MOSCOW, Idaho (CNN) Bryan Kohberger’s behavior changed drastically in the days following his murder of four University of Idaho students in an off-campus residence. Investigators would later discover that he had become obsessed with news reports about the killings and started using cash to pay for items, frequently while wearing gloves to avoid the scene of the murders.
CNN’s extensive, in-depth interview with Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger and Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson revealed the information on Friday. New information on Kohberger’s strange behavior and the violent altercations that occurred within the house in November 2022 was given by the primary investigators.
Gilbertson told CNN that after investigators began investigating Kohberger as a suspect, everything fell into place. He claimed that the inquiry had been going on for weeks and that thousands of tips had been coming in by the time the FBI connected Kohberger to DNA discovered on a knife sheath left at the scene. He said that Kohberger’s name appeared to make things fall into place.
According to Gilbertson, the former graduate student in criminology who was given a life sentence on Wednesday as part of a contentious plea agreement displayed significant behavioral changes following the murders. Investigators stated they think Kohberger never again entered Moscow, even though he returned to the area a few hours after the killings, he added.
RELATED | Strange events that occurred weeks prior are detailed in police documents made public following Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing.
Investigators have made the following significant discoveries:
Kohberger was following news of the murders
Even though it would take detectives over two months to find and apprehend Kohberger at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania, the murderer had taken odd safety measures during those weeks.
He quits using both his credit and debit cards. Gilbertson stated that he begins to use solely cash. He is frequently wearing gloves in the surveillance and camera footage that we would later gather and retrieve.
Kohberger had been erasing data from his electronic devices prior to police enforcement seizing them. Nevertheless, Gilbertson said, he had saved a number of screenshots and images of news reports about the murders.
Gilbertson refuted claims that the murderer had pictures and the social media profiles of several of the victims on his phone, saying that authorities could not discover any proof on the devices that Kohberger had known the victims.
As of right now, we have not discovered any link whatsoever between the four victims and his two remaining roommates. Gilbertson said, “No texts, no pictures.”
After years of maintaining his innocence, Kohberger entered a guilty plea earlier this month to the killings of Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, and Kaylee Goncalves. He was able to avoid a trial and the death penalty was removed thanks to the agreement with prosecutors, which has drawn conflicting responses from the relatives of the victims.
Gilbertson and Dahlinger agreed that one question may never be resolved: Why did he do it? Despite the fact that the sentence has permitted police to reveal a wealth of investigative records that offer much-needed insight into the crime.
Gilbertson says that investigators can clearly see that Kohberger was deeply interested in criminology and the psychology of murder.
Kaylee was hit by unknown object and Xana fought back
According to Gilbertson, Goncalves was hit in the face with an unidentified item, and it is still unclear how much she struggled with Kohberger, even though detectives are certain that a knife was used to murder all four victims.
According to Gilbertson, “it definitely looks like something else struck her to cause the marks that we saw that is not consistent with a fist.” Additionally, he said, there is no proof that she was gagged or shackled.
RELATED | The Goncalves family opposes the public release of documents, saying that we should know before the rest of the world does.
According to a newly made public preliminary postmortem report, Goncalves also suffered blunt force injuries and asphyxial injuries, although all of the victims had sharp force injuries. According to the document, she had been stabbed over 20 times, while her father claimed that she had been stabbed over 30 times during the killer’s sentencing on Wednesday.
Additionally, detectives have not located the knife, which they believe to be a Ka-Bar knife. At the site of the murders, a tan leather sheath for one of these weapons was discovered that contained Kohberger’s DNA.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, Goncalves’ sister spoke to Kohberger and told him, “Kaylee would have kicked your f****** a** if you hadn’t attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night like a pedophile.”
Prosecutors have stated that they think Kernodle was still conscious on the floor below the third story of the house when Kohberger was fatally stabbing Goncalves and Mogen. Gilbertson claimed that after a late night out, she was probably eating food that had been delivered.
We think she at least started toward the upstairs after hearing things happening on there. Gilbertson stated, “However, we don’t know how far she got or whether she went up the stairs or all the way up.”
According to the autopsy, Kernodle was stabbed more than fifty times, and many of her wounds were defensive, meaning she attempted to fend off her assailant. Kohberger also killed her lover, Chapin, who was sleeping in her bedroom, according to the prosecution.
She struggled. Dahlinger stated, “She fought back, and she fought hard.” Gilbertson went on to say, “The fight just continued as she resisted Kohberger.”
Courtroom Insider – After hearing heartfelt victim impact statements, Bryan Kohberger was given a prison sentence.
Xana’s father, Jeff Kernodle, claimed on Wednesday that he nearly visited his daughter’s house the night she was murdered. She warned him about drinking and driving, though, because he had been drinking. On Wednesday, he stated that he now wishes he had.
In court, he informed Kohbe rger, “You would have had to deal with me.”
Kaylee had been followed before her death
According to authorities, Goncalves had voiced concerns about being followed before to her passing, and her passing prompted hundreds of reports and bits of information regarding her having a stalker. Gilbertson affirmed that her suspicions were valid.
She had been followed, and I’m sure Kaylee thought it was true. Gilberson stated, “We looked into that thoroughly and found every bit of it.” Thankfully, it wasn’t what we would consider stalking.
Goncalves claimed that someone had followed her but never got in touch with her.
According to Gilbertson, it turned out to be a situation where someone observed a really attractive girl and hoped to speak with her, obtain a date, or do something else.
According to police in December 2022, detectives had discovered an October event in which two males were spotted at a company, and one of them seemed to follow Goncalves inside and out to her car. She was not contacted by the man.
After speaking with both guys, investigators discovered that they were attempting to meet ladies at the company. Investigators stated that they don’t think this was a stalking trend, but rather a singular event. They said there was no proof the men were responsible for the murders.
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