A video shows Bryan Kohberger discussing his crimes with an unsuspecting Department of Motor Vehicles worker while requesting a new license plate days after the fatal stabbings.
Kohberger entered the DMV branch in Pullman, Washington, on November 18, 2022, to obtain a new license plate five days after he took the lives of four University of Idaho students.
A month after the exchange with the worker, Kohberger was arrested at his family’s home for the fatal attacks on Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20.
Bryan Kohberger discussed his crimes against four University of Idaho students while requesting a new license plate
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Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
The suspect entered the off-campus home where the students were sleeping in Moscow, Idaho, at around 4 a.m. on November 13, 2022, and stabbed them.
At the time of the attack, Kohberger was a doctoral student in criminology at Washington State University, whose campus is located less than eight miles (13 km) from Moscow.
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In a video obtained by the YouTube channel Christy’s Chaos, the perpetrator, wearing gloves, can be heard telling the DMV worker, “I definitely need to get my license plate changed.”
During the exchange, the worker mentioned how much safer the area was compared to her native San Francisco. She then mentioned the crimes committed by the man standing in front of her.
The worker told Kohberger that she liked the “small, quiet, and safe” Pullman area, adding, “But the whole Moscow thing kinda makes it feel a little less.”
Kohberger nodded and said, “Yeah.”
Kohberger appears to make small talk with the worker, who unknowingly mentioned his crimes as a reason she didn’t feel so “safe”
Image credits: Christy’s Chaos
The perpetrator showed no signs of having committed the crime days earlier. In the video, he can be heard casually making small talk about baseball and asking the worker if she was a Giants fan.
“I’m actually from the East Coast, I’m a Yankees fan, I’m hoping you guys don’t catch up,” Kohberger said.
The then-28-year-old filled out the paperwork to obtain Washington state license plates for his Hyundai Elantra.
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At one point, the worker asked Kohberger if he was a student at Washington State University. “Yeah, PhD,” he responded. “I’m definitely not an undergrad. It’s an interesting community.”
Kohberger was also asked whether he would stay in the area after graduation, but he said he had no clear plans for his future.
“I do like Pullman, but I’m not entirely certain if I can. Depends if I can get a job. I may have to go pretty much anywhere. I like Washington state,” he said.
Weeks before his arrest, Kohberger mentioned that he had “picked the worst time” to return to his native Pennsylvania
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Kohberger further explained that he would soon be driving to Pennsylvania but had “picked the worst time,” as the eastern Washington area was expecting a snowstorm.
The FBI linked Kohberger to the four homicides after finding DNA matching his on a knife sheath left at the scene.
On December 30, 2022, authorities arrested Kohberger in his native Pennsylvania on four counts of first-degree m*rder and one count of felony burglary.
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Last year, the perpetrator pleaded guilty to four counts of m*rder after years of maintaining his innocence.
Kohberger, who avoided capital punishment by entering a guilty plea deal, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson explained that the perpetrator took certain precautions after the fatal stabbings, including wearing gloves, not using his credit card, and wiping data from his electronic devices.
Kohberger deleted data from his phone and began using credit cards after fatally stabbing the four Idaho students
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Despite deleting data from his phone, he reportedly kept several screenshots and pictures of news coverage of his crimes.
Kohberger had no known ties to any of his victims. According to Gilbertson, investigators found no evidence on the devices that indicated he knew the students.
“To this date, we have never found a single connection – anything – between any of the four victims or the other two surviving roommates with him. No pictures, no texts,” Gilbertson said.
Kohberger was reportedly “very consumed” with criminology and the psychology around criminals, Gilbertson added.
Lead prosecutor Bill Thompson said on the 48 Hours podcast that, before the crime, Kohberger had visited the neighborhood where the victims lived “20 plus times” at night, possibly to surveil the students.
He also cited information provided to police indicating that Goncalves’ dog had begun running away from the house and disappearing into the woods in the weeks leading up to the sinister attack.
His motive and whether he had any connections to the victims remain unclear
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In interviews with investigators, some of the victims’ friends reported hearing “noises” consistent with someone “moving through the woods on foot,” leading Thompson to believe that Kohberger may have been secretly gaining the dog’s trust to enter the home without any barking.
According to documents released by police, former fellow prison inmates of Kohberger found him to be “weird.”
One inmate said he had unusual habits, such as washing his hands “dozens of times” each day.
Image credits: Idaho Dept of Corrections
Police also said Kohberger “would be awake almost all night and would only take a nap during the day.”
The criminal did not address the court before he was sentenced, telling Judge Steven Hippler he “respectfully” declined to speak.
“As we sit here today, this case is ending, and we are now certain who committed these unspeakable acts of evil,” Hippler said. “But we don’t know, and what we may never know, is why.”
The four victims were sleeping at their off-campus home at the time of the attack
Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies at the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. Mogen, a marketing student, had been best friends with Goncalves since the sixth grade.
Kernodle was a junior majoring in marketing. She and Chapin, who majored in recreation, sport, and tourism management had been dating since the spring.
Social media users shared their thoughts on the newly resurfaced video of Bryan Kohberger interacting with a DMV worker
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