Four days after Bryan Kohberger broke into a home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, and brutally slaughtered four University of Idaho college students, Kohberger’s mother, Maryann Kohberger, sent her son an article describing how hard one victim, Xana Kernodle, fought back against her attacker.
Digital forensic experts Heather and Jared Barnhart, who examined Kohberger’s devices for the prosecution in the case, recently revealed this information in a NewsNation Banfield interview. According to Jared, as was often the case, Bryan spoke with his mother for hours that day, November 17, 2022. The murders happened at around 4 a.m. on November 12.
Kohberger was still in Pullman, Washington, near Moscow, when he received the text. Kohberger’s father, Michael Kohberger, flew to Pullman around December 13 to drive home to Pennsylvania, where Bryan was arrested on December 30.
The post-text phone call: What they talked about may never be known
Bryan Kohberger’s mother sent him article about Idaho murders https://t.co/fLmFp9DeWY
— Banfield on NewsNation (@BanfieldonNN) September 3, 2025
At one point, Jared said Bryan received a link from his mom, “basically describing how Xana had bruises on her body and how she had put up such a fight,” but Bryan didn’t respond. Official documents have confirmed Kernodle died from more than 50 stab wounds, many of which were defensive.
“Looking at the timeline a little bit, you can tell that they’re actually speaking on the phone. What that tells us, and we can assume, is that they were talking about the Idaho murders on that night, and then the next morning, there’s just kind of nothing,” Jared told the outlet.
Bryan took sophisticated steps to cover up his online activity, the Barnharts have confirmed, and may have deleted text messages with his mother.
The Barnharts have also confirmed Bryan saved his mom and dad’s phone numbers as “mother” and “father” in his phone, and often referred to them as such in text messages. Kohberger also spoke to his mother for hours in several different phone conversations the same day the murders happened.
Kohbergers parents: What they knew, and when they knew it
If his mum knew bout the murders and obviously kept it a secret from there conversation after what he did then she too should be charged
— johnny (@johnny171938631) September 3, 2025
Combined with Bryan’s frequent phone calls and texts with his mom, some online theories argue that Michael and Maryann may have known their son was guilty. According to some, Michael must have noticed something unusual during their December 2022 cross-country drive, like scratches, missing items, or Bryan’s demeanor.
A few posts have suggested that Bryan took a plea deal to shield his family from further scrutiny, especially if investigators believed his parents knew more than they revealed. This theory is largely fueled by court documents noting that FBI agents interviewed his parents during the investigation.
