Night Watch: The Idaho College Murders Part 4

Summary

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Crime House Daily – Night Watch: The Idaho College Murders Part 4

Host: Katie Ring
Date: October 23, 2025
Series: Idaho Student Murders (Part 4 of 5)

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Episode Overview

Tonight's episode of Crime House Daily continues the deep-dive investigation into the Idaho College Murders, focusing on the critical breakthroughs that led investigators to Bryan Kohberger, the primary suspect in the murders of four University of Idaho students. Host Katie Ring dissects the pivotal evidence collected, traces Kohberger's movements, and unpacks the intense law enforcement surveillance that culminated in his arrest.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Breakthrough Evidence and the Suspect’s Moves

• DNA and Knife Sheath
  • A tan leather knife sheath found next to one of the victims was found to contain DNA that played a major role in identifying Bryan Kohberger.

    “One of the biggest clues so far is a tan leather knife sheath that was found next to one of the victims. They found DNA on that knife sheath.”
    — Detective Brett Payne [01:12]

• The White Hyundai Elantra
  • Investigators tracked a white Hyundai Elantra seen around the crime scene, eventually leading them to Kohberger, even after he changed the registration to Washington State shortly after the murders.
  • Police seized a Hyundai Elantra from Kohberger’s house.
• Timeline of Key Events
  • On December 19, 2022, police confirm the DNA on the sheath is a likely match for Kohberger, who by then had left the area.
  • Kohberger had recently lost his PhD program funding and TA position at Washington State University due to complaints of combative and sexist behavior.

2. Surveillance and DNA Collection

• Kohberger’s Cross-Country Drive
  • Kohberger and his father drove back to Pennsylvania with Kohberger clearing out his apartment—including removing his shower curtain—suggesting he did not intend to return.
  • He was pulled over twice in Indiana for tailgating, but local police and FBI both claim no coordination or suspicion at the time, as DNA results were not yet confirmed.

    “A lot of people thought that the police or the FBI might have been tailing him at this point, but... they were completely by chance.”
    — Katie Ring [05:34]

• Surveillance in Pennsylvania
  • FBI placed the Kohbergers under 24-hour secret surveillance rather than immediately arresting Bryan, waiting for an opportunity to collect his DNA discreetly.

3. Cell Phone Data Shadows the Crime

• Suspicious Phone Movements

  • Phone turned off: On the night of the murders, Kohberger’s phone disconnects from towers for over two hours during the likely time of the killings—a pattern new and highly unusual for him.

    “It seems highly likely that Coburger turned off his phone shortly before 3am specifically to avoid pinging any towers.”
    — Katie Ring [06:18]

  • On analysis, Kohberger’s cell phone had connected to towers near 1122 King Road (the scene) on twelve separate occasions in the prior months, mostly during odd hours.
    • Authorities suspect surveillance of the house for months.

    “His cell phone data strongly suggests that he was aware of the housemates long before they were killed, and he may have been watching them for a long time before he killed them.”
    — Katie Ring [11:36]

• Return to the Scene

  • Kohberger’s phone pinged the area about five hours after the murders ([12:12]).
  • Surveillance footage placed him at an Albertsons grocery store on the same route his phone followed ([12:49]).

4. The Q Tip in the Trash: The DNA Link

• Garbage Surveillance
  • FBI agents in PA collected a Q tip from the Kohberger family trash, which provided a familial DNA match linking the sheath found at the crime scene to Bryan.

    “They dig through the garbage bags and soon they find something. A Q tip.”
    — Katie Ring [13:47]

• The Q tip was revealed to belong to Kohberger’s father, but this was sufficient to strongly implicate Bryan.

5. The Arrest and Initial Interrogation

• Apprehension
  • Warrant secured on December 29, 2022, arrest in PA at 1 a.m. on December 30.
  • Kohberger tried to flee to his basement room but was stopped by agents.
• Search Findings
  • Authorities recovered a handgun, three empty magazines, some marijuana, and a self-help book with underlined passages.
• Interrogation Behavior
  • Kohberger remained "eerily calm," making direct eye contact.
  • He asked detectives, “Who else did you arrest?” sparking speculation about potential accomplices or misdirection ([15:30]).
  • He quickly invoked his right to a lawyer and made no confession.

