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Bryan Kohberger changed licence plates on his white Hyundai Elantra days after Idaho murders

License plates on the 2015 Hyundai Elantra at the centre of the murder inquiry were registered in Washington state just days after quadruple homicide

Bevan Hurley
Sunday 08 January 2023 16:34 GMT
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Idaho murders: County police release footage of Bryan Kohberger traffic stop

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Bryan Kohberger changed the license plates on his Hyundai Elantra just days after four University of Idaho students were murdered, according to reports.

The suspect’s car had Pennsylvania plates when it was pulled over by police in Moscow, Idaho, in August, according to a citation from the Latah County Sheriff’s Office.

A review of documents on CarFax by Newsweek showed that Mr Kohberger changed the registration from Pennsylvania to Washington on 18 November, five days after four students were found stabbed to death in a Moscow home.

A public information request with the Washington State Department of Licensing by The Independent confirmed the car was registered in the state on 19 November.

The Hyundai Elantra became a major focus of the investigation into the deaths of into the quadruple homicide of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin when Moscow police announced on 7 December they had spotted the vehicle near the crime scene on the day of the murders.

Detectives said that “the occupant(s) of [the] vehicle may have critical information to share regarding this case.”

Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a graduate student jailed on charges of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students more than six weeks ago, departs court after an extradition hearing in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. January 3, 2023
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a graduate student jailed on charges of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students more than six weeks ago, departs court after an extradition hearing in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. January 3, 2023 (REUTERS)

It has since been revealed that Mr Kohberger was pulled over by police in the Elantra near the murder scene in August.

Mr Kohberger, a Washington State University PhD criminology student, drove the vehicle with his father from Washington to Pennsylvania on 15 December.

Bryan Kohberger and his father speak to a sheriff’s deputy in Hancock County, Indiana, on the first traffic stop on 15 December
Bryan Kohberger and his father speak to a sheriff’s deputy in Hancock County, Indiana, on the first traffic stop on 15 December (King 5)

Police body cam footage showing the pair being pulled over twice by authorities in Indiana was released this week.

A law enforcement source reportedly told Fox News that police pulled Mr Kohberger and his father over twice so that officials could “look at his hands”.

Mr Kohberger was arrested at his parents home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, on 30 December.

After waiving his extradition rights, he arrived in Moscow on Wednesday evening under heavy security.

He is expected to appear in the Latah County Magistrate Court in Moscow on Thursday, where probable cause affidavits are likely to be released.

His public defender Jason LaBar has said Mr Kohberger is “eager to be exonerated”.

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