Did Bryan Kohberger Know the Idaho Victims?
Phone records indicate that he was near the victims’ residence “at least 12 times” between June 2022 and November 2022, according to the probable cause affidavit.
“All of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours of their respective days,” the affidavit revealed.
Commenting on the perceived stalking that took place prior to the murders, Alivea Goncalves, victim Kaylee Goncalves’ older sister, told NewsNation that the family had “no idea” that Kohberger was frequently in the area.
“We had no idea. She had no idea. I had no idea that true evil was genuinely watching them,” Alivea, 26, said on January 9, 2023. Learning of the suspect’s presence near the home has been “the hardest part of this,” Alivea continued, “to sit back and look at the totality of it.”
“When my sister was FaceTiming me about a new egg bites recipe, [Kohberger] was planning his next visit to the home,” Alivea said of Kaylee, who was just 21 years old. “That’s really difficult, it’s really difficult, not to wish that you had done more and wish that you had known more.”
Kohberger also took steps to cover up any evidence of the murders. A law enforcement source told CNN on January 6, 2023, that the graduate student extensively cleaned the inside and outside of his vehicle in the aftermath and was seen wearing surgical gloves on more than one occasion.
On January 17, 2023, People reported that Kohberger sent a series of Instagram messages to one of the female victims two weeks before she was killed.
“He slid into one of the girls’ DMs several times, but she didn’t respond,” a source told the outlet. “Basically, it was just him saying, ‘Hey, how are you?’ But he did it again and again.”
Two days later, the outlet confirmed that a since-deleted Instagram profile which reportedly belonged to the suspect, followed all three of the female victims.
In addition to frequenting the area of the women’s home, Kohberger also dined at the Moscow, Idaho, restaurant where both Madison and Xana were employed. A former employee told People that while his visits were without incident, he was a memorable customer due to his strict vegan order. It’s unclear whether either of the victims waited on Kohberger during these visits.
The outlet later reported that witnesses recalled seeing Kohberger inside the university’s student union prior to the murders.
“It was really early in the semester,” one student told People in February 2023. “He was at the food court drinking water. He sat by himself.”
“He was the type to stare,” she added. “He wouldn’t look away if you caught him staring. Like he wanted you to notice that he was looking at you. He didn’t smile, didn’t nod, didn’t say anything. Just stared.”
The female student added that his “eye contact was making [her] uncomfortable.”
“It was so weird that we ended up leaving and eating outside, because we wanted to get away from him,” she said.
