Idaho Dateline BOMBSHELL: Explosive New Info in the Kohberger Case

Summary

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.

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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).

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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.

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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

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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]

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.

[Keith Morrison]

And then there's what DATELINE revealed about the crime scene itself. They say Zanna may have heard something upstairs on the third floor and maybe even gone to check on Kaylee and Maddie up there. According to NBC sources, Zanna was likely chased back downstairs to the second floor, possibly the moment that Bryan Kohberger, if he's the killer, dropped or left behind that knife sheath. The fight that followed in Zanna's room, according to dateline, was brutal. So brutal that investigators found a blood stained chair suggesting that the killer either sat down or brushed against it during the attack. And then as for Ethan, dateline again with some astounding information. They report that one of Ethan's wounds pierced an artery and that his legs were, quote, carved, their words carved. I have to just jump in here for a moment because unless we learn something earth shattering about the forensics at trial, it is hard to imagine what forensic information could lead any investigator to have a theory that Zanna left her room with Ethan, went all the way down her hall, turned right and up the stairs to the third floor, only to come running back down without screaming so loud that at least Dylan would hear because she'd run right past Dylan's door and then down the hall back to her room. There's nothing so far in anything that we've seen in any of the court documents or affidavits or police documents to suggest this forensically could have happened. But DATELINE says the source says this is what is possible, that Zanna may have run back down to her room and then met this extraordinary violent death and that Ethan, his death was on the bed. And DATELINE also aired some chilling audio captured at 4:17am a faint whimper followed by a loud thud. Presumably this audio was captured by a neighbor's ring cam or door cam or surveillance camera. And we know that the neighbor off to the left of the King roadhouse, if you're looking out from the house, had such a surveillance system set up. If you see on this overhead view, the red circle is where the King Road house used to stand before it was knocked down. And it faced outward towards Queen Road. To the left of it you can see 11:12 and that little white staircase. That's the view that you're seeing from the Date line surveillance camera that captures the car. And you can also see that it points out towards King clearly on the opposite side of the house from the home where the four students were murdered. It's possible that the same camera that caught the white car driving up King Road and taking a right on Queen Road was the camera that captured the audio clear behind the house next door where those four students lived. The audio of the faint whimper, the loud thud and the dog barking.

[Ashley Banfield]

And then Maddie and Kaylee were found together, as has been reported before, stabbed to death in the same bed on the third floor. Three days later November 16, 9:16am Brian Kohberger Googles University of Idaho murders. That same day Police held their first press conference. And then two days later, November 18, 12:16am Dateline reports that Bryan Kohberger was watching a specific video on YouTube. The thumbnail of that video says the Perfect Killing Machine. Ted Bundy, serial killer unsolved no More. Dateline says for six weeks between the murder and his arrest, Coburger watched even more YouTube videos about the murders on King Road, almost appearing as though he was collecting, selecting coverage. And here's where things really made my skin crawl. Welcome back. The eyes of the nation are on the Idaho quadruple murders. And over the next six weeks, records.

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Show photos and videos and news updates.

[Ashley Banfield]

About the King Road murders were viewed or saved. Apparently my own coverage of this case made a cameo appearance. I'm not sure if DATELINE is saying absolutely that one of the files that Bryan Kohberger was watching was me and my coverage. But I have often wondered as we're on the lookout for a killer who is unknown until he or she is known, is that killer watching television to try to stay one step ahead? Is that killer watching television because they obsess over their own handiwork? But God forbid, the thought that Bryan Kohberger might have been watching my work on an even semi regular basis before his capture, it makes me terrified. It makes me terrified because if he is the killer, what else would he have fantasized about? Who else would he have fantasized about? And then DATELINE showed a collage of several YouTube videos from my network, News Nation and the Law and Crime Network and a number of other true crime channels on YouTube. NBC never said how many videos Bryan Kohberger reportedly watched. But what they showed on the screen looked like someone flipping through a deck of cards, except if the cards were all different. Videos about the murders on King Road, you will probably remember. In the early hours of December 30, police raided the Coburger home. And then new information again from NBC. At 11:53pm on Dec. 29, just hours before his arrest, he listened apparently to a slowed down version of a Britney Spears song. The lyrics saying, quote, he is a killer just for fun, fun, fun. He's got no conscious, he's got none, none, none.

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He is a killer just for fun, fun, fun, fun. He's got no conscience. He got none, none, none.

[Ashley Banfield]

When he was arrested, he was wearing a black hoodie, rubber gloves and handling a plastic bag in the middle of the night. My colleague at News Nation, Brian Enten, was the first and only person on the scene before the sun came up, literally within hours of all of this happening. And he showed us the smashed glass and the broken front door where the SWAT team had to force their way into the family home. Freelance writer Howard Bloom reported Kohberger's parents were zip tied. And once Brian himself was in the back of the police patrol car, he allegedly told the officer, quote, maybe we should get a cup of coffee after it's over. That according to NBC, if you have not yet seen this DATELINE special report, run, don't walk, and make sure you watch it. Keith Morrison lays everything out and the case just keeps getting darker. If this is just the beginning of the evidence that prosecutors are sitting on, my God. Buckle up. Love to know what you thought of dateline's special tonight and what you thought of this episode as well. Please drop a line in the comments on YouTube or leave us a review on Apple. It really does help out and it brings the community together even more. I'm Ashley Banfield. Thank you so much for watching. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead seriously.