{"id":29928,"date":"2025-07-03T19:04:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T19:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=29928"},"modified":"2025-07-03T19:04:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T19:04:32","slug":"bryan-kohberger-prosecutors-lay-out-evidence-and-discuss-question-of-motive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=29928","title":{"rendered":"Bryan Kohberger Prosecutors Lay Out Evidence \u2014 and Discuss Question of Motive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"article-subheading text-utility-300\">After Bryan Kohberger confessed to killing four University of Idaho students, the state&#8217;s lead prosecutor details the evidence against him in court<\/h3>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-callout mntl-sc-block-universal-callout theme-needtoknow\" data-tracking-id=\"mntl-sc-block-callout\" data-tracking-container=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-callout__heading\">NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<div class=\"mntl-sc-block-universal-callout__body\">\n<ul>\n<li>Bryan Kohberger, 30, confessed to murdering four University of Idaho students in court on July 2 after striking a deal with prosecutors<\/li>\n<li>After confessing to the murders, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson presented some of the evidence gathered in the case against Kohberger<\/li>\n<li>Thompson said that the investigation had failed to link Kohberger to any of his four victims and there is no evidence they ever interacted before the night of the murders<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The case against Bryan Kohberger may not have been as strong as expected, and now some questions about the crime may never be answered.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_3-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/bryan-kohberger-murder-details-how-he-got-inside-who-he-targeted-revealed-in-court-11765624\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">shared details of the investigation<\/a>\u00a0into the murders of four University of Idaho students and summarized the case prosecutors planned to present at trial in court on July 2.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_5-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">He made his remarks after Kohberger\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/bryan-kohberger-pleads-guilty-to-murders-of-4-students-11765363\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">confessed to the murders of four University of Idaho students:<\/a>\u00a0Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_7-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_8-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">That confession marked the end of a nearly three-year-long case that began in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, when the four victims were brutally stabbed to death in their off-campus home.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_9-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block collapsed\">\n<div id=\"mm-ads-native-fluid_1-0\" class=\"comp mm-ads-native-fluid mm-ads-native \" data-right-rail-index=\"2\">\n<div id=\"mm-ads-native__adunit_1-0\" class=\"comp mm-ads-native__adunit mm-ads-gpt-dynamic-adunit mm-ads-gpt-adunit scads-to-load gpt native dynamic js-immediate-ad js-immediate-ad-loaded\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"mntl-sc-block_10-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme figure-landscape figure-high-res\">\n<div class=\"figure-media\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"mntl-sc-block-image_1-0\" class=\"mntl-image mntl-image universal-image__image lazyloadwait lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/PiwqNIfyGvWkHkPJ22mx7lq3S5c=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(751x164:753x166):format(webp)\/idaho-murder-victims-Ethan-Chapin-Xana-Kernodle-Madison-Mogen-and-Kaylee-Goncalves-111722-9de2e460a9aa44759bd274fab0d9ae13.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, 4000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/PiwqNIfyGvWkHkPJ22mx7lq3S5c=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(751x164:753x166):format(webp)\/idaho-murder-victims-Ethan-Chapin-Xana-Kernodle-Madison-Mogen-and-Kaylee-Goncalves-111722-9de2e460a9aa44759bd274fab0d9ae13.jpg 4000w\" alt=\"Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" data-src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/PiwqNIfyGvWkHkPJ22mx7lq3S5c=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(751x164:753x166):format(webp)\/idaho-murder-victims-Ethan-Chapin-Xana-Kernodle-Madison-Mogen-and-Kaylee-Goncalves-111722-9de2e460a9aa44759bd274fab0d9ae13.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/PiwqNIfyGvWkHkPJ22mx7lq3S5c=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(751x164:753x166):format(webp)\/idaho-murder-victims-Ethan-Chapin-Xana-Kernodle-Madison-Mogen-and-Kaylee-Goncalves-111722-9de2e460a9aa44759bd274fab0d9ae13.jpg 4000w\" data-sizes=\"4000px\" data-expand=\"300\" data-tracking-container=\"true\" data-img-lightbox=\"true\" data-click-tracked=\"true\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption id=\"mntl-figure-caption_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-figure-caption text-utility-100 figure-article-caption\"><span class=\"figure-article-caption-text\">Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle.<\/span>Courtesy of Chapin Family; Maddie Mogen\/Instagram; Kaylee Goncalves\/Instagram; Xana Kernodle\/Instagram<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_11-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Thompson said in court that a KA-BAR knife sheath was found under one of the victims and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/bryan-kohberger-trial-evidence-jury-rules-dna-admissible-11683277\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">contained enough single-source DNA to eventually trace that sheath back to Kohberger<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_12-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_13-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">What prosecutors do not have, and investigators were never able to find, however, was the actual KA-BAR knife.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_14-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_15-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Thompson said in court that the investigation had failed to locate the murder weapon used to kill the four victims.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_16-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_17-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">So while prosecutors had evidence of Kohberger purchasing a KA-BAR knife and sheath from Amazon months before the murders, they did not have that knife to show jurors.