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According to a report from ABC News, Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, was previously investigated in connection with an alleged home invasion in Washington state that occurred a year before the Idaho murders.
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Authorities told the news station that Kohberger is no longer considered a person of interest in the case
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Kohberger’s trial for the Idaho murders is scheduled for August 2025
Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, was previously investigated in connection with a home invasion in Washington state — a year before the murders in Moscow, Idaho.
According to bodycam footage shared by ABC News, police in Pullman, Washington, responded to an alleged 2021 home invasion — less than 10 miles from the off-campus residence where the four University of Idaho students — Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21 , Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 – were fatally stabbed.
As reported by ABC News, the female resident in the bodycam footage tells police that a masked intruder broke into her Pullman home around 3:30 a.m. and held a knife.
Related: Mother of Idaho murder victim Madison Mogen speaks out about postponed trial: ‘Justice system is not about victims’
“I heard my door open,” the woman said, according to the bodycam footage, “and I looked over and saw someone wearing a balaclava and having a knife. And so I kicked the [expletive] out of their stomachs and screamed super loudly, and they happily flew back into my closet and then ran out the door and up the stairs.
In a Pullman Police Department report, ABC News said, the suspect remained silent during the incident. Authorities were unable to find a suspect or evidence after one of the roommates immediately contacted police.
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On December 30, 2022, Moscow police said Bryan Kohberger had been arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the murders of Chapin, Kernodle, Mogen and Goncalves on November 13, 2022 in Idaho. According to an affidavit of probable cause seen by PEOPLE, authorities believe the fatal stabbings occurred between 4 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. It was also added that a sheath of the knife used in the murders was left at the site of the bed where Mogen and Goncalves lay. found dead.
The affidavit stated that one of the surviving roommates said they saw the killer, described in the document as “a figure dressed in black clothing and a mask,” walking past her as he left the crime scene.
ABC News reported that Kohberger was named by authorities as a person of interest in the incident in Pullman, Washington, 13 days after the arrest.
Related: Cause of death of four slain Idaho students confirmed by coroner
However, according to the police report, the female resident described the suspect as between 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-1, while Kohberger is 6-foot-4.
Authorities also said Kohberger, a Pennsylvania resident, had not yet enrolled at Washington State University or attended the institution as a prospective student, ABC News reported.
Pullman police also told the news outlet that Kohberger is no longer a person of interest in Pullman’s alleged home invasion, saying, “We have no reason or evidence at this time to believe he was involved in this burglary…” The unsolved case has now been closed, ABC News reports.
Related: How Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger Is Trying to Avoid a Possible Death Sentence: ‘Kitchen Sink Approach’
In May 2023, a grand jury indicted Kohberger for the Idaho murders. A judge entered a “not guilty” plea on Kohberger’s behalf when the suspect remained silent when asked for his plea.
Brian Buckmire, a legal analyst for ABC News, told the newspaper that Kohberger’s defense could try to use the alleged burglary at the Pullman, Washington, residence in 2021 to cast reasonable doubt about the suspect’s murder trial, scheduled for August 2025 .
Read the original article about People
