday 17 January 2023 18:01 , Andrea Blanco

Questions remain about why the killer stabbed the four students to death and then spared the two surviving roommates.

The roommate identified as D.M. even saw the killer exiting the crime scene but was left unharmed.

It is unclear if the killer saw her or whether she simply had a lucky escape because he didn’t notice her inside the dark home.

This also raises the question around whether or not he planned to kill all four victims or whether some of the victims were treated as collateral damage in the horrific attack.

Who is Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger?

Tuesday 17 January 2023 17:25 , Andrea Blanco

As a criminal justice PhD student at Washington State University, Mr Kohberger lived just 15 minutes from the victims over the Idaho-Washington border in Pullman.

He had moved there from Pennsylvania to begin his studies in August and has just completed his first semester.

Before this, he studied criminology at DeSales University – first as an undergraduate and then finishing his graduate studies in June 2022.

While there, he studied under renowned forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland who interviewed the BTK serial killer and co-wrote the book Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer with him.

He also carried out a research project “to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime”.

On 30 December, he was arrested in an early-morning raid on his family home in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, where he had gone to spend the holidays.

He was extradited back to Idaho and his white Hyundai Elantra was seized by investigators.

The murder weapon – a fixed-blade knife – is yet to be found.

Now, he is facing life in prison or the death penalty for the murders that have rocked the small college town of Moscow and hit headlines around the globe.

Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger allegedly “called himself devil’ in 2011 rap song

Tuesday 17 January 2023 16:56 , Andrea Blanco

New details continue to emerge about the suspect as he awaits his next court hearing on 26 June, with his chilling online comments and posts resurfacing.

In one disturbing rap song which appears to have been shared by Mr Kohberger on Soundcloud in 2011, he referred to himself as a “devil” and warned “don’t f*** with us, you underestimate,” the New York Post reported.

“You are not my equal / You are evil but I’m devil,” the lyric reads.

Previously, the New York Times had reported on comments on a forum made also by a profile with the username Exxar, which has been linked to Mr Kohberger.

The posts offered new insight into the alleged murderer’s troubled teenage years and his struggle to feel emotion from a young age.

The Tapatalk profile behind the chilling posts from 2011 was linked to the Washington State University PhD criminology student with the help of recollections from former friends of Mr Kohberger, and a username match with an email account used by him, according to the Times.

In another post, the author explored feelings of self-loathing, regretting that he was no longer the “healthy blonde-haired boy with blue eyes, and in a few years, [he then had] darker hair and darker eyes, half the body weight”.

He then proceeded to say he felt “unintelligent” and as though he was experiencing “depersonalization” and felt “little to no remorse.’

“I often find myself making simple human interactions, but it is as if I am playing a role-playing game such as oblivion; I can see what is going on, I am slightly into it, but I can pause the game and focus on my real life,” the post states.

It continues: “I view everything as I would if I was playing oblivion, pointless and full of nothing, out of reality. I am moving out of my house, my last holidays were already lived, but where was I? As my family group hugs and celebrates, I am stuck in this void of nothing, feeling completely no emotion, feeling nothing.”

“I feel dirty, like there is dirt inside of my head, my mind, I am always dizzy and confused.”

Grieving father reveals he was not able to finish reading affidavit for Bryan Kohberger’s arrest

Tuesday 17 January 2023 16:35 , Andrea Blanco

Ben Mogen had been clinging onto hope that the murderer who violently stabbed his daughter to death alongside her friends Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin would be brought to justice.

Finally, seven weeks on from the 13 November slayings, an investigator broke the news to him that a suspect – Bryan Kohberger – had finally been arrested and charged with their murders.

Mr Mogen spoke out about the moment that he learned about the break in the case on ABC’s “Good Morning America” last week.

“He said, ‘Ben, this is the moment we’ve been waiting for,’” he said the officer told him.

“I just broke down, and I just cried.”

Read the full story.

Bryan Kohberger should ‘get an F in criminology’ over ‘damning’ Idaho murders affidavit, prominent criminal defence attorney says

Tuesday 17 January 2023 16:15 , Andrea Blanco

Duncan Levin, the former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office and attorney at Levin & Associates who has represented clients including Harvey Weinstein and Anna Delvey, spoke exclusively to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case against the 28-year-old PhD student.

Based on the evidence outlined in the probable cause affidavit, Mr Levin said that Mr Kohberger did a poor job of “covering his tracks” and that the prosecution has a “very strong case” against him.

