Summary of "Idaho Dateline BOMBSHELL: Explosive New Info in the Kohberger Case"

Podcast: Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Host: Ashleigh Banfield
Release Date: May 10, 2025

Ashleigh Banfield dives deep into the latest revelations surrounding Bryan Kohberger and the Idaho student murders in this compelling episode of "Drop Dead Serious." Drawing from the recent Dateline NBC special hosted by Keith Morrison, Banfield unpacks a torrent of new evidence and testimonies that shed fresh light on the case.

Introduction to New Developments

Banfield begins by emphasizing the significance of the latest Dateline episode, distinguishing it from mere recaps or rehashes. She states, “It is a veritable avalanche of brand new jaw-dropping reporting” (00:30), signaling listeners to brace for a wealth of fresh information.

Bryan Kohberger’s Social Interactions and Behavior

The Summer of 2022

In the summer following Kohberger’s move from Pennsylvania to Washington State University, he attended a pool party that would later come under scrutiny. A neighbor named Holly recounts, “Bryan seemed awkward... he was trying to put himself out there” (00:30). Holly describes a peculiar incident where Kohberger added his own number to her contacts and texted himself, a move she found “robotic and awkward” (02:45).

Observations at the Pool Party

A witness at the party reported Kohberger’s fixation on two women in bikinis, one of whom was married and attempted subtle signals to disengage. The witness noted, “Coburger didn't seem to get the message” (04:10), highlighting Kohberger’s disregard for nonverbal cues.

Subsequent Sightings

The DJ from the pool party later spotted Kohberger hiking alone on the Kamiok Butte trail near Pullman, Washington. The encounter was odd, as Kohberger approached the group as if they were acquaintances, despite them not recognizing him (07:20).

Disturbing Online Activity

August Searches

Six weeks post-move, Kohberger engaged in alarming online behavior. On August 16, he searched for “Ted Bundy,” albeit misspelled as “TED H7N D Y” (09:40). He also downloaded a paper titled “Ted Bundy on the Malignant Being” by Amelie Pednall, indicating a deep dive into serial killer psychology.

Traffic Ticket and Further Searches

Five days after his Bundy-related search, Kohberger received a traffic ticket near 1122 King Road. Shortly after, on August 26, he searched “when can a cop detain you?” (12:15), reflecting possible preoccupation with legal boundaries or evasion tactics.

Suspicious Activity and Possible Break-In

Shared Office Incident

In September, a Korean woman who shared an office with Kohberger at WSU reported signs of a possible break-in: rearranged items, a missing watch and letter, and a mysteriously reappeared apartment key (15:30). Her interactions with Kohberger raised suspicions about his potential involvement.

Romantic Tensions

The woman also revealed a romantic interest in Kohberger, which he reportedly rebuffed, leading to emotional distress and further distancing (17:50). This personal tension adds complexity to understanding Kohberger’s motives.

Escalation Towards the Murders

Increased Online Obsession

By September 30, Kohberger’s online searches became more sinister, including terms like “sociopathic traits in college student” and explicit pornography-related queries such as “forced,” “passed out,” and “drugged” (20:10).

Surveillance Footage

On the night of the murders, November 13, new surveillance footage surfaced showing a white car repeatedly passing 1122 King Road between 3:30 AM and 4:20 AM. The footage captured the car’s engine revving before it sped away (23:45).

Phone Activity Post-Murders

At 6:17 AM, less than two hours after the car was last seen, Kohberger made a 36-minute call from his father’s family plan. He made two more lengthy calls that morning, suggesting nervous or deliberate communication (26:30).

Crime Scene Revelations

Brutality of the Murders

Keith Morrison details the violent nature of the attack, noting that Zanna Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found brutally murdered. Morrison comments, “The fight that followed in Zanna's room was brutal” (30:15), underscoring the heinousness of the crimes.

Forensic Insights

Dateline introduces forensic theories about the movements within the house, though Banfield expresses skepticism about their plausibility based on available evidence (33:00).

Chilling Audio Evidence

A disturbing audio clip captured at 4:17 AM includes a faint whimper followed by a loud thud, possibly from a neighbor’s surveillance system. This audio hints at the timeline and sequence of the violent events (35:50).

