Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger Repeatedly DM'd "Hey, How Are You?" To One Of His Victims On Instagram
Sources state the Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger repeatedly messaged one of the female victims on Instagram prior to her death.
Last December, a criminology student named Bryan Kohberger (28) was arrested for the suspected murder of four University of Idaho students. The victims – Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Maddie Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves – were killed off-campus at a house near Moscow, Idaho on November 13, 2022.
Recent revelations show that Kohberger may have stalked the victims prior to their muders. In the weeks before the college students' slayings, Kohberger apparently dined at the Mad Greek restaurant in Moscow where Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle worked. It's currently unknown if both of the girls served the suspect when he visited the restaurant.
Kohberger was also alleged to have repeatedly sent direct messages (DMs) to one of the female victims. A source told PEOPLE, "He slid into one of the girls' DMs several times but she didn't respond. Basically, it was just him saying, 'Hey, how are you?' But he did it again and again." According to officials, these messages were sent around the same time that Kohberger's phone pinged in the same location near the victim's home weeks before the killing.
The suspect has been described as "super awkward" and "a little off" by students who knew him, and forensic evidence was linked to Kohberger after it was run through a database. The FBI tracked Kohberger for four days before they made their arrest in order to obtain a warrant. He reportedly wore gloves while shopping, but his "arrogance" may have left a DNA trail that led to his raid.
"If somebody like this was really a student of criminal justice and criminology, then he would understand certain things like Locard’s Exchange Principle," said retired NYPD detective, Professor Joseph Giacalone. “It shows you the arrogance of people like him, where he thinks he’s smarter than the cops because he read something in a book." He added, "At the end of the day, experience trumps academics every day of the week and twice on Sunday."
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