The authorities have unveiled a fresh photograph of Bryan Kohberger, captured just after his arrest in 2022.
Now 30 years old, Kohberger is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murders of four University of Idaho students, Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, which occurred in November 2022.
While Kohberger initially denied the allegations, he later confessed to four counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea arrangement. Additionally, he faced a charge of burglary.
The students were discovered fatally stabbed in their residence during the early hours, with two surviving housemates present during the attack.
During the hearing, prosecutors revealed compelling evidence regarding the events of that night in 2022. Kohberger was apprehended on December 30, 2022, at his parents’ residence in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. The Moscow police have made public the image taken just after his arrest.
The photo depicts Kohberger in a black hooded sweater and shorts, handcuffed, looking directly into the camera. Beside him stands a uniformed officer.
ABC News obtained the photo, taken shortly after the criminology student was detained while going through trash at his parents’ home.
Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger recalled the moment he learned of Kohberger’s capture: “I’ll never forget — my phone dinged and I looked at it and it said, ‘We got him’.”
He continued, “The next thing on, there was a picture of him in handcuffs from the scene.”
Once Kohberger was brought to the station, Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson observed Kohberger’s demeanor as ‘expressionless’ during police questioning.
Gilbertson recounted, “We started with just very general questions about Pullman, about WSU … he spoke at length about that with us.”
However, when the conversation turned to the murders, Kohberger’s demeanor shifted. “As soon as we mentioned that, then he stopped, and he said, ‘I don’t want to talk anymore,’” Gilbertson added.
He continued, “We asked if he was familiar with it, if he knew anything about Moscow, and he said, ‘No’ … and stopped right then and said he wanted an attorney.”
This interaction reinforced the belief among officers that they ‘had their guy’.
Dahlinger expressed the deep sense of ‘relief that washed over in that moment,’ remarking on the shared sentiment within the community: “So being able to share that information with the community, I can only imagine that many of us in the community felt the same when we knew that we had him.”
In addition to this image, court records revealed that Kohberger had allegedly taken a selfie at 10:31 am, mere hours after the four students were slain.