6. Building the Case and the Defense’s Motions

• Prosecution Evidence
  • Kohberger’s DNA matched directly to that found on the sheath upon collection after his arrest.
  • Authorities discovered Kohberger purchased a KA-BAR knife and sharpener in March 2022.
  • His apartment was virtually emptied before he left; investigators found evidence of blood and bodily fluids on his mattress and pillow.
  • His car was found meticulously cleaned, possibly even “disassembled inside.”
• Defense Tactics
  • Defense attempted to exclude evidence, citing two unidentified male blood samples at the scene.
  • Kohberger’s alibi: He was “just out for a pleasant nighttime drive” during the murders.
• Legal Status
  • Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary, held without bail, and faces the potential for the death penalty.
  • He declined to enter a plea—a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

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Notable Quotes and Moments

• On the potential for premeditation:

  "Data shows that his phone was turned back on at 4:48am... Basically, he makes a big U turn, which detectives find confusing. It seems like he may have been taking back roads, perhaps as a way to avoid cameras or traffic stops..."
  — Katie Ring [07:48]

• On cell phone data indicating stalking:

  "Between June 2022 and November 13, 2022... Brian Coburger's cell phone connects to towers near 1122 King Road on 12 different occasions..."
  — Katie Ring [11:36]

• On the arrest and Kohberger’s demeanor:

  "Coburger's demeanor is eerily calm. He makes so much direct eye contact. Payne and Gilberton are a little uncomfortable."
  — Katie Ring [15:14]

• Kohberger’s cryptic question:

  “Who else did you arrest?”
  — Attributed to Bryan Kohberger [15:30]

• Lead prosecutor Bill Thompson, on the car:

  “It was like the car... had been essentially disassembled inside.” — As paraphrased by Katie Ring [18:30]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• The crucial evidence: knife sheath and car – [01:12]
• Phone data and movements on night of murders – [06:18]
• Discovery of surveillance-like phone pings – [11:36]
• Kohberger’s return to the crime scene (phone/footage) – [12:12–12:49]
• Collection and testing of Q tip DNA from the trash – [13:47]
• The arrest and search of Kohberger’s belongings – [14:59–15:14]
• Kohberger’s interrogation and “Who else did you arrest?” – [15:30]
• Discovery of meticulously cleaned car – [18:30]

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Tone and Language

Katie Ring maintains a meticulous, focused, and analytical tone throughout the episode. She combines detailed reporting with empathetic commentary, often reminding listeners of the presumption of innocence and the ongoing nature of the investigation. The episode weaves together police procedural details with narrative suspense—particularly in recounting the evidence trail and Kohberger’s unusual behaviors—while highlighting both prosecution and defense maneuvers.

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Closing Notes

The episode ends with Katie Ring setting up for the final installment in the series, teasing surprising events in June 2025 concerning Bryan Kohberger, and encouraging listeners to submit their theories. She reminds the audience about the importance of following updates as the case evolves and not jumping to conclusions before the final verdict.

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Next Up:
Tune in for Part 5 for the latest trial developments and unexpected twists in the Idaho College Murders case.

Transcript

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A community is reeling and millions of questions were left unanswered in Moscow, Idaho, where four University of Idaho students were brutally stabbed to death. Police barely had any evidence until one crucial piece of DNA linked a suspect to the crime. Tonight we're diving back into the Idaho student murders. I'll be talking about the evidence investigators collected against him and the single piece of trash that led to his arrest. Let's get into it.

[Detective Brett Payne]

So we have learned some very interesting details about why investigators have linked him to these murders. One the biggest clue so far is a tan leather knife sheath that was found next to one of the victims. They found DNA on that knife sheath.