“In short, he should get an F in criminology class,” he said. “He did not do a good job of covering his tracks.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:

Bryan Kohberger should ‘get an F in criminology’ over Idaho murders, attorney says

Bryan Kohberger ‘claimed to feel little remorse’ as a teen, alleged posts reveal

Tuesday 17 January 2023 15:40 , Andrea Blanco

Bryan Kohberher, 28, has been charged with four counts of murder in the brutal 13 November stabbings of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

A report by the New York Times on Wednesday offers new insight into the alleged murderer’s troubled teenage years and his struggle to feel emotion from a young age.

The Tapatalk profile behind the chilling posts from 2011 was linked to the Washington State University PhD criminology student with the help of recollections from former friends of Mr Kohberger, and a username match with an email account used by him, according to the Times.

Mr Kohberger had previously been described by high school friends as an intellectually gifted teen who often struggled to socialise and fit in.

Some close to Mr Kohberger have also come forward saying he went from being awkward and bullied to developing an addiction to heroin and becoming a “bully” during his junior year of high school, according to a CBS News report.

But the posts from the online discussion forum, purportedly made when he was 16 years old, appear to reveal Mr Kohberger’s concerns about his suicidal ideation, challenges with a disorder he described as “visual snow” — a disorder that causes people to see static, and inability to connect with his relatives.

“I feel like an organic sack of meat with no self worth,” one post reads. “As I hug my family, I look into their faces, I see nothing, it is like I am looking at a video game, but less.”

Bryan Kohberger devoted his life to studying crime. The Idaho murders have turned the tables

Tuesday 17 January 2023 15:20 , Andrea Blanco

Bryan Kohberger became a household name upon his 30 December arrest in Pennsylvania for the killings of four University of Idaho students.

People from his past – though shocked – build a picture of a bullied loner who could be aggressive; fellow students from his time in Idaho describe a criminology zealot who ‘creeped people out.’ As he faces trial accused of shocking crimes, The Independent’s Sheila Flynn asks: Who really is Bryan Kohberger?

Bryan Kohberger devoted his life to studying crime. Now, the tables have turned

Kaylee Goncalves’ longtime boyfriend creates Instagram account for their dog

Tuesday 17 January 2023 15:00 , Andrea Blanco

Goncalves’ mother Kristi Goncalves shared that Jack DuCoeur is behind an Instagram account dedicated to Murphy, the pet dog found inside the home when police made the grim discovery on 13 November.

The dog was handed over to animal services and was later released to Mr DuCoeur.

Although the couple had recently broken up ahead of Goncalves’ move to Texas, they had remained friendly, their relatives have said.

On the account’s first post on Monday, Mr DuCoeur posted a picture of the Labradoodle with the caption: “Missing my mom every day, but trying to live my best life. I got to admire her beauty in the sky this evening.”

“This is a throwback photo of me. My mom loved this one,” another post read.

The account already has more than 10,000 followers, with people commenting heartfelt messages.

“This hurts my heart. You’re a good boy Murphy. So happy you and your Dad have each other,” an Instagram user wrote. “You’ll be best pals for life. Much love and sympathy to everyone mourning Kaylee.”

Attorney says Bryan Kohberger’s family will support him at June hearing

Tuesday 17 January 2023 14:40 , Rachel Sharp

The attorney who represented Bryan Kohberger in Pennsylvania has said that the suspect’s family plans to support him at his June hearing in Moscow.

Mr Kohberger is next scheduled to appear in court for his preliminary hearing on 26 June.

Attorney Jason LaBar, who only represented him as he was extradited from Pennsylvania to Idaho, told WFMZ that it has been “very difficult” for Mr Kohberger’s family as he said he has advised them not to comment on the case.

“They understand the situation that he’s alleged to have committed these murders, and they understand that there’s four families suffering loss of their loved ones. They pray every day,” he said.

“It’s very difficult for them.”

Mr LaBar would not confirm whether or not the family believes he is innocent saying: “You know, they’ll let it play out, unfold in court.”

He added: “Obviously, the American criminal justice system isn’t perfect. It has its flaws, but it is the best system in the world, in my opinion, and the basis of that, the foundation of that, is the presumption of innocence and it’s the Commonwealth in Pennsylvania, in Idaho, it’s the prosecution’s job to prove someone actually committed the crime.”

Bryan Kohberger’s classmate says he would ‘stare’ in class

Tuesday 17 January 2023 14:20 , Rachel Sharp

A former classmate of accused killer Bryan Kohberger has claimed that he would “stare” at her and her friends in class.

Madison, who was on the same criminology course at DeSales University in Pennsylvania as Mr Kohberger in 2018, told NBC’s Dateline that, while she remembered his “prominent eyes”, he did not make conversation with her.

