A law enforcement official announced Friday that a suspect in the murders of four University of Idaho students had been arrested in eastern Pennsylvania.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was detained for extradition to Idaho, where he is accused of first-degree murder, according to arrest documentation filed in Monroe County Court.
An official from law enforcement who spoke to The Associated Press under anonymity because they could not publicly discuss the specifics of the investigation before a formal announcement was anticipated later on Friday confirmed the arrest.
In the early hours of Nov. 13, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were fatally murdered at a rental house close to campus.
Law enforcement was initially baffled by the killings; for weeks, they could not identify a suspect or discover a murder weapon.
However, the case became public after police appealed for assistance in locating a white vehicle observed close to the house around the time of the killings.
The request was submitted on December 7 by the Moscow Police Department, and by the following day, a dedicated FBI contact center was required to handle the influx of tips.
They were close friends and members of the university’s Greek community: Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington.
The three-story rental house housed Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle, and two other roommates.
Chapin stayed at the residence that evening since he and Kernodle were dating.
According to autopsies, all four were most likely dozing off when they were attacked. Some were stabbed many times, and some had defensive wounds.
Police reported there was no evidence of a sexual assault.
To gather evidence starting Friday morning, police announced Thursday that the rental home would be cleaned of “possible biohazards and other dangerous substances.”
It was unclear how long the project would take, but a news release stated that the property management would receive the house back after it was finished.
The fatal stabbings rocked Moscow, Idaho, a farming city of about 25,000 people, including roughly 11,000 students, in the gently sloping hills of the Palouse region of northern Idaho.
Online sleuths who conjectured about potential culprits and motives were also drawn to the case.
Police made comparatively few public revelations throughout the early stages of the inquiry.
Nearly half of the University of Idaho students decided to transfer to online classes for the rest of the semester out of fear of another attack, leaving the generally tranquil town’s dorms and apartments in favor of the perceived protection of their hometowns.
Due to safety concerns, the university hired a second security company to accompany students across the campus.
The Idaho State Police dispatched troopers to assist with the street patrol.
The Pocono Mountains in eastern Pennsylvania are home to Monroe County. Stroudsburg, the county seat, is located 161 kilometers (100 miles) north of Philadelphia.
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