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Suspect arrested in brutal murders of 4 University of Idaho students

by www.cbsnews.com Leave a Comment

A suspect has been arrested for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students, authorities said Friday. Word of the arrest came more than six weeks after roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle were found stabbed to death in their home in Moscow, Idaho, along with fellow student Ethan Chapin.

The suspect, Bryan Christopher Kohberger , 28, was arrested in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, Moscow Police said during a news conference Friday. He is facing four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary, said Bill Thompson, Latah County prosecutor.

Pennsylvania State Police said Kohberger was arrested on a fugitive from justice warrant. He is being held in Monroe County Correctional Facility pending extradition to Idaho , authorities said.

Officials said they are limited in what information they can release, as the probable cause statement with details of the investigation is sealed under state law until Kohberger has appeared in an Idaho court. He was expected to be back in court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Thompson said.

Law enforcement sources told CBS News that FBI agents conducted surveillance on Kohberger in Pennsylvania in the days prior to his arrest.

“For a lot of law enforcement, it was a fairly sleepless couple days … leading up to everything we were doing,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said Friday. “I have faith in those agencies across the nation, I have faith in our officers, I have faith in the FBI, and they did a great job. There was some times, even throughout the day, that we were always concerned.”

Kohlberger is a graduate student at Washington State University, the prosecutor said. Kohlberger was listed earlier Friday on Washington State University’s website as a Ph.D. student in the department of criminal justice and criminology at the school’s campus in Pullman, Washington, although his name was later taken down. Pullman is about 15 minutes from Moscow, Idaho.

DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, confirmed that Kohberger received a bachelor’s degree there in 2020 and completed graduate studies in June 2022.

The four victims were found around noon on Sunday, Nov. 13, after a 911 call to police reported an unconscious person. Officials had earlier described the murder weapon as a large fixed-blade knife. Police are still looking for the knife, authorities said Friday.

Investigators allegedly used forensic analysis to link Kohberger to the crime scene, law enforcement sources told CBS News.

Mogen and Goncalves were both 21-year-old seniors at the university, and were best friends. The two had been at a downtown bar called The Corner Club that night and stopped at a food truck.

Kernodle, 20, was a junior and dating 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, a freshman. The two had attended a party earlier at the campus house of Sigma Chi, where Chapin was a member.

“Today we are commemorating our Maddie’s and her friend Kaylee with relief knowing that she can now be properly laid to rest,” read a statement from the Mogen family. Earlier this month, Goncalves’ family had announced on Facebook they would hold a “celebration of life” for Goncalves and Mogen at 3 p.m. local time Friday in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.

“This is the news we have been waiting for and a relief for our community and most importantly, the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin,” University of Idaho president Scott Green said in an email to students and staff following the arrest. “We are grateful for the hard work of law enforcement to protect our community and bring justice.”

He said the university does not appear to have any record of Kohberger.

During the course of the investigation, police said they have fielded 19,000 tips related to the slayings, as well as reviewed more than 113 pieces of physical evidence from the home, “approximately 4,000 photographs” and “multiple” 3-D scans that crime scene investigators took, and had conducted more than 300 interviews. They had initially seized three dumpsters and five cars from the crime scene, but had announced earlier this month they would start returning some of the victims’ belongings to their families.

Remediation at the house, set to begin Friday, was halted by the court, said Moscow Police Chief James Fry.

“Since November, investigators have been laser-focused on pursuing every lead in our pursuit of justice. This complex case took extensive work to develop a clear picture of what occurred,” he said. Police would not say if any motive had been determined and would not say if they were looking at any other suspects.

Fry said Friday that authorities had located a white Hyundai Elantra. Earlier this month, police had announced they were looking for a white 2011-2013 Elantra in connection with the investigation.

Early on, police had said they did not believe two surviving roommates or the friends who had called 911 had been involved in the killings. They also said they cleared another person, a former sixth roommate who had moved out of the house at the beginning of the school year, and a few other people who had encountered some of the students the prior evening, such as the person who drove Goncalves and Mogen home at the end of the evening.

Rumors and speculation have swirled about the case, circulating online via social media and TikTok , which law enforcement called “a huge distraction.”

“Tracking down rumors and quelling rumors about specific individuals or specific events that may or may not have happened is a huge distraction for investigators and oftentimes is the result of social media propagation. And it is very, very frustrating to investigators and hard to stay on track,” Moscow Police Capt. Roger Lanier said last week .

CBS News’ Pat Milton contributed to this report.

