Public defender says Idaho murder suspect is ‘calm,’ believes he’ll be exonerated: ‘This is not him’

A public defender for Bryan Christopher Kohberger, the 28-year-old suspect charged with murder in the deaths of four University of Idaho students, said on TODAY his client believes he will be exonerated.

Jason LaBar, the chief public defender of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, is representing Kohberger in the extradition but not the murder case. He called the charges "a little out of character."

"He said this is not him," LaBar told TODAY on Tuesday, Jan. 3. "He believes he's going to be exonerated. That's what he believes, those were his words."

LaBar added Kohberger has been very "calm" and easy to speak to during the four times he has visited him, and that he expects Kohberger to sign extradition paperwork during Tuesday's hearing.

Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in northeastern Pennsylvania on Dec. 30, police said. Moscow Police Chief James Fry said at a press conference Kohberger was charged with four counts of first degree murder and one felony burglary charge.

Kohberger has been held in Pennsylvania since, and is expected to waive an extradition hearing scheduled for Jan. 3, paving the way for him to return to Idaho later in the day.

University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were found slain in their home near the school's Moscow, Idaho, campus on Nov. 13.

Kohberger's arrest marked the end of a seven-week manhunt for a suspect. Police said the four were brutally stabbed in their beds during the early morning hours of Nov. 13.

Once Kohberger returns to Idaho, he will be served an arrest warrant, and investigators could unseal court documents that could provide more details about what evidence led police to him.

Two law enforcement officials told NBC News detectives used genetic genealogy to track down the suspect, a process which allows investigators to identify close relatives of potential suspects.

LaBar said Kohberger’s family was "obviously shocked" when they found out about the charges.

"They don’t believe it to be Bryan," LaBar said. "This is certainly completely out of character, the allegations, and really they’re just trying to be supportive with the understanding these four families have suffered loss, so that they’re sympathetic towards that, and that’s why it should remain really private."

LaBar previously said Kohberger’s father recently flew to Washington State and completed a 2,500-mile road trip back to Pennsylvania with his son, where they were pulled over two times by police.

Steve Goncalves, the father of victim Kaylee Goncalves, said in an interview with NBC News he had never heard Kohberger's name before his arrest.

"[He] was not on my radar at all," he said. "I want him to be sick of seeing us and sick of knowing that these people won’t let it go."

"Our next mission is really to find justice and make sure that we have a closing chapter that meets the expectations of all the families," he continued.

Kohberger received his bachelor's and master's degrees from DeSales University, a private catholic university in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, the school said in a statement.

Internet sleuths uncovered a Reddit post from Kohberger's graduate studies in which he apparently asked for volunteers for a research project to "understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision making while committing a crime."

DeSales University confirmed the email address listed on the post belonged to Kohberger when he was a student at the school.

At the time of the stabbings, Kohberger was a PhD student studying criminal justice and criminology at nearby Washington State University, just over the state line in Pullman, Washington,

Elizabeth Chilton, chancellor of the WSU Pullman campus and WSU provost, said in a statement on Dec. 30 the university police department assisted Idaho law enforcement officials with the execution of search warrants at Kohberger's on-campus apartment and office.

"This horrific act has shaken everyone in the Palouse region," Chilton said. "We will long feel the loss of these young people in the Moscow-Pullman community and hope the announcement today will be a step toward healing."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com