Investigation into the killings of four University of Idaho students in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the early morning hours of February 4th epoch of robbery
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A suspect in the killings of four University of Idaho students was arrested in eastern Pennsylvania, a law enforcement official said Friday.
It takes a long time to piece together the events that transpired, according to the communications director for Idaho State Police. “A lot of this the public doesn’t get to see because it’s a criminal investigation. But I guarantee you behind the scenes, there’s so much work going on.”
The small town of Moscow, Idaho, is a farming community with about 25,000 people, including 11,000 students, and is tucked in the rolling hills of the northern Idaho’s Palouse region.
Much of the information in the case will eventually be used for prosecution and cannot be put into the public eye, at risk of impeding justice at the very end, Snell said.
Moscow police initially told the public that the attack was targeted, with no further threat to the public. But by day four, Police Chief Jason Fry adjusted that statement: “We cannot say that there is no threat to the community.”
Snell acknowledges the early messaging may have been off, given that the roughly 30 members of the Moscow Police Department all initially responded to the crime scene, with no dedicated public information staff within the department.
Police are looking at hundreds of leads in addition to files of video from the early morning hours when they believe the murders happened.
Other angles are taking longer to investigate. Law enforcement asked businesses in the area to help with the investigation because it’s believed a fixed-blade knife was used in the attack on the students. Businesses in the area have not supplied information on whether a knife matching that description was purchased or obtained.
It is always wise for people to lock their doors, be alert of what they are doing and walk in pairs. There is somebody or some people out there somewhere that are murderers, and we want to find them and bring them to justice,” Snell said.
He said there could potentially be more than one person responsible for the killings. He said police believed it to be a targeted attack because of the evidence found at the scene and the fact that two people survived.
Moscow Police Department thanked by the Chapin family for assisting with the investigation of the stabbings at Dicke High School, Idaho, Tuesday afternoon
The University of Idaho will allow students to finish the semester in person or on the go after the fall break, according to the president.
In his message, University of Idaho President Scott Green said, “Faculty have been asked to prepare in-person teaching and remote learning options so that each student can choose their method of engagement for the final two weeks of the semester. Moving courses fully online is not preferred but may be necessary in limited situations.”
The Moscow Police Department were thanked by the Chapin family at a memorial on Monday evening.
“As people are out there and they’re talking about this case, the public sentiment changes,” Snell said. They are confused. They’re upset. We want to make sure that the truth is out there and that we don’t talk about it too much.
The police said in a post Tuesday that they had not been able to verify or identify the stalker despite investigating hundreds of pieces of information.
Earlier, police said the surviving roommates and friends who made the 911 call and spoke to dispatchers have been excluded from involvement as suspects. A man seen on video standing near two of the victims was not identified as a suspect or the driver who took some of the victims home.
Moscow Police said Monday a dog was found at the home of the stabbings, but “the dog was unharmed and turned over to Animal Services and then released to a responsible party.”
An Idaho man allegedly arrested in jail and charged with first degree murder in the November 13th shooting incident at a Washington State University off-campus house
Arrest paperwork filed in Monroe County Court said a man was in jail and wanted for first degree murder in Idaho.
A law enforcement official confirmed the arrest to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official could not publicly discuss details of the investigation ahead of a formal announcement expected later Friday.
A Ph.D. student by the same name is listed in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University, which is a short drive across the state line from the University of Idaho. The officials at WSU received messages requesting more information.
Four students were stabbed to death in the early morning hours of November 13th at an off-campus house.
But the case broke open after law enforcement asked the public for help finding a white sedan seen near the home around the time of the killings. A special FBI call center was set up to get tips after the Moscow Police Department made the request.
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, were members of the university’s Greek system and close friends. Three people lived in a three-story home with two other people. He was going to visit the house where Kernodle and Chapin were dating.
Kohberger, the man who allegedly murdered four university students in Idaho, was arrested in connection with the killings of four students in November 2018
The four were likely sleeping when they were attacked. Some had defensive wounds and were stabbed multiple times. Police said there was no sign of sexual assault.
Police said Thursday the rental home would be cleared of “potential biohazards and other harmful substances” to collect evidence starting Friday morning. The news release said the house would be returned to the property manager upon completion, but it was not clear how long it would take.
The case also enticed online sleuths who speculated about potential suspects and motives. Police only released a few details in the early days of the investigation.
Fears of a repeat attack prompted nearly half of the University of Idaho students to switch to online classes for the remainder of the semester, abandoning dorms and apartments in the normally bucolic town for the perceived safety of their hometowns. The Idaho State Police were also brought in to help patrol the city’s streets due to safety concerns, and the university also hired another security firm to escort students.
The man arrested in connection with the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death in November attended a nearby university that is close to where the victims were found.
A spokesperson for Northampton Community College also confirmed to CNN that Kohberger was a student there and graduated with an Associate of Arts and Psychology in 2018.
University police assisted authorities in executing search warrants at his office and apartment, both located on the school’s Pullman campus, the statement added.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and earlier this year completed his “graduate studies for the master of arts in criminal justice program,” according to a university spokesperson.
The post that was taken down from reddit.com was related to a research project that wanted to understand how emotions and psychological quirks influence decision-making when committing crime.
CNN contacted one of the main investigators of that study, a professor at DeSales University, but he declined to comment. The university has not responded to comment.
The case of Kohberger: a new beginning for the investigation and the search for a suspect in the Latah County Jail
Two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation said that investigators narrowed their focus to Kohberger after tracing the ownership of the car to him.
His DNA also matched DNA that was recovered at the crime scene, according to the sources, who also explained that authorities believe Kohberger left the area and went to Pennsylvania after the crime.
Police from Moscow, Idaho State Police and the FBI worked together to develop probable cause for the arrest warrant.
“This is not the end of this investigation, in fact, this is a new beginning,” Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said Friday. Please get the name of the individual who has been charged with these crimes out there and ask anyone who knows about this person to come forward.
To help investigators and the courts understand what happened and why, report anything you know about him, according to Thompson.