Inside The Idaho Murders: Part 1
Idaho Statesman Investigative Reporter and FOX News Contributor Kevin Fixler shares his reporting detailing the origins of the Idaho student murders case.
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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Bryan Kohberger will spend the rest of his life in prison but details on how and where he'll be locked up are still unknown
BOISE, Idaho – Bryan Kohberger will spend the rest of his life in prison, but the details about how and where he'll be kept are still emerging. The 30-year-old former criminologist received four consecutive life sentences plus another 10 years for the murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. A source with knowledge of the case told Fox News Digital Kohberger was already in custody at the state prison in Kuna, about 16 miles from the Ada County courthouse, by Wednesday afternoon. Kohberger's sentence amounts to 'life and death in prison,' as Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson put it during a rare news briefing after the hearing. The Idaho Department of Correction declined to give specific details about the transfer process. 'Once in IDOC custody, the person goes through a Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) process to evaluate their needs and determine appropriate housing placement; this process takes 7-14 days,' a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 'We wait until a person completes RDU to determine their classification, housing placement, and privileges.' That evaluation will include a psyche check to determine whether Kohberger may be a threat to himself, other inmates, or prison staff, said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor who has closely followed the case. 7 Bryan Kohberger stands inside an Ada County Courthouse after his sentencing hearing in Boise, Idaho on July 23, 2025. AP 7 Kaylee Goncalves' father, Steve Goncalves, addresses the courtroom during Kohberger's sentencing in Boise, Idaho on July 23, 2025. Getty Images He'll probably be placed in solitary confinement, Mauro said, at least for a while. But inmates are typically not kept there indefinitely, he said, and eventually he could wind up in general population with other killers. 'In the general population, he is vulnerable, and he's notorious — and in prison, especially for lifers, your reputation as being dangerous and just your reputation in general is the currency,' he said. 'So there could be somebody looking to do him. On the other hand, we do want to remember Idaho is a death penalty state, and if you're in for life, and you kill somebody, well, that's going to get you to death penalty.' Kohberger could try to request an out-of-state transfer, but that would be a rare move, according to Josh Ritter, a criminal defense attorney and the host of 'The Courtroom Confidential' podcast. 'He's not going anywhere,' he told Fox News Digital. 7 The Idaho State Correctional Center in Kuna, Idaho. Google Maps 7 Relatives of the murder victims stand outside the courthouse after Kohberger's sentencing. AP During their impact statements during Kohberger's sentencing Wednesday, the victims' families delivered a range of messages, from outrage to forgiveness. 'They ran the gamut, right, you have people who were willing to forgive him, and saying you know, 'If you ever want to talk, please call me I'll hear you out,' and then you had people who we're wishing death on him,' Mauro told Fox News Digital. Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee's mother, invoked the words Kohberger is believed to have said to the victims, overheard by one of the surviving roommates. Here's the latest coverage on Bryan Kohberger: 'When those prison doors slam shut behind you, I hope that sound echoes in your heart for the rest of your meaningless days,' she said. 'I hope it reminds you of what we all already know. You're nothing. May you continue to live your life in misery. But it's OK because they're there 'to help you.' Hell will be waiting.' Goncalves' father and sister also alluded to how he may be treated poorly by people bigger than him behind bars. 'They want to be in his head. They want him living in fear. They want him thinking in terms of that not only is he a failure, which is what they were calling him, but that he is a target,' Mauro said. 'They want that on his mind, which is a very wearing thing.' 7 Kohberger murdered University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in November 2022. Instagram/@kayleegoncalves Kohberger's already been rubbing fellow inmates the wrong way, according to files released by the Moscow Police Department Wednesday evening. Investigators overheard a male inmate talking with a female prisoner about Kohberger during jail transport. He called Kohberger a 'f—ing weirdo' and said he would've beat him up if he wasn't worried about getting punished for it. Asked if he thought Kohberger committed the crimes, he said yes. 'His eyes tell a story,' he said. 7 Blood oozes out of the side of the off-campus house where the four college students were murdered in Moscow, Idaho on Nov. 19, 2022. James Keivom 7 Kohberger was described as a 'f—ing weirdo' by an inmate inside the state prison he was held in before his trial. Courtey of Dateline Another inmate told investigators that Kohberger spent hours each day video chatting with his mother while in custody. According to the interview, the inmate was watching sports during one of those calls and said 'you suck' at a player on TV. Kohberger, who overheard the comment, allegedly 'immediately got up and put his face to the bars' and 'aggressively asked if [the inmate] was talking about him or his mother.' The inmate said this was the only time he witnessed Kohberger lose his temper.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Police documents about Bryan Kohberger reveal chilling new details about unusual incidents before murders
