Bryan Kohberger, who is suspected of killing four students from the University of Idaho in November, was pulled over in December as he was traveling cross-country with his father to his family home in Pennsylvania, body camera footage shows.
Body camera footage released by Indiana State Police shows a surprised Kohberger in the driver’s seat, after a trooper stopped the white Hyundai Elantra in Hancock County, Indiana, at around 10:50 a.m. on Dec. 15.
“When you were driving by me there you were a little too close to the back of the semi,” the state trooper can be heard telling Kohberger and his father, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
Kohberger, 28, then told the trooper that a local sheriff’s deputy had just pulled him over nine minutes before.
“I’m not going to give you guys another ticket or warning if you just got stopped. Just make sure you’re giving yourself plenty of room,” the state trooper said.
Police had been looking for a vehicle similar to that of Kohberger’s since Dec. 7. According to authorities, a white 2011–2013 Hyundai Elantra with an unknown license plate was seen at the time and in the vicinity of the residence where the Idaho stabbings took place.
“At the time of this stop, there was no information available on a suspect for the crime in Idaho, to include identifying information or any specific information related to the license plate state or number of the white Hyundai Elantra which was being reported in the media to have been seen in or around where the crime occurred,” Indiana State Police said in a statement.
Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University, has since been arrested in eastern Pennsylvania on Dec. 30 while on his way to the family’s home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. His father had joined him on the 2,500-mile trip from Washington following the end of the fall semester.
Kohberger now faces murder charges for the deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen.
Tuesday’s court hearing saw Kohberger waiving extradition and was returned back on Wednesday to Moscow, Idaho, for sentencing within the next 10 days, after he was given the opportunity to return voluntarily, the Moscow Police Department said.
“Upon Kohberger’s return to Idaho, he will be served with the Idaho arrest warrant for four counts of First Degree Murder and one count of Burglary. Once that arrest warrant is returned to the court, the probable cause affidavit will be unsealed,” the police department added.
Kohberger’s residence on Washington State University’s campus is about a 15-minute drive from the murder location at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho.
Investigators identified Kohberger as the suspect nearly seven weeks after the murders, which occurred on Nov. 13. According to officials, his DNA had been matched to that discovered at the murder site.
Investigators are still looking for the murder weapon. No further details about the case have been revealed as of yet, including whether Kohberger knew the victims.
“These murders have shaken our community and no arrest will ever bring back these young students. However, we do believe justice will be found through the criminal process, “ Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry told the media at a news conference.
Last November’s killings came as a shock to the small community of Moscow. It’s the first murder to happen in the college town in seven years. The community is on high alert and the case prompted many questions about the investigation and its pace.
