Details emerge about Monroe County suspect in Idaho killings
Dec. 31—As a student at DeSales University, Bryan Christopher Kohberger assisted with a research project into how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.
On Friday, his participation in that study became a chilling footnote.
State troopers and members of the state police the Special Emergency Response Team converged on a home in the Pocono Mountains early Friday morning and arrested Kohberger on a fugitive warrant for the brutal killings of four University of Idaho students last month.
Kohberger, 28, Albrightsville, was later arraigned before on-call Magisterial District Judge Michael R. Muth and held without bail in the Monroe County Correctional Facility.
He faces an extradition hearing Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in Monroe County Court in Stroudsburg.
At a news conference later in the day in Moscow, Idaho, investigators said Kohberger has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary in the deaths of the four students, who were stabbed as they slept at their off-campus home Nov. 13.
State police released few details about Kohberger's arrest, which happened at his family's home at 119 Lamsden Drive at Indian Mountain Lake, a gated community in Chestnuthill Twp.
Both state police and FBI spokeswoman Carrie Adamowski said questions about the investigation leading to Kohberger's arrest should be directed to authorities in Idaho.
On Friday inside Indian Mountain Lake, neighbors said they were shocked to wake up to law enforcement vehicles outside the Kohberger home after the 3 a.m. raid.
Eileen Cesaretti, who lives across street, said she loves Kohberger's parents and is fond of their son. She said he helped her and her husband around their house when he was home from school.
"I don't think he's capable of doing something like this. I pray to God he's innocent," Cesaretti said.
The Indian Mountain Lake Civic Association notified residents of the arrest in a letter posted to Facebook page.
"This is a developing story and IMLCA has no information regarding this incident — we are following the story like everyone else," the letter said.
Police stood guard outside the gated entrance for most of the day.
Those inside the private development passed by the Kohberger home to snap photos and take video.
The front screen door of the home appeared to have been ripped off its hinges and the front door window was smashed, covered with duct tape. The door and smashed glass were discarded behind the home.
No one answered the door at the home, but dogs could be heard barking inside.
One passerby was Schuyler Jacobson, 29, a high school classmate of Kohberger at Pleasant Valley High School.
"I'm in disbelief this is who they say did it, right here. I can't believe he came back here, not in a million years," Jacobson said, noting he's been following the Idaho murder case for weeks.
Jacobson said he and Kohberger, who was a grade behind him, would often run together at night to keep in shape during high school but had limited contact since then.
"That was 11, 12 years ago. People change," Jacobson said.
In an email, Carolyn Steigleman, DeSales associate vice president for marketing and communications, confirmed Kohberger received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the university at Center Valley near Allentown in 2020.
He completed his graduate studies for a master's in the DeSales criminal justice program in June, she said.
"As a Catholic, Salesian community, we are devastated by this senseless tragedy," Steigleman said of the Idaho slayings. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families during this difficult time."
Steigleman said she had no information about the research project that listed Kohberger as student investigator.
The research, led by faculty members in the school's Department of Social Sciences, sought to understand the thoughts and feelings of offenders during their commission of crimes, according to an online solicitation for the project.
Law enforcement officials in Idaho said Kohberger was most recently a graduate student at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.
A listing on the WSU website indicated Kohberger was pursuing a doctorate in criminal justice and criminology at the school. Efforts to reach university officials for comment were unsuccessful.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132
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