Idaho murders – update: Victim’s family appeals gag order as FBI denies losing track of Bryan Kohberger

Several students have recalled seeing Bryan Kohberger – a PhD student at Washington State University – on the University of Idaho campus in the weeks before the murders.

Three separate students told People that they believe they saw him in the Student Union building, with one saying he was sitting “staring” at people.

“It was really early in the semester,” sophomore student Chelsea said. “He was at the food court, drinking water. He sat by himself.”

“He was the type to stare. He wouldn’t look away if you caught him staring. Like he wanted you to notice that he was looking at you. He didn’t smile, didn’t nod, didn’t say anything. Just stared.”

Chelsea said that his behaviour prompted her to point him out to a friend.

“I told my friend to not be suspicious but to look at him, because the eye contact was making me uncomfortable,” she said. “It was so weird that we ended up leaving and eating outside, because we wanted to get away from him.”

Another student told the outlet she recognised Mr Kohberger after his arrest as she had seen him often around the campus – despite the fact that he did not go to UI.

“It’s not a huge school; it’s like a small town,” she said.

“So you start seeing the same faces again and again. They become familiar, like you know that you’ve seen them in class or around campus. I definitely saw him more than once. He was just really quiet and really intense, staring. He made me uncomfortable.”

No connection is yet known between the suspect and the victims.

Bryan Kohberger’s distinct eyebrows may have been among the first in a string of details that linked him to the Idaho murders, according to a new report.

Air Mail’s “The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two” offers a vivid description of the Moscow police hunt for evidence that would ultimately materialise in Mr Kohberger’s arrest for the murders of four University of Idaho students, based on an affidavit released earlier this month and sources close to the investigation,

According to the report, a lead investigator first had an inkling that Mr Kohberger would become a suspect in the crime after he ran the Washington State University PhD student’s licence plate and noticed his “bushy eyebrows”.

One of the surviving roommates at the 1122 King Road home had recounted how she unknowingly saw her friends’ killer leaving the scene before going back into her room in a state of shock. The woman said the killer was wearing a mask, but his “bushy eyebrows” stood out to her.

One of the surviving roommates at the 1122 King Road home said the killer was wearing a mask, but his “bushy eyebrows” stood out

The FBI has denied claims that it “lost” accused mass killer Bryan Kohberger while he was under surveillance for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.

Surveillance teams had been tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a “person of interest” in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

But, law enforcement sources told Air Mail’s “The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two”, that in the early hours of 13 December, Mr Kohberger set off on a cross-country drive with his father from Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania and the surveillance team “lost” him.

However, on Thursday an FBI spokesperson denied the shocking account calling it “false information” which “is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public”.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:

Sources told Air Mail that the accused mass killer ‘vanished’ for several hours as he drove from Washington to his home state of Pennsylvania

Bryan Kohberger is believed to have followed all three slain female University of Idaho victims on Instagram and “repeatedly” messaged one of them prior to the brutal stabbings, according to a report.

An investigator familiar with the case told People that the 28-year-old criminology PhD student followed the accounts of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle but neither of them followed him back.

Then, in late-October – around two weeks before the 13 November slayings – Mr Kohberger allegedly messaged one of the victims “repeatedly” on the social media platform, the source said.

It is unclear which of the three female students was the recipient or if she even saw the messages.

However, the source said that the victim did not respond to Mr Kohberger’s messages.

“He slid into one of the girls’ DMs several times but she didn’t respond,” the investigator said.

“Basically, it was just him saying, ‘Hey, how are you?’ But he did it again and again.”

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo – none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived.

Alanna Zabel tells The Independent’s Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events:

There are many chilling similarities between the murders of four Idaho students in November and a 1992 attack at a student home in Buffalo – none more so than the experiences of the roommates who survived. Alanna Zabel tells Rachel Sharp why she feels the need to defend the surviving roommate in Idaho and how she understands the way trauma can shape reactions to such horrifying events

It will be another six months before Bryan Kohberger and the families of his alleged victims come face to face in court again, after his preliminary hearing was postponed until the summer.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student could face the death penalty if convicted when he eventually goes on trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – the four students who were found violently stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on 13 November.

For more than six weeks, the murders remained a mystery and left the small college town racked by fear.

Then, on 30 December, Mr Kohberger was arrested 2,500 miles away at his family home in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of murder and one charge of burglary.

Details about the murders and his alleged role in them were laid out in the damning probable cause affidavit released earlier this month.

But just how strong is the case against him? What can we expect next from the defence and the prosecution? And why has Mr Kohberger’s attorney requested evidence about a co-defendant?

Duncan Levin, a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office who has no official connection to the Idaho murders case, speaks to The Independent about the strength of the criminal case and what to expect next as it makes it way through the courts:

EXCLUSIVE: Prominent attorney Duncan Levin speaks to Rachel Sharp about the case against Bryan Kohberger and what to expect for the next moves from the defence and the prosecution

Rader —who gave himself the title of the BTK killer because he bound and tortured his victims before killing them — is serving ten consecutive life sentences in a maximum security prison in Kansas after he confessed in 2005 to killing 10 people over a span of three decades.

In an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Rader said he understands how Mr Kohberger must feel while in solitary confinement at Latah County Jail ahead of his preliminary hearing on 26 June.

“Since I spent from February 2005 to April 2005 in a cell by myself, I know how he feels. Very lonely,” Rader told the outlet, adding that his situation improved when he was allowed to receive mail. “And soon letters started to come in ... [I] read a lot of the Bible and wrote poetry.”

Andrea Blanco has the story:

Rader and Kohberger were first linked via the latter’s former criminology professor

An unsealed search warrant revealed the evidence that was seized from Bryan Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman and his office at Washington State University (WSU) during searches in late December.

- one nitrite type black glove

- one Walmart receipt with one Dickie’s tag

- dust container from a vacuum

- multiple possible hair and hair strands

- one possible animal hair strands

- two cuttings from uncased pillow of reddish/brown stain

- two top and bottom mattress cover with multiple stains

- items with a ‘dark red spot’

The FBI has denied claims that it “lost” accused mass killer Bryan Kohberger while he was under surveillance for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.

Surveillance teams had been tasked with keeping eyes on the 28-year-old criminology PhD student after he became a “person of interest” in the 13 November murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

But, law enforcement sources told Air Mail’s “The Eyes of a Killer: Part Two”, that in the early hours of 13 December, Mr Kohberger set off on a cross-country drive with his father from Washington State University (WSU) to his family home in Pennsylvania and the surveillance team “lost” him.

However, on Thursday an FBI spokesperson denied the shocking account calling it “false information” which “is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public”.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the story:

Sources told Air Mail that the accused mass killer ‘vanished’ for several hours as he drove from Washington to his home state of Pennsylvania

Court filings show the suspect’s defence attorney’s has now responded to the state’s request for discovery in the case.

In a court filing on 30 January, public defender Anne Taylor writes that the defence so far has no evidence to turn over such as books, documents, papers and photos.

There are also no results or reports of mental or physical exams or tests, the documents state.