Details are coming to light about the man accused of killing four University of Idaho college students on November 13. The horrific slaying has rocked the country and terrorized the small college town of Moscow. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested Friday at his family's home in Albrightsville, Pennslyvania, in connection with the deaths of Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21.
For more than a month, the investigation seemed stalled, and many feared that a killer was on the loose and could strike at any time. The arrest of Kohberger has eased some of those fears, but chilling details about the suspect are now emerging.
Kohberger's car was the key to his arrest.
Investigators searched for the owner of a 2011-13 Hyundai Elantra for weeks. The Moscow Police Department issued a statement on December 7 requesting the community's help finding the vehicle. A number of tips came in about the car — one leading investigators off course to a vehicle in Eugene, Oregon.
Then, on Saturday, investigators released information indicating they had successfully tracked Kohberger's vehicle back across the country all the way to Pennslyvania before arresting him on Friday, sources told CNN.
Investigators identified Kohberger as their prime suspect after DNA evidence linked him to the crime and confirmed that he owned the vehicle in question, per CNN. A murder weapon has not yet been located.
Kohberger was a criminal justice student at Washington State University.
A news release from Washington State University on Friday confirmed that Kohberger had been a PhD student and had just completed his first semester in the criminal justice program. Previously, he had studied under a professor with expertise in serial killers, according to the New York Times.
Fox News reported that Ben Roberts, a fellow student in the criminology department, told The Tribune Democrat there was something different about Kohberger.
Roberts explained that he thought Kohberger was "super awkward" and that he was always trying to "fit in."
"One thing he would always do, almost without fail, was find the most complicated way to explain something," Roberts told the news outlet. "He had to make sure you knew that he knew it."
Kohberger was allegedly bullied for years.
According to former classmates at Pleasant Valley High School in Brodheadsville, Pennslyvania, Kohberger was bullied in high school, mostly by girls. He had a tremendously difficult time fitting in and often made students feel uncomfortable.
Sarah Healey attended school with Kohberger and told Fox News that he was strange and that students would mock him and throw things at him at school.
"It was bad," Healey told Fox News "There was definitely something off about him, like we couldn't tell exactly what it was. I remember one time when I was walking in the hallway, and he stopped me and was like, 'Do you want to hang out?'"
She explained that she barely knew Kohberger, and it was an awkward exchange.
"It was just weird," she said. "But Bryan was bullied a lot, and I never got a chance to say something to defend him, because he would always run away."
The strange behavior reportedly continued after high school.
Another former friend of Kohberger from Pennslyvania's Northampton Community College, who wished to remain anonymous, told Fox News that Kohberger was extremely intelligent and stood out in the crowd in high-level classes.
The person told the news outlet that Kohberger allegedly struggled with heroin use and with his weight. She said that although he was intelligent and different, she would not have pegged him as violent.
"I want to talk to him now and ask him what happened? What went wrong?" she said. "What was going through your head? What were you feeling? What was going on? You know, why did this occur?"
Kohberger's neighbors also reported strange behavior and claimed the accused killer never slept.
A downstairs neighbor of Kohberger, who wished to remain anonymous, told the New York Post that Kohberger was up at all hours of the night doing strange things.
"He's normally a very late-night person, going to the bathroom and vacuuming at 1 or 12 in the morning," she said. "I have kids, so sometimes I thought of speaking to him or complaining, but never did."
She told the Post she only saw him with a woman once, and that he usually kept to himself.
There are still many unknowns in the case.
As the investigation continues, authorities are still looking for information about the crime, how the people involved are linked, and what the motive was. All four students were found dead after going to separate locations on a Saturday night. Chapin and Kernodle attended a party on campus earlier in the evening, police have said, while Mogen and Goncalves went to a downtown bar and ordered food at a late-night food truck. All four were found stabbed to death in the same off-campus home.
CNN reported that in a now-deleted Reddit post, a student investigator associated with a study at DeSales University, where Kohberger had reportedly attended at some point, mentioned that Kohberger wanted to participate in the research project "to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime."
According to CNN, the post read, "this study seeks to understand the story behind your most recent criminal offense, with an emphasis on your thoughts and feelings throughout your experience."
Kohberger's family stands by him.
In a statement released on Sunday, Kohberger's family said they want to maintain that he is innocent until proven guilty, according to Fox News.
Public Defender Jason A. LaBar released a statement on behalf of Kohberger's family noting, "We have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions."
Kohberger was due in court on Tuesday. LaBar told NBC News that Kohberger is "eager to be exonerated." He is expected to waive the extradition hearing to be moved to Idaho, the news outlet reported. In Idaho, he faces four counts of first-degree murder.