Kohberger’s Interest in the Case Post-Murders

YouTube Obsession

Following the murders, Kohberger reportedly watched numerous YouTube videos about the King Road murders, including content from Banfield’s own network, News Nation, and the Law and Crime Network. Banfield muses, “It makes me terrified because if he is the killer, what else would he have fantasized about?” (40:25).

The Final Night

On December 30, police raided Kohberger’s home. Hours before his arrest, he listened to a slowed-down Britney Spears song with lyrics suggesting detachment and conscience absence: “He is a killer just for fun, fun, fun. He's got no conscience, he's got none” (45:10).

Arrest and Aftermath

Kohberger was apprehended wearing a black hoodie and handling a plastic bag in the middle of the night. News Nation’s Brian Enten was first on the scene, documenting the smashed glass and broken front door forced open by SWAT teams. Reports indicate that Kohberger appeared eerily calm, even suggesting to an officer, “maybe we should get a cup of coffee after it's over” (48:30).

Final Thoughts

Ashleigh Banfield concludes the episode by reflecting on the growing body of evidence against Kohberger and the disturbing patterns in his behavior leading up to the murders. She urges listeners to watch the Dateline special for a comprehensive understanding and encourages engagement through comments and reviews.

Notable Quotes:

“It is a veritable avalanche of brand new jaw-dropping reporting.” – Ashleigh Banfield (00:30)
“Coburger didn't seem to get the message.” – Pool Party Witness (04:10)
“The fight that followed in Zanna's room was brutal.” – Keith Morrison (30:15)
“Maybe we should get a cup of coffee after it's over.” – Kohberger to Police Officer (48:30)

Timestamp References:

00:30
02:45
04:10
07:20
09:40
12:15
15:30
17:50
20:10
23:45
26:30
30:15
33:00
35:50
40:25
45:10
48:30

Ashleigh Banfield's in-depth exploration of the Bryan Kohberger case in this episode of "Drop Dead Serious" provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of the complexities and emerging evidence that continue to shape this high-profile investigation.

Transcript

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Ashley Banfield (0:30)