[Narrator/Announcer]

We know one of the key pieces of evidence here which police were asking about was that white Hyundai Elantra. And we know, according to our sources, that a Hyundai Elantra was pulled from Coburger's House earlier today.

[Katie Ring]

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[Katie Ring]

Tonight is part four of our five episode Deep Dive on the Idaho student murder case. Last time, we examined the clues that led to the identification of 28 year old Bryan Coburger as the prime suspect in the murders of Zanna Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Gonzalez and Madison Mogan. Tonight we will retrace the steps that helped investigators make huge breaks in the case, and we'll unpack the bizarre moments from their initial conversations with Bryan Kohberger. In the aftermath of the Idaho student murders, the police zero in on two major pieces of evidence a white Hyundai that was driving around the King Road neighborhood at the time of the murders and a knife sheath found at the crime scene. While scientists work on DNA samples from the sheath, investigators focus on the car. They're able to link it to Brian Kohberger, even though he changed the registration from Pennsylvania to Washington State just a few days after the murders. And on December 19, 2022, a little over a month after the murders, they confirmed that DNA on the sheath is a likely match for Coburger as well. But by the time they confirm this, Coburger isn't in the area anymore. Earlier that same day, he'd lost his funding for the PhD program at Washington State University, located 10 miles from the University of Idaho. And he was also fired from his TA position after over a dozen complaints were made about his combative and sexist behavior. However, this doesn't mean that Kohberger is kicked out of the program entirely. He can still take classes and earn his PhD. He just has to pay his own tuition now. And he can't teach undergraduates. Everything is unraveling for him. Not only is his schooling at risk, but the police are quickly closing in. And when it comes time to head home to Pennsylvania for winter break, Coburger barely leaves anything behind. He clears the place out almost completely and even gets rid of his shower curtain. Not the kind of thing you do if you plan on coming back. Coburger's dad joins him for the cross country road trip back to the East Coast. Everything seems totally normal. But Coburger gets pulled over in Indiana on two separate occasions, just 10 minutes apart. Both times for tailgating. He's let off with a warning both times. A lot of people thought that the police or the FBI might have been tailing him at this point, but the FBI made a statement that they were completely by chance and not prearranged or directed by the FBI. And since the DNA test hadn't even been confirmed at this point, the Indiana police said they weren't even aware of who Kohberger was. But the authorities are working hard on the case and as soon as they confirm the DNA is a likely match for Bryan Kohberger, they jump into action. On December 20, 2022 FBI agents arrive in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania where the Kohberger family lives. Bryan Coburger and his dad have been home for four days after a marathon drive from Washington. But instead of busting down the door, the FBI agents place the CO burgers under 24 hour secret surveillance. Even though Brian was their main suspect, they didn't have any actual sample of DNA to test it against the DNA found on the sheath. The so while the authorities back in Idaho gather more evidence, the agents in Pennsylvania quietly monitor Kohberger, waiting for a chance to grab something with his DNA on it without him noticing. Meanwhile, on December 23, Moscow Police Corporal Brett Payne, the same officer who found the sheath at the crime scene, obtains a warrant for Kohberger's cell phone location records between November 12th and 14th and which is the period just before, during and right after the murders. Pretty soon they're looking at some highly suspicious activity. At 2:47am on November 13, the night of the murders, Kohberger's phone connected to a tower that provides service in Pullman, Washington, where he lives. After that, his phone doesn't connect to any towers for more than two hours. Remember, authorities have determined that that the murders occurred between 4 and 4:20am on the 13th. To detectives, it seems highly likely that Coburger turned off his phone shortly before 3am specifically to avoid pinging any towers. Digital forensics experts were able to determine that Coburger manually turned off his phone at 100% charge, which means this was purposely done and not just his phone dying from low battery. Looking at his records, they also saw that this was very out of character for him. Data shows that his phone was turned back on at 4:48am when it turns on, it connects to a series of towers consistent with driving south of Moscow, Idaho on Highway 95, then west across the state border into Uniontown, Washington and finally north into Pullman, Washington. Pullman is only 10 miles from Moscow, but Coburger's route is about four times as long, both in terms of distance and drive time. Basically, he makes a big U turn, which detectives find confusing. It seems like he may have been taking back roads, perhaps as a way to avoid cameras or traffic stops, which he'd be more likely to encounter on the main roads. But at the same time, Coburger's route requires him to spend a lot more time in Idaho and before crossing a state border. His decision is a kind of mystery, but the data is suspicious enough that Corporal Payne gets another warrant, this time for Coburger's cell phone location data, going all the way back to June 2022, five months before the murders. 