Medusa, Scourge of Myth, Tells Her Side of the Story

by www.nytimes.com Leave a Comment

STONE BLIND , by Natalie Haynes

Anyone who has been on TikTok lately — or anyone who shares a house with a TikToking teen — knows that Medusa tattoos are all the rage . More broadly, the infamous mythological figure, once a symbol of female monstrousness and best known for her snake hair and lithifying gaze, has lately undergone a rebranding as a scorned woman come survivor of sexual assault.

According to the new narrative, not only was Medusa raped as a maiden by Poseidon in Athena’s temple, but she suffered the further injustice of being blamed for her own attack, and by another woman no less. Or, at least, it was Athena, the goddess of war, who, in retaliation for the perceived desecration of her temple, replaced Medusa’s hair and eyes , rendering the once gorgeous Gorgon hideous, deadly and effectively blind.

The publishing and film worlds have been slow to catch up. As recently as the aughts, when Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series exploded onto the middle-grade market, the Gorgon was still coming in for wicked witch/evil succubus treatment. (In the 2010 movie version, Uma Thurman plays Medusa as a lipsticked and latexed quasi-Bond Girl, from whom the floppy-haired, A.D.H.D.-afflicted Percy — clearly inspired by Perseus, who, legend has it, decapitated Medusa — barely escapes with his life.)

Fast-forward seven years to the #MeToo movement, then another half decade to the classicist-turned-novelist Natalie Haynes’s “Stone Blind.” A retelling of the Medusa legend and its associated story lines, the novel substitutes action-adventure for feminist tragedy, a point made clear in the opening pages. “This particular monster is assaulted, abused and vilified. And yet, as the story is always told, she is the one you should fear,” Haynes announces in her fierce yet conversational style. “We’ll see about that.”

As she did in “ A Thousand Ships ,” a retelling of the Trojan War through the voices of women caught in its path, Haynes covers a lot of ground (and sea) in a compressed time frame. Everyone and his uncle in the ancient Greek mythological pantheon seems to get a shout-out. This includes a lineup of male deities and mortals alike who make Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby seem like Mister Rogers.

The novel begins with the king of all gods, Zeus, casually raping his ex-wife Metis before swallowing her whole inside a thunderbolt — and his long-suffering current wife, Hera, lamenting, “There were days when she believed he could scarcely rise from his bed without seducing or raping someone.”

Still, Zeus is no match for his marine-based brother on the awful front. An insecure narcissist, Poseidon is as rapey as he is petty and self-regarding. (His frequent carps include the failure of the Greek people to build him a temple quickly enough, and the smaller size of his kingdom relative to Zeus’; think Trump complaining about Biden’s win in the 2020 election.)

Haynes edges uncomfortably close to a Regency bodice-ripper in a scene where a “tall, well-muscled”

But afterward, when Medusa, traumatized, retreats to the Gorgons’ remote cave on the north coast of Africa, to be cared for by her older sisters, Euryale and Sthenno, there can be no doubt as to what occurred. It is here, among the communal sisterhood of the winged and snake-haired, that Haynes is at her most affecting.

To be fair, some of the goddesses in “Stone Blind” are hardly more sympathetic than the gods, beginning with Athena. There is also the mortal queen of Ethiopia, Cassiope, who, like Joan Crawford in “Mommie Dearest,” proves so vain and selfish that the Nereids, a group of vengeful sea nymphs, demand a sacrifice in the form of her daughter’s life. But by the time poor Medusa is decapitated by yet another toxic male — the clueless and naïve yet violent and callous Perseus — readers may feel compelled to decry the patriarchy, while crying along with Medusa’s brokenhearted sisters.

Still, the book is not all tears and bloodshed. Haynes also has a delightfully droll sense of humor, which she brings to bear on her deities. Here is Zeus idly musing on the whereabouts of his perpetually jealous wife: “He assumed that Hera was busying herself turning one of his favorite girls into a cow or weasel or whatever.” Then there is Athena, cajoling a mortal to fight alongside the gods in a war against the giants: “If you do die, I’ll put in a word for you to get a constellation. Promise.”

Less winningly, Haynes’s commitment to providing multiple perspectives, spread out over dozens of short chapters, can leave a reader feeling disoriented, if not perplexed. Suffice it to say that “Stone Blind” is, to my knowledge, the first novel ever narrated in part by an olive grove, a crow and, finally, a severed head.

There are also moments when Haynes comes close to stepping out of the novel completely, as in this jeremiad against Perseus: “The idea that Perseus is a hero is one I have taken exception to since — I can’t even tell you how long it is,” she writes, in the voice of the semi-dead Medusa. “He’s arrogant and he’s spoiled. … He is a vicious little thug.” By the book’s end, readers may begin to suspect that its author takes mythology not only seriously but somehow personally.