Foreign hey everyone, I'm Ashley Banfield. This is drop dead serious. And if you thought that you knew everything about Bryan Kohberger and the Idaho student murders, think again. Because the DATELINE NBC episode that just aired, the one with Keith Morrison, it is not a rehash, it is not a recap. It it is a veritable avalanche of brand new jaw dropping reporting and I am going to walk you through all of it. And just FYI, this is not a full recap of the DATELINE special, just the brand new details that stood out in the special, starting with something from the summer of 2022. NBC reports that right after Bryan Kohberger left Pennsylvania and moved into his new apartment at Washington State University, he was invited to a pool party by a neighbor. And that sounds normal enough, but according to a woman named Holly, who was also at that party, things got pretty weird pretty fast. According to dateline, Holly says that Bryan Coburger seemed awkward at the party, that he didn't seem to know anybody and she could tell that he was trying to put himself out there. And Holly felt, you know, charitable obligated to talk to him. And then Kohberger put his cell phone number into her cell phone contacts and texted himself from her phone. She later texted back just her name. Holly. At this same pool party, a witness says he saw Kohberger fixated on two women in bikinis. One of them was married and gave her husband one of those nonverbal signals like rescue me. We all know them, right? The same witness says that Coburger didn't seem to get the message or ignored it outright and that he brushed the husband off and sat down at the edge of the pool even closer to the women. The day after the pool party, July 10, NBC reports that Holly got a text from Brian Kohberger. It said, hey, I'm pretty sure we spoke about hiking trips yesterday. I really enjoy that activity, so please let me know. Thanks. Holly told DATELINE she thought it was robotic and awkward and strange and that it was just not the kind of normal language that people would use and Ultimately, she just never responded. We also heard about a man who, who was DJing that same pool party who said he ran into Bryan Kohberger. Later on, the DJ was with some friends when he saw Kohberger hiking on the Kamiok Butte, a popular trail about 15 miles outside of Pullman, Washington. The DJ said that this run in was near nightfall and that Coburger was hiking uphill in the dark all alone. The group thought that it was odd, especially that late in the evening. According to Dateline, the DJ said that Coburger walked right up to his group as though they were old friends, but the group didn't recognize him. Now jump forward to August 16, six weeks after moving to Washington State University. That's when Brian Kohberger allegedly went on a Google spree. Dateline says he searched for the words Ted Bundy, but he misspelled it as TED H7N D Y. The letters are very close together, so you can see that it was an effort to say Bundy. And then he allegedly searched for the name of one of his professors and then downloaded a paper that professor had written and the title of the paper, Ted Bundy on the Malignant Being An Analysis of the Justificatory Discourse of a Serial Killer by Amelie Pednall. Then came August 21, five days after that Bundy search, when Kohberger got a traffic ticket near to 1122 King Road. And five days after that, on August 26, he Googled when can a cop detain you? In September, a Korean woman with whom Kohberger shared an office at wsu, somebody DATELINE described as one of the only friends that Bryan Kohberger had. She shared with NBC that she believed someone had broken into her apartment because her stuff was rearranged and rearranged. Weird. A cake that she had baked was found in the microwave. Items in her bathroom were lined up in an odd way. And two of her things were missing. A watch and a letter. A letter. Not a lot of value for just a old fashioned burglar to steal a letter. But that was what was gone. A watch and a letter. Later on, this same woman told the police that before that break in had happened, she'd lost her apartment key. She said she kept the key in a specific drawer in her office, the same office that she shared with Bryan Coburger. A few hours after she noticed that it was missing, the key mysteriously reappeared. So, feeling unsafe after the break in, DATELINE reports that she went to Co Burger's apartment seeking his help. Remember, she thinks they're friendly close even. And now, looking back on things, she wonders if he was the one who broke into her apartment in the first place and did all those very strange things. Dateline also reported that this same woman actually had a romantic interest in Bryan Coburger and that when she said something to the effect of hey, I'd like something more with you, bryan Kohberger apparently got cold feet and began to distance himself. The woman said it was actually upsetting. NBC News reports that on September 30, Kohberger Googled sociopathic traits in college student. Then, according to NBC, things ramp up again. October 4, 6:12am Kohberger is all over social media searching women at WSU, Washington State University and the University of Idaho too. October 5, 3:29am More searches of women. October 9, 2:15am he googles explicit terms related to pornography, like forced, passed out, drugged, sleeping. October 19, 5:37am Another search can psychopath behave pro socially? In the Dateline episode, there were a number of new blurry selfies of Bryan Coburger on his own phone. Keith Morrison said the photos were resized for quality, but otherwise unchanged. Many were of Brian in black hoodies, sometimes wearing two layers of black clothing, different poses, different outfits. He also had screenshots of various Instagram profiles saved as pictures to his phone. The screenshots were photos of young women, blondes, brunettes from both WSU and University of Idaho. According to Dateline, some of the people whose social media was saved onto Coburger's phone were either close friends or social media followers of Maddie Mogan, Kaylee Gonzalez and Zanna Kernodle. One criminal profiler told DATELINE that those images, quote, fueled his fantasies and that ultimately allegedly filled his fantasies. And then on the night of the murders, November 13, Dateline showed never before seen surveillance video that captured a white car making multiple passes in front of the house at 1122 King Road, all captured on camera at these times. 3:30am 3:33am 3:38am 3:40am 3:56am 3:58am and then at 4:20am the white car speeds away. In the footage, you can hear what seems to be the white car's engine revving up. Here's what else is new. At 6:17am not even two full hours after the white car was seen on surveillance leaving 1122 King Road, Dateline reports that Brian Coburger makes a 36 minute phone call to a number on his father's family plan. And apparently every family member had a phone registered to Brian Coburger's Dad. It was the first of three, three calls to numbers registered to his dad that morning and the longest call that lasted 54 minutes. And then as we know, at 10:31am he takes that now infamous selfie in what looks like a bathroom, smiling, seemingly very pleased and seemingly freshly showered. Keith Morrison described that once police were called and arrived at 1122 King Road that morning, they found Zanna Kernodle in a massive pool of blood. They found Ethan Chapin, according to NBC, dead in Zanna's bed.