The suspect in the University of Idaho quadruple homicide reportedly messaged one of the victims in the case “several times” two weeks prior to her death.
An investigator familiar with the case told People this week that 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, who was a Ph.D. student in criminology at the nearby Washington State University, messaged one of the girls on Instagram in October.
“He slid into one of the girls’ DMs several times but she didn’t respond,” the investigator told the outlet. “Basically, it was just him saying ‘Hey, how are you?’ But he did it again and again.”
The report stated that the messages were sent in the two weeks leading up to the death of the students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 on Nov. 13.
"There's no indication that he was getting frustrated with her lack of response," the source told People, "but he was definitely persistent."
To recap, Townhall covered that Kohberger, 28, was arrested in Pennsylvania and extradited to Idaho after being charged with four counts of first-degree murder of the four students. The four victims were stabbed in their off-campus home in the middle of the night on Nov. 13.
The probable cause affidavit explained that the suspect’s phone was in the area of the victims’ home over 10 times between June 2022 and the night of their deaths on Nov. 13. On the night of the murders, Kohberger’s cell phone was connected to “cellular resources” consistent with him leaving his home in Pullman, Washington, near his campus at 2:47 a.m. and then going on airplane mode or turning the phone off. The next time the phone was connected to the cellular network was after 4 a.m. near Moscow, Idaho on a route leading back to Pullman. DNA found on a knife sheath at the crime scene, as well as Kohberger’s car on security footage, also connected him to the murder.
But, the affidavit did not explain if there were any connections between Kohberger and the victims.
Goncalves’ father, Steve Goncalves, said in an interview recently that he thinks Kohberger may have followed his daughter and her friends prior to their death.
“What kind of behavior could explain somebody being this brutal to another human being? He was probably obsessed with just their overall looks and their social media accounts, and the fact that they [Kaylee Goncalves and Mogen] were close,” Goncalves said.