I admit that fantasy fiction has never been my preferred genre. Yet by the time I finished this otherworldly cri de coeur , I felt both wiser for it and glad that it had been written. I was also riled up enough to wonder if I was too old to get my first tattoo.

Lucinda Rosenfeld is the author of five novels, including, most recently, “Class.”

STONE BLIND | By Natalie Haynes | 370 pp. | Harper/HarperCollins Publishers | $30

Idaho Murders Updates: Suspect arrested, motive under investigation

by www.newsweek.com Leave a Comment

Live Updates

  • An arrest has been made in connection with the November murders of four University of Idaho students, nearly seven weeks after the brutal attack.
  • Authorities took 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger into custody Friday in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
  • Kohberger, a graduate student at Washington State University, is facing first-degree murder and burglary charges, a Latah County prosecutor said in a press conference. Kohberger is being held without bond and will appear in a Pennsylvania court on Jan. 3 before he is extradited to Idaho.
  • Police received over 19,000 tips and conducted over 300 interviews in the weeks since Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, were found stabbed to death in an off-campus home on Nov. 13.
  • On Friday, police searched Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, WA, and began cleanup efforts at the rental home where the four students were killed. Officials said the home remains an active crime scene.
  • The murders and the weeks that went by without an arrest put a spotlight on the town of Moscow, Idaho, as the victims’ family members expressed frustration with the investigation.

Live updates have ended.

Motive Under Investigation, Murder Weapon Not Yet Found

There are still many questions surrounding the investigation into the murders of four University of Idaho students, including a motive or if the suspect knew the victims.

Police did not provide many details during a press conference Friday, citing the investigation, but said more will be released soon.

Authorities arrested 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger in Pennsylvania Friday, nearly seven weeks after the brutal attack. Moscow Police Chief James Fry would not disclose what led officials to Kohberger or his whereabouts in Pennsylvania.

Police continue piecing together why Kohberger would have murdered the four students and continue asking for tips to paint a more complete picture. When asked if Kohberger knew any of the students, Fry answered that information will come out “later.”

Authorities have still not found the murder weapon, Fry said, adding police are still looking for “all pieces of evidence.” He did confirm that an Elantra was found.

Meanwhile, the cleanup process began Friday morning at the off-campus home where the students were found stabbed to death on November 13. However, Fry said the process was halted due to a “legal request from the court.”

Police Indicate Kohberger Is Lone Suspect

Moscow Police Chief James Fry believes the Moscow community is now “safe” following the arrest of Bryan Christopher Kohberger, the man who is now facing charges in the November murders of four University of Idaho students.

Kohberger’s arrest comes nearly seven weeks after the students’ bodies were found. With no suspects or persons of interest named and no arrests announced until Friday, the small Idaho community has continued to battle fear and uncertainty as the university took steps to bolster security on campus.

During a Friday afternoon press conference, Fry was asked if the community is now safe and whether law enforcement officials are still looking for other suspects who may be involved in the case. Fry did not specifically say there are no other suspects police are looking into, but indicated that was the case in his response.

“What I can tell you is we have an individual in custody who committed these horrible crimes and I do believe our community is safe,” Fry said.

Despite the arrest, Fry urged community members to remain “vigilant.”

“We always need to be aware of our surroundings and make sure that we’re aware of what’s going on,” he said.

Suspect Appears to Conduct Online Crime Study

As more information about Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the University of Idaho murders is uncovered, many reddit users believe they may have discovered a post from the suspect regarding a criminology study.

The post in the ExCon subreddit is from a DeSales University “student investigator” Bryan Kohberger. The post asks for participants in a research project that seeks to “understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.”

“In particular, this study seeks to understand the story behind your most recent criminal offense, with emphasis on your thoughts and feelings throughout your experience,” the post reads.

There is a link to the anonymous study, which asked participants questions about how they choose their victim, how they approached their victim and what they did before leaving after committing the crime.

The post from seven months ago has now been removed by the moderators of the ExCons subreddit.

There were over 1,000 comments on the post. After the name of the suspect arrested in connection to the quadruple murder was released, many people flocked to the post, speculating the author was the man in police custody.

The post said the study was for a DeSales University study. The university confirmed in a statement that Kohberger received a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and completed his graduate studies in June 2022.

According to a document from the university’s 2022 commencement, a Bryan Kohberger graduated with a masters of arts in criminal justice in May.

Suspect Faces First-Degree Murder, Burglary Charges

The man arrested in connection with the November murders of four University of Idaho students is facing first-degree murder and burglary charges, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said Friday.

Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and also faces felony burglary charges for breaking into the students’ home that night, Thompson said during a Friday afternoon press conference.

Kohberger had an initial court appearance in Pennsylvania Friday morning and will next appear before a judge on January 3. He is being held without bond in Pennsylvania and will also be held without bond in Idaho once he is transferred. Kohberger has been appointed a public defender in Pennsylvania, Thompson said.

The case will proceed faster if Kohberger waives extradition and returns to Idaho voluntarily, Thompson said. If he doesn’t waive extradition, “we will initiate extradition proceedings through our governor’s office,” Thompson said, adding that could “take a while for him to get here.”

The factual basis for Kohberger’s arrest is detailed in a probable cause affidavit, Thompson said. That document is on file but must remain under seal until Kohberger returns to Idaho and is served an arrest warrant in Latah County, Thompson said.

University of Idaho President Calls Arrest a ‘Relief’

University of Idaho President Scott Green said the news of Kohberger’s arrest was “welcomed news” and a “relief” to the community.

He thanked everyone for their support and compassion throughout this investigation.

“The outpouring of support helped sustain us during this trying time. Kindness is contagious and reclaimed the light lost to evil and darkness,” Green said.

Green also thanked the Idaho governor for providing financial support to secure the campus and help students and employees. He also thanked Idaho State Police for securing the community.

Green said this crime “left a mark on the university, community and state” but he “never lost faith this case would be solved.”

While investigators cannot bring the four victims back, Green said the community will continue to carry their legacy forward in the work they do.

Police Confirm Suspect is WSU Grad Student

During a press conference Friday, Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested on a warrant related to the murders of the four Idaho University students last month.

Fry said Kohberger is a graduate student at Washington State University and lives in Pullman, WA.

He also thanked Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI for their help making this arrest.

Moscow Police received over 19,000 tips and conducted over 300 interviews, Fry said, adding that he believes “justice will be found.”

At this time, Fry said the police cannot release much information about the case. He said Idaho state law limits what information can be made public until Kohberger is extradited from Pennsylvania and appears in an Idaho court.

“This was a very complex and extensive case,” Fry said. “The work is not done, it’s just started.”

Fry also acknowledged the public’s frustration with the lack of information released by officials throughout this investigation.

“Providing any details in this criminal investigation might have tainted the upcoming criminal prosecution or alerted the suspect of our progress,” he said. “We will continue to provide as much information as we can as the process moves forward.”

DeSales University Confirms Suspect Was a Student

DeSales University, a private Catholic school in Pennsylvania, told Newsweek reporter Matthew Impelli that the man arrested Friday in connection with the November murders of four University of Idaho students was a former student.

Bryan Christopher Kohberger was an undergraduate and graduate student at the university in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. He completed his undergraduate degree in 2020 and his graduate degree earlier this year, the university said.

“On Friday, December 30, DeSales University learned of the arrest of Bryan Kohberger in connection with the murder of four University of Idaho students. Kohberger received a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and completed his graduate studies in June 2022,” the school said in a statement shared with Newsweek .

“As a Catholic, Salesian community, we are devastated by this senseless tragedy,” the school said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families during this difficult time.”

Kohberger was reportedly a PhD student at Washington State University at the time of the murders.

Police Search Suspect’s Home Near WSU

Police are searching the apartment of Bryan Kohberger, the man arrested in connection to the University of Idaho murders.

Kohberger is apparently a PhD student at Washington State University in Pullman, WA, located about 10 miles across state lines from where the murders took place.

A neighbor told Fox News Digital that investigators arrived at the apartment complex by 7:30 a.m. Friday to execute a search warrant.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson was also reportedly spotted at the apartment with investigators.

“There was the black pickup and the silver pickup and a couple of cops, and they were taking pictures and stuff, but didn’t have any tape up,” Randy Smith, a 58-year-old Moscow resident who works at WSU, told Fox News Digital.

Goncalves Family Notified About Arrest Last Night

Law enforcement notified the Goncalves family about an arrest in connection to the murder of four University of Idaho students in a Thursday night phone call, an attorney for the family said.

21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves was among the four students found stabbed to death in an off-campus home on November 13.

Attorney Shanon Gray, who represents Goncalves’s father Steve, said the family was called by law enforcement last night, but not given any details, the Associated Press reports. The family was notified about the arrest, but not told how or why police believe the suspect was connected to the brutal attack.

“Obviously they’re relieved that someone has been arrested,” Gray told AP . “You guys know about as much as we do right now.”