In the weeks before Bryan Kohberger killed four University of Idaho students, there were strange happenings at their rental home near campus. One of the victims, Kaylee Goncalves, told her roommates she saw a man she didn't recognize staring at her when she took her dog outside. Another time, the residents came home to find the door open, loose on its hinges. They grabbed golf clubs to arm themselves against a possible intruder. Those details were included in hundreds of documents released by police within hours of Kohberger being sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for the brutal stabbing murders of Gonclaves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin early Nov. 13, 2022. It remains unclear whether the strange happenings had anything to do with the killings. But the documents do illustrate the frenzied efforts by law enforcement to follow every possible lead to find and convict Kohberger. Here's a look at some information from the documents: Bethany Funke was one of two roommates to survive the night of the stabbings. In interviews after the murders, she told police that about a month earlier, Goncalves had taken her dog, Murphy, outside when she saw an unknown man "up above their house to the south," staring at her. It was concerning enough that Goncalves "told everyone" about it and called her roommates to ask if they'd be home soon, Funke said. Then, on Nov. 4, nine days before the attack, the roommates came home at 11 a.m. to find the door open, loose on its hinges, as the wind blew. Goncalves was away at the time. Kernodle's father fixed the door, Funke reported. On Nov. 13, police found a gruesome scene. Blood pooled on bed comforters, covered floors and was splattered on walls. One the victims, Kernodle, had extensive defensive wounds; in her room "it was obvious an intense struggle had occurred," one office wrote. Tips poured in. A staff member at Walmart told police that two to three weeks earlier, a white, college-age male had come in looking for a black ski mask that would cover his face. People who saw online feeds of some of the victims at a food truck offered their thoughts about a possible perpetrator, and investigators also looked into leads about bar-goers they had seen earlier in the night or an Uber driver they frequently used, the documents show. A woman who lived nearby told police that in either August or September 2022, she and her daughter saw a man in their yard who "looked nervous." She said she was almost certain it was Kohberger. Officers eventually identified Kohberger - a doctoral student in criminology at nearby Washington State University - using a DNA sample found on a knife sheath at the crime scene. Earlier this month, prosecutors revealed that DNA found on a discarded Q-tip proved to be a crucial breakthrough in the case. They tracked his movements that night with cellphone data, obtained online shopping records showing he had purchased a military-style knife, and linked him to a car that repeatedly drove by the students' house. The documents include memos memorializing the subpoenas or warrants they served seeking records and the responses to those requests. Investigators served a warrant on the dating app Tinder, looking for accounts Kohberger might have created with certain emails and which might link him to his victims. No such evidence emerged, and the motive for the killings remains a mystery. Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, about six weeks after the killings. He was taken to a state police barracks to be interviewed by officers from the Moscow police department, Idaho State Police and the FBI. They chatted about the Washington State football team, Kohberger's doctorate studies in criminal justice, his required duties to be a teaching assistant while in college, and why he wanted to become a professor. Kohberger eventually said he understood they were engaging in small talk, but he would appreciate if the officers explained what they wanted. One detective told him it was because of what had happened in Moscow. Asked if he knew what had transpired, he replied, "Of course." Did he want to talk about it? "Well, I think I would need a lawyer," Kohberger replied. He continued speaking, though - asking what specific questions they had and asking if his parents and dog were OK following his arrest. Kohberger finally said he would like to speak to an attorney, and police ended the interview because he had invoked his Fifth Amendment right. Police at the time said they swabbed Bryan Kohberger's DNA and seized a silver flashlight, four "medical-style gloves," a white Arizona Jean Co. T-shirt, a black Champion sweatshirt, a pair of black-and-white size 13 Nike shoes, black Under Armour socks, black Under Armour shorts and black Under Armour boxers. A man incarcerated at the Latah County Jail who was once housed next to Kohberger's cell told a detective Sept. 16, 2024, that Kohberger would often question him about his past criminal offenses and why he was in the maximum security wing of the facility. The man said Kohberger's habits annoyed him, including how he washed his hands dozens of times each day and spent 45 minutes to an hour in the shower. He said Kohberger stayed awake almost all night and would only take a nap during the day. Kohberger pleaded guilty earlier this month to the murders as part of a plea deal that spared him from the death penalty. He was in the courtroom Wednesday wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and listened as the families of the victims confronted him with powerful statements. When asked by the judge if he would like to make a statement at his sentencing Wednesday, Kohberger replied: "I respectfully decline."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bryan Kohberger transferred to maximum security state prison
