FBI agents have returned to collect more evidence from the house where Bryan Kohberger allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students after an order for its demolition was delayed.
Investigators descended on the house in Moscow last week to take precise measurements of each room for 3D modeling that can be presented to the jury when the grisly case eventually goes to trial.
The university, which now owns the building, planned to demolish it after the hearing got underway but that has been delayed by Kohberger’s decision to waive his right to a speedy trial, allowing the FBI to build more of a case.
It also means jurors may be spared a visit to the house that was said to be ‘dripping in blood’ and might have been ruled out if Kohberger’s attorneys believed it would prejudice his defense.
‘Visual displays take months to build and were not feasible under the timeline of an October trial,’ the university said in a statement.
Last week, FBI agents return to collect more evidence the house where four University of Idaho students were murdered in November 2022
Bryan Kohberger, 28, could face the death penalty of convicted when his case comes to trial
Kohberger is the only suspect in the quadruple murders of Maddie Mogen (top) Kaylee Goncalves (second from left) Xana Kernodle (second from right) and Ethan Chapin (center) – all students at the University of Idaho – who were knifed to death on November 13, 2022 in the quiet, college town of Moscow
‘While the measurements and details needed to build a model were taken at the time of the initial investigation, the FBI is using this extended trial timeline to gather their own measurements and images now that the personal property has been removed from the premises,’ it added.
The former criminology student has been in jail since he was apprehended during a raid on his parents’ Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, home on December 30 before being flown back to Idaho in a small Pilatus PC-12 turboprop plane on January 4.
Prosecutors in the Gem State are looking to prove Kohberger, 28, broke into the group’s shared home in the early hours of November 13 last year before savagely murdering 21-year-old Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, also 21, and 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
He had his latest bid for freedom denied on October 26 after he failed to have his indictment for murder overturned due to what he said were incorrect Grand Jury instructions.
Five days later, a judge granted his attorneys a request that will allow them to review genetic genealogy evidence compiled against their client.
The defense previously revealed that they would be contesting the notion that Kohberger’s DNA was left at the scene on the knife sheath. They also claim that DNA from three other unidentified men was also found at the Idaho crime scene.
The defense also wants more information on how the FBI used the DNA to create family trees that led them to Kohberger and his father in Scranton for his early-morning arrest.
The agents spent two days at the house in Moscow taking precise measurements for a detailed 3D model which may go before the jury
Boards protecting the house from intruders were removed before the agents went in
Floral tributes still dot the site of the killings which will eventually feature a permanent memorial to those who were murdered
Kohberger has been locked up at the Latah County Jail, with prison sources telling DailyMail.com he spends his time obsessing over TV coverage of the case and has turned to God – meeting with a local pastor every Sunday.
The November 2022 killings shocked the tiny college town of Moscow which had not seen a single murder for seven years when Madison, Kaylee, Ethan and Xana were found dead in their beds.
Police initially appeared to be stumped by the murders and issued a series of contradictory statements over whether the students had been targeted and whether the public was at risk.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, they released a photo of a white Hyundai Elantra and a plea for further information about the vehicle’s movements and owner.
The car turned out to belong to Kohberger who, in an extraordinary twist, was pulled over twice while driving the vehicle back to Pennsylvania in early December.
Detectives found a Ka-Bar knife sheath on the bed with the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves. The sheath was partially under Mogen’s body and the comforter on the bed, according to court documents filed on June 16. DNA found on the sheath failed to produce any matches on the FBI database of previous offenders, so investigators commissioned a private lab to search it against publicly available genealogy databases, similar to sites such as AncestryDNA. Investigators then built a family tree of hundreds of relatives ‘using the same tools and methods used by members of the public who wish to learn more about their ancestors’, a court filing said. This exercise prompted the FBI to send a tip to local law enforcement to investigate Kohberger
Since his arrest, it has emerged that loner Kohberger had battled heroin addiction in his teens and early twenties and was banned from a bar near his parents’ home due to his creepy behavior towards women.
Police sources have since said that following his move to Pullman, Washington, to pursue a PHD in criminology, he applied to work for the Washington State University police department – but was turned down.
Fellow students said he took an unusual amount of interest in the Moscow murder case and described his ‘sexist’ attitude towards women in his classes.
As a result of his ‘rude behavior’ towards women and his penchant for grading them differently, he was fired by his professor at the WSU criminology department John Snyder on December 19 – just days before his arrest for murder.
A Dateline report provided further evidence of his bizarre behavior with a female friend at WSU claiming he broke into her home a month before the murders and moved her possessions about to make her feel ‘uneasy’.
She also said she had asked him to set up security cameras to help her catch the person who had moved her belongings – only to belatedly realize he was the culprit and, chillingly, had enjoyed access to the footage.
Kohberger is believed to have meticulously planned the murders of Madison, Kaylee, Ethan and Xana, with a probable cause affidavit noting that he had repeatedly visited the area around their home prior to the killings.
The document also said his DNA was found on a KA-BAR knife sheath found next to the bodies of Kaylee and Madison, and that he was seen in the home by roommate Dylan Mortensen, 19.
Kaylee and Madison were discovered dead in bed next to each other, while Ethan and Xana were found on the floor below, with Xana discovered slumped over on the floor of her bedroom.
According to the document, survivors Mortensen and Bethany Funke heard something of what happened, with Mortensen telling cops she heard Goncalves say ‘there’s someone here’ at approximately 4am.
Ten minutes later, she heard a thud and crying from Xana’s room and a male voice saying ‘it’s ok, I’m going to help you’.
At 4:17am, a dog was captured barking loudly on a neighbor’s security camera. Around the same time, Mortensen said she opened her bedroom door again and saw a tall male with bushy eyebrows leaving through the sliding glass doors at the back of the home.
The manner in which the killer navigated the three-story home to kill the four students – who were sleeping in separate rooms and floors – in the early hours of a November morning has raised questions about his motives
Police have consistently claimed that the attack appeared to have been targeted – but have refused to say why or if they believe Kohberger had help
The former criminology student smiled at his attorney but there is still no date set for his trial
Bryan Kohberger has been in Latah County Jail since he was flown back to Idaho from his father’s house in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Investigators were seen in January removing a bloodied mattress from the home where four University of Idaho were murdered in November
She described how she had been ‘frozen in shock’ as the black-clad male walked towards her and said she locked herself in her room after he left.
A shoe print was later found outside her door.
The affidavit also reveals that Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra was captured on camera near the scene before being seen driving rapidly away from the home towards Pullman at approximately 4.20am.
Police rapidly connected the vehicle to Kohberger and noted the similarity between his appearance and Mortensen’s description of the intruder at the rental home.
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