Idaho murders: Suspect threw out trash in neighbors' bins in middle of the night, source says
Federal investigators saw Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger throw out garbage into neighbors' trash bins in the middle of the night as they surveilled him in Pennsylvania in the days leading up to his arrest, a law enforcement source told ABC News.
Kohberger, 28, was arrested on Dec. 30 in his home state of Pennsylvania. Kohberger, a Ph.D. student in Washington State's department of criminal justice and criminology at the time, was visiting his family in Pennsylvania over winter break.
The local FBI field office was first made aware of Kohberger’s presence in the region on Dec. 22, the source said. FBI agents surveilled his parents' home in Albrightsville for four days before he was arrested, the source said.
Kohberger, who has since been extradited back to Idaho, was charged with first-degree murder and burglary for the killings of four University of Idaho students.
Roommates Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, as well as Kernodle's boyfriend Ethan Chapin, were all stabbed to death in the girls' home between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. on Nov. 13. Two other roommates survived.
One of the survivors told police that night "she heard who she thought was Goncalves say something to the effect of 'there's someone here,'" according to court documents. But that could have been Kernodle on her phone because records showed she was on TikTok at about 4:12 a.m., the document said.
The roommate said "she looked out of her bedroom but did not see anything when she heard the comment about someone being in the house," the documents said. "She opened her door a second time when she heard what she thought was crying coming from Kernodle's room."
The roommate "then said she heard a male voice say something to the effect of 'it's ok, I'm going to help you,'" according to the documents.
The roommate said she opened her door again when she heard the crying, and that's when she saw a man in black clothes and a mask walking past her in the house, according to court documents. The roommate locked herself in her room after seeing him, the documents said.
Kohberger has not entered a plea. His next status hearing is Jan. 12.
