Bryan Kohberger stopped police interview after question about Idaho murders

The prime suspect in the murder of four University of Idaho students initially agreed to speak to police, but reportedly stopped the interview after he began asking about the murders.

According to a Monday report by Law & Crime, a legal affairs website, Kohberger initially waived his right to an attorney after he was arrested in a rural Pennsylvania town, where he was apprehended by law enforcement. local in the early hours of December 30.

Facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in connection with the November deaths of the four students in Moscow, Idaho, Kohberger first spoke to law enforcement between five and 15 minutes to the Pennsylvania State Police barracks after its early morning. Stop.

However, after being questioned about the murders, Kohberger apparently requested an attorney, according to the public defender representing him in Pennsylvania, who said he was “shocked” by the allegations.

“Mr. Kohberger has been charged with very serious crimes, but the American justice system covers him with a veil of innocence,” Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar wrote in a statement after his arrest. “He should be presumed innocent until proven guilty – not tried in the court of public opinion.”

“Mr. Kohberger is eager to be cleared of these charges and looks forward to resolving these matters as quickly as possible,” he added.

Police say Kohberger broke into a shared residence where college students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were present “with the intent to commit murder” before driving to Pennsylvania in a white Hyundai, where he was apprehended around 2 am on December 30.

Kohberger was reportedly on law enforcement’s radar long before he left Idaho, police said, as they closely tracked his movements until they established probable cause to arrest him.

While little is known about Kohberger, the national press has focused on his relationship with a former professor who specializes in the psychology of serial killers. At the time of his arrest, Kohberger held a doctorate. student and teaching assistant in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University.

Police relied on a mixture of DNA evidence — which they traced back to Kohberger’s family using genetic genealogy — along with cellphone tracking data to narrow the list of suspects down to to him, CNN reported.

Kohberger’s family largely declined to comment on specific details about the allegations, issuing a statement on Sunday saying they were waiting for all available evidence to be considered by a court.

“We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother,” they wrote. “We have cooperated fully with law enforcement with the goal of seeking the truth and promoting his presumption of innocence rather than judging unknown facts and making wrong assumptions.”

Kohberger’s extradition hearing is set for Tuesday afternoon in Monroe County, Pennsylvania at 3:30 p.m. ET, after which he is likely to return to Idaho.