Criminology Ph.D Student Arrested for the Stabbing Murders of 4 University of Idaho Students

A recent criminal justice graduate who was studying for his Ph.D. has been arrested in connection to the brutal slayings of four University of Idaho students.

On Friday, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger was taken into custody near the Pocono Mountains in Monroe County, Philadelphia. He is scheduled to be extradited to Idaho on January 3rd. The decorated scholar is accused of stabbing 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, 21-year-old Madison Mogen, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin. Police believe each victim was asleep when Kohberger began attacking them, though some are believed to have awakened and fought back. The medical examiner observed defensive wounds that confirmed this.

The slayings, which occurred off campus on November 13th, have rocked the small town of Moscow. Students and faculty of the university have remained on edge as fears of a serial killer loomed.

What is most disturbing about the murders is that Kohberger may have studied ways to get away with them. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from DeSales University in 2020 before earning his master’s degree in criminal justice from the school. Kohberger was most recently enrolled in a Ph.D program at Washington State University, where he was studying criminology. Several months ago, he took part in a research project that required him to contact people who have been arrested to “understand the story” behind their arrests with an emphasis on “thoughts and feelings” surrounding the incidents.

After Kohberger was jailed, he was removed from Washington State’s Ph.D program website.

No motive has been released in the murders, and it is unknown if Kohberger had any prior connections to the victims.