The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy

The book retraces Kohberger’s circuitous route on the night of the murders, highlighting his use of back roads to avoid police attention and possibly to dispose of the murder weapon. At around 9:00 am, Kohberger returned to the scene of the murders, then ran some errands, including in the town of Clarkson, Washington, where a river was known to be a good place to dispose of things. He did a good job covering his tracks. Leaving behind the knife sheath may have been his only mistake.

Ben Roberts doesn’t think much of Bryan Kohberger’s absence from class. He is occupied with end-of-term exams and news of a horrible murder in nearby Moscow. He and the rest of the cohort have begun creating a “paper trail, a record of what Bryan said and did,” to protect themselves and their professors from legal liability (296). When he returns, however, Bryan seems different. He is in a better mood. He’s grading the undergraduate women higher. People are shocked but relieved.

Bryan Kohberger attends an appointment at the university’s medical center. The receptionist thinks he is “so nice and charming” (298).