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_18-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_19-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"><strong><em>Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-true-crime-newsletter-sign-up-8692775\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">PEOPLE&#8217;s free True Crime newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_20-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_21-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Then, there is the question of motive, which Thompson briefly spoke about in court.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_22-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_23-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">The investigation found evidence of Kohberger&#8217;s phone pinging the cellular tower in the area of the victims&#8217; Moscow home multiple times in the months before the murders.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_24-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_25-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">In the four months before the murder, Thompson said that Kohberger&#8217;s phone pinged that tower 23 times between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_26-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_27-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Prosecutors, however, could not connect the killer to his victims, Thompson said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_28-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_29-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;We do not have evidence that he had direct contact with [the home], but we can put his phone in that area at those times,&#8221; Thompson said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_30-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<figure id=\"mntl-sc-block_31-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block people-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme figure-landscape figure-high-res\">\n<div class=\"figure-media\">\n<div class=\"img-placeholder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"mntl-sc-block-image_2-0\" class=\"mntl-image mntl-image universal-image__image lazyloadwait lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/Ubx7J4hdyqM3W8gN5qWuQELF0Ec=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)\/bryan-kohberger-court5-7225-758c0237d755416eacc06dd1025bf90e.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, 4000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/Ubx7J4hdyqM3W8gN5qWuQELF0Ec=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)\/bryan-kohberger-court5-7225-758c0237d755416eacc06dd1025bf90e.jpg 4000w\" alt=\"Bryan Kohberger, Court\" width=\"1500\" height=\"885\" data-src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/Ubx7J4hdyqM3W8gN5qWuQELF0Ec=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)\/bryan-kohberger-court5-7225-758c0237d755416eacc06dd1025bf90e.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/Ubx7J4hdyqM3W8gN5qWuQELF0Ec=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)\/bryan-kohberger-court5-7225-758c0237d755416eacc06dd1025bf90e.jpg 4000w\" data-sizes=\"4000px\" data-expand=\"300\" data-tracking-container=\"true\" data-img-lightbox=\"true\" data-click-tracked=\"true\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption id=\"mntl-figure-caption_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-figure-caption text-utility-100 figure-article-caption\"><span class=\"figure-article-caption-text\">Bill Thompson (second left) and the prosecution.<\/span>Idaho Fourth District Court<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_32-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">No murder weapon, no evidence that he knew his victims and as a result, no motive.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_33-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_34-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Now that the case will not go to trial there is little to no chance that Kohberger&#8217;s motive will ever be known.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_35-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_36-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">It appears his one mistake was leaving behind that knife sheath, and if not for that, he might never have been apprehended.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_37-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_38-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Thompson explained in court that the case was difficult, in large part because the person being investigated was an expert.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_39-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_40-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">&#8220;The defendant has studied crime,&#8221; Thompson explained. &#8220;In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his Ph.D., and he had that knowledge skill set.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_41-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_42-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">Kohberger will now spend the rest of his life in prison, after agreeing to serve four life sentences for the murders in exchange for his guilty pleas.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_43-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_44-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">In exchange for those pleas, prosecutors agreed that they would not seek the death penalty.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-sc-block_45-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_46-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\">More answers might come, however, after Kohberger&#8217;s sentencing hearing on July 23 \u2014 which is when the court will address if hundreds of documents filed in the case and unavailable to the public or media will be unsealed.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mntl-article-meta-dynamic_1-0\" class=\"comp mntl-article-meta-dynamic mntl-article-meta mntl-block pre-content\" data-tracking-container=\"true\">\n<div id=\"people-bylines_1-0\" class=\"comp people-bylines mntl-bylines text-utility-200\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; After Bryan Kohberger confessed to killing four University of Idaho students, the state&#8217;s lead prosecutor details the evidence against him in court NEED TO KNOW Bryan Kohberger, 30, &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29930,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29928\/revisions\/29930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}