Cleanup Begins at Students’ Moscow Home

A cleanup process began Friday at the off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death on November 13.

Police said in a Thursday news release that the rental home, located on King Street in Moscow, Idaho, “will remain an active crime scene under police control” but that a private company was set to begin clearing it. The company is working in coordination with law enforcement and the home’s property managers, police said.

The cleanup process will include “removing potential biohazards and other harmful substances” that were used in the evidence-gathering process. Police said it was unknown how long the cleanup process would take but that the home will be returned to Team Idaho Property Management, the company that owns the property, once the process is complete.

Photos shared by NewsNation reporter Nancy Loo showed trucks marked “Disaster Response” parked in front of the house, with a trailer positioned in front of the building Friday morning.

At one point, crew members could be seen pulling a tarp over part of the trailer to obscure the view of their work from the outside, according to NewsNation reporter Brian Entin.

At about 9:30 a.m. local time, Loo reported the cleanup process was halted and said the reason behind the pause was expected to be detailed during an afternoon news conference, which Moscow police are expected to hold soon.

Police Spotted at Suspect’s Alleged WSU Office

There is an increased police presence at Washington State University (WSU) early Friday afternoon, amid reports that the suspect arrested in connection with the murders of four University of Idaho students attended the school.

Shortly after suspect Bryan Kohberger’s name and photo was released by officials, it was discovered that there was a Ph.D. student at WSU with the same name.

According to the WSU Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology website, Bryan Kohberger has an office in the Wilson-Short Hall building.

That page has now been taken down.

Reporters at WSU said there were police cars outside Wilson-Short Hall Friday afternoon.

KXLY-TV reporter Ester Bower said the building is locked but police are on site, coming and going.

Police Press Conference to Begin Soon

The Moscow Police Department will hold a press conference in about one hour to announce new developments in the University of Idaho murders.

Police Chief James Fry will give an update of the ongoing investigation into the quadruple homicide that occurred on Nov. 13. Officials said they will take questions from the press.

This comes as law enforcement officials arrested Bryan Christopher Kohberger in Monroe County, Pennsylvania early Friday, in connection with the homicides.

The press conference will stream live on the Moscow Police YouTube at 1 p.m. PT/ 4 p.m. ET.

Suspect Due in Court Next Week

The man arrested in connection to the Idaho University quadruple murder will appear in court in the new year.

According to court documents, Bryan Kohberger will have an extradition hearing Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.

The docket from Monroe County, PA showed that Kohberger was arraigned “awaiting extradition” to Idaho Friday.

Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania and needs to be brought to Idaho to face charges. He is currently in police custody Monroe County Prison.

Families Holding Celebration of Life Today

A celebration of life will be taking place Friday afternoon in remembrance of Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, two of the four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in an off-campus home in mid-November.

The celebration of life will be taking place at 3 p.m. in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho at Lake City Church. Those unable to attend were asked to send flowers.

The event will be open to the public, according to local media reports.

The timing of the celebration of life now falls just hours after police made an arrest in connection with the murders. Police are expected to share updates on the status of their investigation during a press conference scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. local time.

The arrest on Friday marks a major shift in the case, the pace of which has frustrated members of the victims’ families. No suspects or persons of interest were publicly identified by police previously.

Hyundai Elantra Reportedly Found at Suspect’s Home

A Hyundai Elantra was reportedly found at the home of Bryan Christopher Kohberger, the man arrested Friday in connection with the November murders of four University of Idaho students.

Law enforcement officials told NBC News that police found the vehicle at Kohberger’s home in Pennsylvania. Kohberger was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania on Friday, nearly seven weeks after the four students were found stabbed to death in an off-campus home.

Earlier this month, police were seeking information about a white Hyundai Elantra they said was spotted near the home on the night of the murders. Police did not know the license plate number of the vehicle at that time, but said they believed it was a model from 2011, 2012 or 2013.

“Investigators believe the occupant(s) of this vehicle may have critical information to share regarding this case,” police in Moscow, Idaho said on December 7. They urged individuals with information about the vehicle to contact their investigation tip line.

Suspect Arrested in Pennsylvania

A suspect in the murders of four University of Idaho students has been arrested in Pennsylvania, police report.

A law enforcement official confirmed the arrest to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

According to paperwork filed in Monroe County Court, 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger was awaiting extradition to Idaho on a warrant for first degree murder. He was arrested in Hazelton, PA, a town at the foothills of the Pocono Mountains.

While little is known about Kohberger, there is a PH.D. student by the same name listed in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University in Pullman, WA, just a short drive across state lines from the University of Idaho.