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N rakuten.com Between June 2022 and November 13, 2022, the night of the murders, Brian Coburger's cell phone connects to Towers near 1122 King Road on 12 different occasions, and all except one of which were in the early morning or evening hours. If you remember, Kaylee Gonzalez thought a strange man was watching her in the weeks leading up to the murders. And now authorities believe Coburger may have been watching the house for months. At this stage, there's no concrete evidence that Coburger was the person Kaylee saw watching her or that he was the one who broke in the time the housemates found their door unlocked. But his cell phone data strongly suggests that he was aware of the housemates long before they were killed, and he may have been watching them for a long time before he killed them. Everything is starting to fall into place. But Moscow Police Corporal Brett Payne doesn't want to jump to conclusions, so he reviews all the cell phone data again, just in case there's something he's missing. And it turns out there is, and it's huge. On November 13, the day of the murders, Bryan Coburger's cell phone location returned to king Road. About five hours after the murders. Between 9:12 and 9:21am his phone pinged the towers that cover 1122 King Road. This would have been before Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funk went outside to call their friends, and almost three hours before, the friends called 911. During this time, Coburger's car isn't shown on any security footage. But then at 12:36pm around eight hours after the murders and a half hour after police arrived at the scene, Coburger's phone pinged in Clarkston, Washington, following the same apparent driving route as before. There are a couple things to point out here. First, people have wondered if Kohberger went back to the scene because he realized he was missing the sheath. Maybe he wanted to try and retrieve it, but wasn't able to. When it comes to evidence, though, just because someone's cell phone is located somewhere doesn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were necessarily located with it. Corporal Payne knows this, so he starts looking for any corroborating evidence to place Coburger in the same location as his phone, and he is able to find something. At 12:49pm on Nov. 13, Coburger and his Hyundai Elantra both appeared on security footage at an Albertsons grocery store in Clarkston, Washington. The store is located right by the Idaho border And is on the same route the phone was on. And that's not all. After Kohberger stopped at the grocery store, his phone went dark again. For from 5:36 to 8:30pm in the area of Johnson, Washington, about a 25 minute drive south of the house. Many people believe that Coburger was driving around disposing of evidence, which could include blood stained clothes or even the murder weapon. Regardless of what he was doing out there, Corporal Payne has what he needs to get an arrest Warrant. Because over 2,000 miles away in Pennsylvania, FBI agents get exactly what they need to nab their suspect by December 27, 2022. Federal agents have been watching the Coburger residents for a week. That day they wait for the family to put their trash out on the curb for pickup. And once they do, agents swoop in and grab it without being seen. They're hoping to find something with Bryan Kohberger's DNA so they can test it against the profile they have. They dig through the garbage bags and soon they find something. A Q tip. The agents immediately bag it and then fly back to Idaho to hand it over to the Idaho State Crime Lab. They get the results the very next day and it gives them exactly what they need to arrest Brian Kohberger. On December 28, 2022, the authorities got the results from the DNA on the Q tip they recovered from the Coburger's family trash. The sample isn't an exact match of the DNA found on the knife sheath, but it is a match for the biological father of the person whose DNA is on the sheath. Meaning it's highly likely that Bryan Coburger's father is the one who used the Q tip. And Brian's DNA is on the knife sheath from the crime scene. With this last piece of evidence secured, the authorities get a warrant for Brian Coburger's arrest on December 29, 2022. And at 1am on December 30, FBI agents and Pennsylvania State Police raid the Coburger's home. When they enter the