The Idaho murder case took a dramatic turn Thursday as newly released court documents claim that suspect Bryan Kohberger allegedly left his DNA on a knife sheath found at the scene of the brutal stabbings of four University of Idaho students.
The affidavit, made public as Kohberger appeared in a Moscow, Idaho, court, reveals startling details about the evidence that reportedly ties him to the November 13 killings. According to the documents, officer Brett Payne described discovering a tan leather knife sheath lying on a bed next to one of the victims, Kaylee Goncalves.
Payne noted the sheath bore the markings “Ka-Bar,” “USMC,” and the United States Marine Corps eagle, globe, and anchor insignia. The Idaho state lab later found a single source of male DNA on the button snap of the sheath, matching Kohberger’s profile, court documents claim.
Investigators reportedly used surveillance footage, cellphone data, and FBI analysis to build their case. A white Hyundai Elantra, matching Kohberger’s vehicle, was seen circling the area near the student house between 3:29 a. m.
and 4:20 a. m. on the morning of the murders.
The car entered the area four times, then left at a high rate of speed.
Police later spotted the same car in a parking lot at Washington State University Pullman, where Kohberger was a Ph. D. student.
A traffic stop in August had already given officers his phone number, which they linked to cell tower data. According to the affidavit, Kohberger’s phone pinged near his Pullman home around 2:47 a. m.
that night, then went silent until 4:48 a. m. , when it showed him traveling near the murder scene.
The route he took afterward, according to investigators, suggests he was trying to hide his location. Phone records also reportedly show his device pinged near the student house at least twelve times before the murders, mostly in the late evening and early morning hours.
As the case continues to unfold, one question lingers: what else might the evidence reveal about that tragic night?