“He would stare at us. He definitely had very prominent eyes,” she said.

“I would always catch him staring at us. He wouldn’t ever really try to ‘talk’ to us.”

She added that he would “give every single detail that he possibly could to help further his point” when answering questions in class.

“It was always, like, ‘Oh, Bryan’s answering this question. This is gonna take up the whole entire class,’” she said.

Despite his sometimes unusual behaviour, Madison said she was shocked when she learned that he had been arrested for a brutal quadruple homicide. “It definitely took me by shock,” she said.

VOICES: I lived through an attack similar to the Idaho murders. We must defend the survivors

Tuesday 17 January 2023 14:00 , Andrea Blanco

Like two roommates in the Idaho murders case, Alanna Zabel also survived an attack at a student home.

The incident took place more than 2,000 miles away in Buffalo, and nearly 31 years ago, but one thing remains consistent: survivors deserve a space free of judgement to process their emotions.

“While I personally didn’t see our attacker, as one of the surviving Idaho housemates did, I am sure that both she and her other roommate are devastated just the same,” she writes.

Read Alanna’s piece for The Independent:

I lived through an attack similar to the Idaho murders. We must defend the survivors

Revealed: The tragic reason an Idaho murders victim returned to Moscow after moving out of her student home

Tuesday 17 January 2023 13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Idaho murders victim Kaylee Goncalves had already moved out of the home where she and three other students were brutally murdered – but tragically returned to Moscow to visit her best friend that fateful weekend.

Goncalves’ parents told NBC’s “Dateline” that the 21-year-old had recently left the student rental property on King Road, Moscow, ahead of her upcoming graduation that December and a move to Austin, Texas, for a new job at a tech firm.

Read the full story here:

Revealed: Tragic reason an Idaho murders victim returned to Moscow after moving out

VOICES: The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case

Tuesday 17 January 2023 13:20 , Rachel Sharp

“While America has long been fascinated with true crime, the shocking brutality and seeming randomness of the Moscow murders sent the internet sleuth community into overdrive.

“Conspiracy theories and rumours have dominated the investigation with thousands of people joining social media groups to discuss their take on what transpired and why.”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp writes:

The eerie online world of the Idaho murders case

Idaho murders: Surviving roommate was ‘scared to death’ of intruder, attorney for slain student’s family says

Tuesday 17 January 2023 23:41 , Andrea Blanco

A surviving roommate of the four slain University of Idaho students was “scared to death” after seeing an intruder in their Moscow home, a lawyer for one of the victim’s families says.

Dylan Mortensen, 21, told police she saw a masked figure clad in black walk past her at 4am on the night the four students were killed, but didn’t call 911 for another eight hours.

The chilling detail was revealed in an affidavit released after suspect Bryan Kohberger appeared in court in Idaho to face murder charges last Thursday.

Shannon Gray, who represents Kaylee Goncalves’ family, told Fox News that Ms Mortenson was “scared to death, and rightly so”.

“This guy had just murdered four people in the home,” Ms Gray told Fox News.

Mr Kohberger, 28, has been charged with the murder of Goncalves and Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, both 20.

Bryan Kohberger was extradited to Idaho last week

Ms Mortensen, identified by her initials DM in the police affidavit, said she had awoken on the night of the killings to hear what sounded like Goncalves playing with her dog.

Shortly afterwards, she recalled hearing one of her roommates saying “there’s someone here”.

She said she went to look out of her door, and heard a man’s voice saying: “It’s OK, I’m going to help you.”

A few minutes later, she came face-to-face with “a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her”.

The man had bushy eyebrows, she recalled.

Ms Mortensen said she froze as the suspect walked past her and headed toward the back sliding glass door of the home.

Grieving family reveal potential reason why Kaylee Goncalves called ex-boyfriend before Idaho murders

Tuesday 17 January 2023 13:00 , Andrea Blanco

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed during a 13 November attack in the small college town of Moscow.

The murders gripped the nation and a secretive investigation by the FBI, Moscow Police, and Idaho State Police eventually materialised into the 30 December arrest of Washington State University PhD criminology student Bryan Kohberger.

Goncalves’ family has now shed new light on why she might have been calling her ex-boyfriend Jack DuCoeur in the hours before she was brutally attacked.

In a sit-down interview with the YouTube channel Chronicles of Olivia — filmed two days before Mr Kohberger’s arrest– the Goncalves said their daughter broke up with Mr DuCoeur ahead of her post-graduation move to Texas, but had later voiced concerns that she “might not ever find another Jack” and was considering getting back together with him.

Read the full story.