The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy

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).

Bryan exchanges his Pennsylvania license plate for two Washington plates. While making small talk with the clerk, he asks what she thinks about the murders in Moscow. They have a conversation. He seems perfectly “normal” to the clerk, who is later shocked to see him on the news after the arrest.

Bryan goes to his hair stylist for an appointment. He has always been nice and polite to her and has become one of her regulars. “Like everyone whom Bryan ran into over the next few weeks, she wonders if she missed any signs” (301). Bryan is confident and good at acting “normal.” The Pullman police have heard little from the Moscow police. They are frustrated at the lack of information. WSU Police Chief Gary Jenkins will later say that he thinks Bryan’s confidence grew each day that he wasn’t caught and arrested.

In one of the last classes of the semester, criminal justice processes and institutions, the Moscow case is discussed. They talk about the possible penalties for the murders; Idaho has the death penalty, but Washington does not. Bryan is unusually quiet during the discussion. A classmate notices that he doesn’t speak once in three hours. Ben wonders if Bryan struggles to adapt because he is from the East Coast. Steve Goncalves will later say that “the East Coast feels like they’re the superior coast,” and that Bryan Kohberger underestimated the Pacific Northwest.

Bryan meets with Professor Synder again about his improvement plan. The committee agrees that there has been progress but still decides to terminate him from the program. As Ben notes, “if you fuck up badly enough that you wind up on a PIP, a performance improvement plan, as a graduate student, you have done something terribly, dreadfully, miserably wrong” (305). One of the issues is the allegation that Kohberger followed a female student to her car. Bryan becomes very angry, and this cements the committee’s decision to fire him.

A criminal justice undergrad sees that Bryan has posted a B as her final grade; she emails him about this error, knowing that she should have received an A based on her graded assignments. He emails her back saying he’s adjusted it. Later, she finds it “both odd and interesting that he bothered to answer her email about her grade” (307).

Bryan Kohberger is pulled over for tailgating while his father, Michael, is in the passenger seat. Michael tells the officer that they’re driving from Washington to Pennsylvania and mentions the murders. Michael has a limited understanding of what’s happened; he tells the officer that there was a mass shooting and a hostage situation. The officer lets them go, but they are pulled over again 10 minutes later, again for tailgating. For a long time after Kohberger’s arrest, it will be reported that these stops were not random, but rather a result of FBI surveillance. These reports irritate Fry. He sees it as another indication that the media are exploiting the murders for profit.

Bryan Kohberger gets into his meticulously cleaned car and goes for a drive, not knowing that he is being followed by law enforcement, who have already obtained the DNA samples they will need: “He has no idea, basically, that it’s game over” (313).

Law enforcement gathers many items from the Kohberger home, including attire that matches what Dylan saw in the house that night. Law enforcement reports collecting a book with underlining on page 118. Online forums will speculate that this document is Elliot Rodger’s manifesto and note that 118 is the page on which Rodger discusses choosing the date for his “day of retribution” (315). Police also report a drawing titled “A Man’s Mind,” which may refer to a poster of an arched, naked woman constituting the face and hairline of a man. Sigmund Freud’s name is written beneath the drawing. Cybersleuths assert that these pieces of evidence point to “a misogynistic incel who planned a murder that was more or less a copycat of Rodger’s 2014 killing spree as vengeance for all the women who would not sleep with him” (315).

Bryan Kohberger is held in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He is swabbed for DNA. When first asked, he calmly declines a lawyer. Then he changes his mind and asks for one. He is given a suicide-prevention vest to wear. Public defender Jason LaBar is called to meet with Kohberger. He finds Kohberger calm in all their meetings. Kohberger is chatty, but LaBar tells him that he is only there to handle extradition and does not want to know about the facts and circumstances. Kohberger quickly agrees to be extradited to Idaho. They release a statement asserting that he should be presumed innocent.

Kohberger’s extradition hearing is held. His mother weeps and collapses. The family has released a statement expressing their sadness for the victims’ families and asking for privacy as they move through the legal process. The judge signs the extradition orders, and the Kohbergers return to their home—the windows and doors have been blown out by the police invasion. They have lost their privacy.

Police and media meet the extradition plane. Kohberger is taken to the Latah County Jail beside the Moscow courthouse, where is booked and waits in a cell for a lawyer.