Paramount+ documentary series, #Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders, as the names suggests, focuses on the Idaho murder case involving the deaths of four university students that took place on the fateful night of November 13, 2022. This three-part documentary not only delves deeper into the murder mystery and sheds light on the real culprit, but also brings forth the changes in modern crime investigation with so many common people using social media to seize the opportunity to become famous. The documentary deals with these cybersleuths and TikTok influencers who took it as a mission to identify the perpetrator of the crime, but at the end of the day, the authorities came up with their prime suspect, Bryan Kohberger, who was later charged with four counts of murder and a felony burglary charge. Apart from the actual highlight of the series, which is the cybersleuths and their independent investigations, let’s talk about Bryan Kohberger to know why he became a prime suspect in the case and what exactly happened to him.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did The Police Capture Bryan Kohberger?
It was a horrifying site to whomsoever who discovered the dead bodies of four young students of Idaho University. Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and a student named Madison Mogen were brutally murdered in cold blood whose dead bodies were found at an off-campus rental place in Idaho on November 13, 2022. The roommates in another room were unable to hear any screams or any unusual sounds, so it took them a long time to spot the dead bodies and call 911. Initially, the police maintained silence regarding any suspects and carried on the inquest without involving the media. One year later, in Pennsylvania, the police found 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger at his parents’ house and arrested him. The arrest of Bryan Kohberger shocked the media and especially the web sleuths who were pouring their hearts and souls into the case to solve it. While many influencers and sleuths were accusing random people from the neighborhood of the crime scene, the police relied on evidence and managed to bring the criminal to justice. However, Bryan Kohberger denied his involvement in the murder.
Bryan Kohberger had studied criminology at DeSales University and completed his graduation. He was also a PhD student in the criminal justice department at Washington State University, so his educational background made a lot of people question his motive for the killings. This brought forth two kinds of theories: firstly, that this man with a PhD in criminology was so attracted to crime that he committed these heinous murders, or, being a student of criminal justice, it was impossible for him to commit such a crime because he knew what the consequences would be. However, no one knew which theory to believe.
A few months before the arrest, the police managed to find that Bryan used to live at a rental apartment in Pullman during the time when he committed the killing. Even though the police had evidence against Bryan to make the arrest, Bryan’s friends, parents, and other associates claimed that it was impossible to imagine that this man had committed these crimes. Some DNA samples collected from a knife sheath found on the scene matched the one collected from Bryan Kohberger’s parents house in Pennsylvania. Not only the DNA but also surveillance footage showed a white Hyundai Elantra passing by the neighborhood of Idaho, where the killings took place. This Hyundai Elantra belonged to Bryan Kohberger, which was strong evidence against him. Moreover, the detectives obtained a search warrant for the phone records as well and found that on the day of the murder, Bryan’s phone’s location was near Pullman, Washington, around afternoon. However, later, the phone stopped reporting the location, as Bryan might have turned off his phone.
The roommates who were present at the rental place became the initial suspects in the case; no one called 911 right away after spotting something unusual. However, later, the roommates were ruled out of suspicion when one of the roommates spelled out that she had seen a mysterious figure nearby their house. The figure was a masked man with bushy eyebrows, but she failed to recognize who it was. Furthermore, the authorities couldn’t find a murder weapon that could directly link the murders to Bryan. The most puzzling thing to discover was the motive behind these killings because, most likely, Bryan didn’t know any of his victims personally as per the police investigation.
Where Is Bryan Now?
The police evidence brought Bryan Kohberger to Latah County District Court in the previous year for the hearing. The prosecution showed the evidence, but it wasn’t enough to prove him guilty. However, a grand jury had already indicted Bryan on the charges of the four murders and burglary, but Bryan had denied his involvement in the murders or any burglary, maintaining his innocence. His response led the judge to enter a non-guilty plea and schedule another court hearing where the prosecution would have to show strong evidence against him to prove his involvement in the crime. If found guilty, then Bryan might get the death penalty for the heinous crimes he committed.
The next court hearing was scheduled for October last year, but as Bryan had waived the speedy trial, the date of the hearing had been delayed and rescheduled this year during the summer. Not only that, but Bryan also demanded that no cameras be allowed in the courtroom, but the judge denied his request. Up until now, there has been no fixed date for the hearing to take place this year, and Bryan Kohberger is still in jail in Latah County and waiting for his next date of trial.
A well-educated man like Bryan Kohberger, who hails from a decent family with no criminal history, doesn’t seem to have any particular motive behind killing these young students. But some believe that Bryan Kohberger probably intended to sexually assault Kaylee Goncalves or Madison Mogen, driven by arousal, but as there were four of them at the wrong time, he slayed all four. His killings were motivated by his hatred or jealousy against these young people, which brought the monster out in him. Let’s hope the police can find some strong evidence against the criminal to make sure that the man will never be able to get out of prison or think about committing such heinous crimes.