house, Brian tries to run down to his bedroom in the basement, but agents stop him and take him into custody. They then search his room and find a few questionable things, including a handgun which turns out to be registered to Brian, three empty magazines, some marijuana which is legal for medicinal use in Pennsylvania, and a self help book titled Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, which helps readers turn their anger and indecision into action. There's a passage underlined on page 118 of the book, but authorities haven't revealed which parts are underlined. They bag the items, then bring Coburger in for questioning. Corporal Brett Payne and Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson, the ex Marine who helped Corporal Payne identify the KA Bar knife, sit down with him in the interrogation room. Coburger's demeanor is eerily calm. He makes so much direct eye contact. Payne and Gilberton are a little uncomfortable. The officers try to get Coburger to warm up a little so they can start getting some real answers. Coburger asks about his parents and his dog, and the detectives assure him they're okay. And the three men even chat about sports. Then, at some point, Kohberger asks a weird question. He says, quote, who else did you arrest? Which has sparked theories that he either had an accomplice, wanted police to think he did, or was hoping his parents didn't get pulled into it. But Payne and Gilbertson don't give him an answer. Instead, they try and talk about the Idaho murders. And as soon as they do, Kohberger shuts down. He tells them he has, quote, the utmost respect for law enforcement, then asks for a lawyer. Ultimately, Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of first degree murder and one count of felony burglary for breaking into the house with intent to commit a felony. After exercising his rights, Kohberger doesn't continue speaking to the officers and and doesn't confess at this time. The judge rules that he will be held without bail for two and a half years while both sides gear up for trial. His charges could also carry the death penalty, which prosecutors announce that they fully intend to pursue. One of the first things they do is obtain a sample of Coburger's DNA. They compare it to the sample found on the sheath, and it's a direct match. But Kohberger's still not willing to admit to anything. At his first arraignment, he refuses to verbally enter a plea, which is allowed in the state of Idaho and means the judge enters a formal not guilty plea on his behalf. Meanwhile, authorities obtain a warrant to search Kohberger's Amazon purchase history for any activity related to knives or knife accessories. And that's when they discover Kohberger bought a K bar knife as well as a knife sharpener in March 2022, eight months before the murders. Remember, he arrived in Washington to begin his PhD program in June, which was about four months after he purchased the knife. Prosecutors also compile some incriminating information that authorities obtained shortly after Coburger's arrest, including the fact that he nearly emptied out his entire apartment Two stains found on a pillow and a mattress left in his apartment tested positive for blood and bodily fluid in preliminary analysis. And finally, the fact that Coburger's Hyundai Elantra was found to be spotless after he was arrested. Authorities think Coburger cleaned his car before he and his dad drove to Pennsylvania. And it wasn't just a routine cleaning lead. Prosecutor Bill Thompson said it was like the car, quote, had been essentially disassembled inside. As for Kohberger's defense, they start filing motions to try and get different pieces of evidence excluded. They also try and build an argument that there was another likely suspect based on two separate samples of unidentified male blood. Each sample belonged to a different person, neither of whom was Kohberger. When this development reaches the public, some people think back to Kohberger's strange question when he first spoke with detectives. Who else did you arrest? They wonder if he somehow planted those other blood samples and expected police to chase those leads. No one's buying the defense's alibi either, which is that on the night of the murders, Kohberger was just out for a pleasant nighttime drive. People who have been following the story from day one eagerly await trial. They want answers to the questions that have been haunting them for years now. But that never happens. Come back tomorrow night for our fifth and final episode on the Idaho student murders. We'll dive into what happens in June of 2025 when Bryan Kohberger does something no one expected. What did you think of tonight's case? Drop your thoughts and theories in the comments and tomorrow night, stay tuned for our final episode in our five part Idaho Murders series. See you next time. If you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel Rimehouse Daily and follow us on social media Rimehouse247 for real time updates. Because the pursuit of justice never stops.

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