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Idaho Murder Suspect Agrees To Waive Extradition, Tells Family 'I Love You' In Court
Bryan Kohberger’s mother and sister began to sob in a Pennsylvania courtroom when the murder charges were read against him.
The man suspected of killing four University of Idaho students agreed to be extradited from his home state of Pennsylvania back to Idaho Tuesday.
Bryan Kohberger, who is facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary for allegedly breaking into a rental home in the middle of the night and fatally stabbing the four students, appeared in a Monroe County courtroom Tuesday wearing a red prison jumpsuit and shackles, according to ABC News.
At one point during the extradition hearing, the 28-year-old turned to his parents and two sisters — who were seated inside the courtroom — and mouthed the words “I love you.”
When the judge read the murder charges against him out loud, Kohberger’s mother and sister began to sob.
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Kohberger agreed to waive his extradition during the proceedings, signing a waiver at the defense table that will allow authorities to return him to Idaho, CNN reports.
Authorities now have 10 days to hand Kohberger over to the Latah County District Attorney’s Office in Idaho, although the Pennsylvania State Police have said it’s not clear when the transfer will occur.
“My heart goes out to the families of the victims, their friends, the community of Moscow and the University of Idaho,” Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Robert Evanchick said, according to the news outlet. “No words can heal the pain associated with the loss of a child. Their young lives were ended far too soon.”
Kohberger is accused of breaking into an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho in the early morning hours of Nov. 13 and fatally stabbing Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Ethan Chapin, 20; and Xana Kernodle, 20, after they had returned home from a night out.
Police believe all four were likely killed while they slept. Two other roommates, who had lived on the ground floor of the home, were not targeted in the violent attack and survived.
Kohberger is a PhD student in the criminal justice program at Washington State University, which is located about 10 miles from the murder scene.
Although investigators have been tight-lipped about what linked Kohberger to the crime, two law enforcement sources told CNN that investigators matched his DNA to genetic material recovered at the home. They were also allegedly able to trace him to a white Hyundai Elantra seen near the scene around the time of the killings, the outlet reports.
No information has been released about a possible motive or whether investigators believe Kohberger had any connection to the suspects.
After Kohberger’s arrest Friday morning at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, Moscow Police said the probable cause statement against him was being sealed until the extradition process was complete and he could be formally served with the Idaho arrest warrant charging him with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
“Once that arrest warrant is returned to court, the probable cause affidavit will be unsealed,” police said Tuesday.
Later that same day, police announced that Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall had issued a “nondissemination order” in the case that “prohibits any communication by investigators, law enforcement personal, attorneys and agents of prosecuting attorney or defense attorney concerning this case.”
According to the order, obtained by Oxygen.com and commonly known as a "gag order," authorities are prohibited from making any written or oral statements outside of the public records of the case.
This includes information related to the evidence in the case, information regarding the “character, credibility or criminal record” of the suspect, test results, defense party claims or any other information “likely to interfere with a fair trial.”
As a result, Moscow Police have said they will “no longer be communicating with the public or the media regarding this case.”
