A graduate student at Washington State University was arrested in Pennsylvania on Friday for the murder of four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home last month, according to CNN.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary.
According to law enforcement sources, Kohberger’s DNA was matched to material found at the crime scene, and his ownership of a white Hyundai Elantra seen in the area of the killings was traced.
Genetic genealogy was also reportedly used to identify the suspect.
Kohberger recently completed his first semester as a Ph.D. student in the criminal justice program at Washington State University.
There are allegations that he may have had a Reddit account under the name Criminology_Student, where he made posts requesting research participation for a research project centered around criminals, including asking people who had recently committed a crime about their “thoughts and feelings” before and after committing a crime.
Screenshots of the survey posted to Facebook showed that the questions asked focused on the respondent’s motives, logistics, and emotions related to a recent criminal offense.
One of the research topic questions asks: “Before you make your move, how did you approach the victim or target? Please detail what you were thinking and feeling.” Another question asks: “After arriving, what steps did you take prior to locating the victim or target (i.e., person or object)? Please detail your thoughts and feelings.”
Kohberger was also reportedly a part-time security officer in the Pleasant Valley School District. His job was to keep students safe.