Bryan Kohberger will spend the rest of his life in prison, but the details about how and where he'll be kept are still emerging. The 30-year-old former criminologist received four consecutive life sentences plus another 10 years for the murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. A source with knowledge of the case told Fox News Digital Kohberger was already in custody at the state prison in Kuna, about 16 miles from the Ada County courthouse, by Wednesday afternoon. Kohberger's sentence amounts to "life and death in prison," as Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson put it during a rare news briefing after the hearing. Idaho Victims' Families To Address Killer Directly At Kohberger Sentencing The Idaho Department of Correction declined to give specific details about the transfer process. Read On The Fox News App "Once in IDOC custody, the person goes through a Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) process to evaluate their needs and determine appropriate housing placement; this process takes 7-14 days," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "We wait until a person completes RDU to determine their classification, housing placement, and privileges." Bryan Kohberger Traded Death Penalty For Life Sentence That Could Still End Violently Behind Bars WATCH: Sister of Kaylee Goncalves speaks out during Bryan Kohberger's sentencing hearing That evaluation will include a psyche check to determine whether Kohberger may be a threat to himself, other inmates, or prison staff, said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor who has closely followed the case. He'll probably be placed in solitary confinement, Mauro said, at least for a while. But inmates are typically not kept there indefinitely, he said, and eventually he could wind up in general population with other killers. Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty To Idaho Murders "In the general population, he is vulnerable, and he's notorious — and in prison, especially for lifers, your reputation as being dangerous and just your reputation in general is the currency," he said. "So there could be somebody looking to do him. On the other hand, we do want to remember Idaho is a death penalty state, and if you're in for life, and you kill somebody, well, that's going to get you to death penalty." Kohberger could try to request an out-of-state transfer, but that would be a rare move, according to Josh Ritter, a criminal defense attorney and the host of "The Courtroom Confidential" podcast. "He's not going anywhere," he told Fox News Digital. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X During their impact statements during Kohberger's sentencing Wednesday, the victims' families delivered a range of messages, from outrage to forgiveness. "They ran the gamut, right, you have people who were willing to forgive him, and saying you know, 'If you ever want to talk, please call me I'll hear you out,' and then you had people who we're wishing death on him," Mauro told Fox News Digital. Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee's mother, invoked the words Kohberger is believed to have said to the victims, overheard by one of the surviving roommates. SIGN UP TO GET True Crime Newsletter "When those prison doors slam shut behind you, I hope that sound echoes in your heart for the rest of your meaningless days," she said. "I hope it reminds you of what we all already know. You're nothing. May you continue to live your life in misery. But it's OK because they're there 'to help you.' Hell will be waiting." Goncalves' father and sister also alluded to how he may be treated poorly by people bigger than him behind bars. "They want to be in his head. They want him living in fear. They want him thinking in terms of that not only is he a failure, which is what they were calling him, but that he is a target," Mauro said. "They want that on his mind, which is a very wearing thing." LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE True Crime Hub Kohberger's already been rubbing fellow inmates the wrong way, according to files released by the Moscow Police Department Wednesday evening. Investigators overheard a male inmate talking with a female prisoner about Kohberger during jail transport. He called Kohberger a "f---ing weirdo" and said he would've beat him up if he wasn't worried about getting punished for it. Asked if he thought Kohberger committed the crimes, he said yes. "His eyes tell a story," he said. Another inmate told investigators that Kohberger spent hours each day video chatting with his mother while in custody. According to the interview, the inmate was watching sports during one of those calls and said "you suck" at a player on TV. Kohberger, who overheard the comment, allegedly "immediately got up and put his face to the bars" and "aggressively asked if [the inmate] was talking about him or his mother." The inmate said this was the only time he witnessed Kohberger lose his article source: Bryan Kohberger transferred to maximum security state prison
