A man has been apprehended in Pennsylvania in relation to the killings last month of four students at the University of Idaho, according to court filings and news reports on Friday.
The Associated Press identified the man as Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, and reported that he was being detained pending extradition to Idaho where he will face a first-degree murder charge.
A court filing indicated that Kohberger was listed as arrested on 30 December and that his status was “awaiting extradition”.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Pennsylvania police were helping police in Moscow, Idaho; Idaho state police; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation “with a criminal homicide investigation”.
“Bryan C Kohberger was taken into custody … based upon an active arrest warrant for murder in the first degree,” the probable cause affidavit stated.
The document indicated that Kohberger was arrested in the early morning hours.
The four students – Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21 – were stabbed to death in an off-campus residence situated near university sorority and fraternity houses.
Citing four law enforcement sources, NBC News said the man arrested in the killings was being held in Monroe county, Pennsylvania, having been brought before a local judge on Friday morning.
NBC reported: “Police in Moscow, Idaho, have not confirmed the arrest but have publicly announced a press conference at 4pm with the police chief and University of Idaho officials to provide an update in the case.”
The quadruple killing sent shock waves and sowed mistrust. For weeks, residents remained on edge as no suspect was named. Authorities did not disclose the discovery of a murder weapon, nor proffer any possible motive.
Many of the 11,000 University of Idaho students left Moscow right after the murders, while others who departed for the Thanksgiving holiday opted not to come back.
Locksmiths’ vans could be spotted around town, amid reports that some locals requested pepper spray or guns for Christmas gifts. Local businesses reportedly shuttered early and residents feared walking or staying alone.
Before the killings, Moscow, a town of 25,000 near the border with Washington state, had not seen a murder in seven years.
Conspiracy theories proliferated. One University of Idaho professor sued a self-anointed TikTok psychic for alleged defamation over the claim, made without any evidence, that the academic was responsible for the killings.
The authorities’ big break came after police asked the public for assistance locating a white sedan spotted near the students’ home around the time of the murders.
Moscow police requested public help on 7 December and within a day had to send tips to a special FBI call center due to the volume of calls, the AP said.