On the night four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death inside their off-campus home, a white car prosecutors say was registered to suspect Bryan Kohberger was captured on video circling the house multiple times.
Investigators say the white Hyundai Elantra was a critical clue in their search for the suspect, which led them to Kohberger, who drove a white 2015 Hyundai Elantra. He was arrested six weeks after the November 13, 2022, killings and is set to stand trial this summer where he could face the death penalty if convicted.
As Kohberger prepares to face a jury, never-before-seen surveillance video obtained by Dateline NBC emerged Thursday, which appears to track the movements of the suspect on the fateful night that rocked the small community of Moscow.
In the video, the white car approaches the house and then circles the block several times before it drives up to the house a second time. Thirteen minutes later, it speeds off.
The footage is part of a batch of evidence prosecutors say links Kohberger to the crime scene, including cell phone data and his
On an all-new, two-hour Dateline special that airs at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on Friday, material obtained by the news outlet, including cell phone tower data and phone records, allegedly maps out Kohberger’s movements around the time of the killings.
One of the documents indicated that an FBI cell phone expert said Kohberger’s phone connected to a cell tower providing coverage within 100 meters of the rented off-campus house, NBC News reported. There were 23 visits over four months, all after dark, according to the records.
Data collected from Kohberger’s phone revealed chilling Internet searches he had allegedly made before and after the killings, which included searches on serial killer Ted Bundy and for pornography with the words “forced,” “passed out,” “drugged,” and “sleeping.”
Friday’s episode will also feature interviews with students as they recount their interactions with Kohberger, who was a criminology graduate student at Washington State University.
Former graduate student Holly told Dateline’s Keith Morrison that she met Kohberger at a pool party in July 2022, just months before the Idaho murders.
“I was kind of mingling and socializing and started chatting with this guy, and he had told me that he had just moved and he was starting his
“I definitely felt a little obligated to chat with him, because to me, he seemed a little awkward. Kind of like you might expect for a PhD student who didn't know anyone at the party and was maybe trying his best to kind of get out there and be social and make friends.”
They talked about a hiking group that Holly was part of and eventually exchanged numbers.
“He had put his number into my phone and then I had texted him my name,” she said.
The next day, she got a message from Kohberger.
Hey I am pretty sure we spoke about hiking trips yesterday. I really enjoy that activity so please let me know. Thanks!
“The wording of the text, as I look back on it, is kind of peculiar,” she said. “It was almost overly formal.”
Other students who had interactions with Kohberger are also featured in the Dateline special, giving an inside look into the case that has been shrouded in mystery, with little information being released over the past two years.
A gag order has prevented many people who are involved in the case from speaking publicly.
In May 2023, five months after Kohberger’s arrest, a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Kohberger faces four counts of murder and one count of burglary in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Two surviving roommates who were there the night of the murders will testify at trial.
Defense lawyers have said Kohberger maintains his innocence and mentioned the possibility of an “alternate suspect.”
They have claimed that Kohberger would take drives alone late at night, often stargazing, but argue cell phone data shows he was not near the crime scene when the killings occurred.
Earlier this week, Judge Steven Hippler ruled that Kohberger’s immediate family members may attend his trial even if they could be called to testify.
Kohberger’s trial is expected to start with jury selection on July 30 and opening statements slated for August 11.
