With two days to spare in the year of 2022, almost two months after this tragic event,  the families of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were finally able to receive closure. The case had puzzled police for weeks, as very little hard evidence was found at the scene.

The case outlines the murder of four University of Idaho students, all stabbed to death in their home. On the morning of November 13, a man by the name of Bryan Kohberger took part in a discussion regarding forensics and DNA in his criminology class at Washington State University. This very man was arrested for the murder of the four Idaho students just six weeks later. 

Following the arrest of this new suspect, many have begun to reflect on the irony that is a bachelor of criminology committing such inhumane murders. 

In 2018, Kohberger had received a degree in psychology from a local community college. He then attended DeSales University, where he received his masters in criminal justice halfway through 2022. Rounding off his education, Kohberger headed to Washington State to receive  his PhD from the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. 

During his time at DeSales, Kohberger was taught by Katherine Ramsland—a very talented and well known forensic psychologist. She has written many books discussing the mentality of murderers—their motives, methods and ultimately the faults they made that ultimately resulted in their arrests. 

Many will agree that students of majors like Kohberger are essentially taught to commit perfect crimes. They learn about all the small details that allow killers to baffle police, while also including the fateful flaws that result in their arrest. 

Josh Thomas is a senior at Pleasant Valley and has formed a deep passion for psychology, planning to major in psych in college. When asked about Kohberger, Thomas discusses the idea of Machiavellianism. 

“Machiavellianism is both a philosophy and a personality trait that typically involves using manipulation, a decreased sense of morality, and a calculating outlook on the world to achieve one’s goals. Whatever the official mental health diagnosis for this situation may be, the planning of this attack – from wearing surgical gloves to hide fingerprints to interviewing criminals about their process when committing crimes – was very machiavellian, at least from a philosophical standpoint”. 

In regards to Kohberger and his actions, he used his knowledge of criminology to harm others, rather than using his knowledge to do good in the world. The acts of Kohberger remain very machiavellian, however all questions remain unanswered until the official trial.

Bryan Kohberger, age 28, has been linked to the murders through DNA had been left on scene and more information on this night have been released through the affidavit. 

From released information, we now know that the murders took place a little after four in the morning. Phone records show that Kernodle had just received a Doordash and was awake on TikTok until about 4:12 a.m. 

Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen woke up around 4 a.m. when she heard a noise thinking it was Goncalves playing with her dog Murphy. She then heard Goncalves say something like “someone is here”, she then looked out her door but didn’t see anything. She then heard Kernodle crying and a male voice saying “It’s okay, I’m going to help you” as she opened the door a second time. The third time, she opened the door and heard  more crying but saw an all black figure walk past her and say nothing. He was wearing a ski mask but she stated he was around 5’10, athletic build, with bushy eyebrows. He exited through the back glass sliding door as Mortensen locked her door in shock. 

A nearby security camera caught audio at around 4:17 a.m. with multiple whimpers, thuds and barking coming from the house.  

After leaving the scene at around 4:25 a.m., he then returned to the scene at around 9:12 a.m. and left again at around 9:21 a.m.

Two weeks after the murder, police grew onto Kohberger. They had started tracking him and his car. On his way to Pennsylvania, he was pulled over twice with a matching license plate and to see the injuries on his hands. When Kohberger realized the car they were looking for, he changed his license plate back to Pennsylvania after previously having Idaho plates so they couldn’t track him. 

When the cops entered the room where the girls were staying, Goncalves and Mogen were lying on the bed. There was a tan leather knife sheath laying next to Mogen. They used that to test the DNA to lead it to a man which they then used the description given by Mortensen to lead the police onto Kohberger. 

Police tracked down Kohberger’s DNA by going through his trash and testing it to match up with the same DNA left on scene. The police then filed an arrest warrant for him on one count of burglary and 4 counts of first degree murder. 

It has also been released that Koherger had an apartment just a few miles away from the crime scene and an office on the University of Idaho campus. He also applied for an internship with the Pullman Police Department a few weeks before the murders took place. 

Some citizens curious about this case have decided to do some of their own investigations. They found that Kohberger posted a Reddit survey which asked criminals to provide information to “understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision making when committing a crime.”In that survey, he would ask questions like, “Before making your move, how did you approach the victim or target?”

It has even been noted that Kohberger wore gloves out in public for the weeks to follow. Many think it was to hide any wounds he had from that night, as well as hiding his DNA from public places in the area. 

Although Kohberger was studying to get his Ph.D. in criminology, he made a crucial mistake by leaving part of the weapon he used when committing these crimes that helped lead the police to him. Kohberger was sent back to Idaho where he will be tried and  if found guilty, he could face the death penalty or life in prison. 

The town of Moscow can now finally breathe with a little bit of hope for the victims of this tragic case.