Idaho murders: Police address Bryan Kohberger’s ties to woman’s death as parents testify

Bryan Kohberger’s parents were ordered to testify before a grand jury investigating the disappearance and death of Dana Smithers

Moment Idaho student murders suspect arrives in court for arraignment

Police in Pennsylvania have spoken out about the possible connection between Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger and the death of a woman whose body was found almost a year after her disappearance.

It emerged this week that Mr Kohberger’s parents had been ordered to testify before a grand jury investigating the disappearance and death of Dana Smithers, 45.

Smithers vanished without a trace in May 2022 from Monroe County, Pennsylvania – where Mr Kohberger was living at the time. Her remains were found last month in a wooded area, her cause of death still unknown.

A source told CNN that the accused killer’s mother had already given evidence to the grand jury while his father was appearing to testify on Thursday.

Stroud Area Regional Police Department has now issued a statement insisting there is “NO EVIDENCE that Dana Smither’s disappearance, is in ANY WAY tied to Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger”.

The development comes days after Mr Kohberger was arraigned on four counts of murder and one count of burglary in Moscow, Idaho.

Mr Kohberger is accused of killing Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on 13 November.

Key points

• Bryan Kohberger’s parents to testify in case of woman found dead in Pennsylvania
• What happened to Dana Smithers and how is Kohberger linked?
• Families of murdered students prepare to sue University of Idaho
• Bryan Kohberger refuses to enter plea as he's arraigned on murder charges
• Trial date set for October
• Bryan Kohberger’s sister feared he was responsible for killings prior to arrest

[25 May 2023 08:30 · Shweta Sharma]

Bryan Kohberger allegedly broke into female student’s home and spied on her months before Idaho murders

Bryan Kohberger is believed to have broken into the home of a female student and then installed security cameras to spy on her in the months before he allegedly killed four other students in a horror attack in Moscow, Idaho.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student had befriended the woman after he moved to Pullman, Washington state, to begin a graduate program in criminal justice at Washington State University (WSU), according to a source.

One day, the woman returned to her apartment and found that someone had broken in and moved items around the home – but that nothing was missing.

[25 May 2023 08:50 · Rachel Sharp]

When is Bryan Kohberger’s trial?

Judge John Judge has set Bryan Kohberger’s trial date for 2 October 2023.

The trial is expected to take around six weeks.

The prosecution has 60 days from Monday’s arraignment to confirm whether or not it is seeking the death penalty in the case.

[25 May 2023 09:50 · Rachel Sharp]

Families of slain University of Idaho students prepare to sue college over murders

The families of two of the four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in an off-campus home are now preparing to sue the college over their brutal murders, it has been revealed.

An attorney representing the families of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, filed tort notices this month leaving them open to filing lawsuits within the next two years.

The notices, obtained by ABC News, protect their rights to sue the University of Idaho, Washington State University – the university where accused killer Bryan Kohberger was a student – the city of Moscow and Idaho State Police.

Read the story here:

[25 May 2023 10:50 · Rachel Sharp]

Bryan Kohberger bought Ka-Bar knife from Amazon months before deadly stabbings of Idaho students

Bryan Kohberger bought a Ka-Bar knife and knife sheath from Amazon seven months before he allegedly stabbed four University of Idaho students to death in a brutal attack that sent shockwaves across America, it has been revealed.

NBC’s Dateline special “The Killings on King Road” reported that the 28-year-old accused killer shopped online for the military-style knife in April 2022.

At the time, he was still studying for his master’s degree in criminology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania.

Read more here:

[25 May 2023 12:00 · Shweta Sharma]

Idaho murder victims’ families accepted posthumous degrees at graduation ceremony

The grieving families of two slain University of Idaho students accepted their posthumous degrees on 13 May.

Six months after best friends, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, were killed in their sleep at their off-campus home in Moscow, their loved ones received the awards during two separate ceremonies.

Goncalves’ four siblings received their sister’s general studies diploma while Mogen’s parents were given her marketing degree.

Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chaplin, who were also killed in the 13 November attack, received certificates for semesters they had completed.

Kernodle’s family accepted her certificate in marketing at a private ceremony last week while Chapin’s award in sports, recreation and management will be mailed to his parents.

[25 May 2023 12:41 · Rachel Sharp]

What happened to Dana Smithers and why has her death been linked to Bryan Kohberger?

The horrifying case of four University of Idaho students butchered in an off-campus home has taken another dramatic twist after it emerged that the parents of their accused killer have been called to testify in a separate case thousands of miles away in Pennsylvania.

Bryan Kohberger’s parents have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury investigating the disappearance and death of mother-of-three Dana Smithers.

Smithers was last seen alive in May 2022. Her remains were discovered last month, her cause of death still unknown.

It remains unclear what connection – if any – her disappearance and death may have to Mr Kohberger but multiple outlets reported that Mr Kohberger’s parents Michael and Maryann Kohberger have been ordered to testify in the case.

So who was Dana Smithers and what happened to her?

[25 May 2023 13:00 · Shweta Sharma]

Novelist James Patterson, journalist Vicky Ward plan book on killing of Idaho college students

Best-selling novelist James Patterson is teaming up with investigative journalist Vicky Ward on a book about the 2022 killing of four University of Idaho students.

Little, Brown and Company announced Friday that Mr Patterson and Mr Ward will “draw from dozens of exclusive interviews, extensive on-the-ground reporting, copious court transcripts” and their own planned attendance at the trial of suspect Bryan Kohberger, who was indicated this week by a grand jury in Boise.

“The Idaho murders have captured imaginations all around the world and I’m as caught up in it as anyone else. Because all of this happened in such a small town, there are definitely echoes of ‘In Cold Blood,’” Mr Patterson said in a statement.

He is one of the world’s most prolific and popular novelists, but also has worked on nonfiction books, with subjects ranging from Princess Diana to Jeffrey Epstein.

[25 May 2023 13:30 · Shweta Sharma]

Idaho murder victim’s father shares stark warning to alleged killer: ‘He’s gonna realize’

The father of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four University of Idaho students fatally stabbed to death by alleged killer Bryan Kohberger, has issued a stark warning to him ahead of a preliminary hearing scheduled for 26 June.

The latest development in the case is the release of new documents relating to the search of Mr Kohberger’s apartment near Washington State University, a short distance across the state line from Moscow, where he was pursuing a PhD.

A 166-page report on the search containing details of the items seized was obtained by The New York Times. These included possible hair strands, a computer, two stains that may be blood, and other items.

On Friday, Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s father told ABC News: “I can’t wait to see the evidence… And then I’m gonna bring it.”

[25 May 2023 14:00 · Shweta Sharma]

ICYMI: Bryan Kohberger’s parents to testify in 2022 Dana Smithers case - report

Bryan Kohberger’s parents have been called to testify before a grand jury in Pennsylvania in a case related to Dana Smithers, who went missing in 2022, according to NewsNation.

Smithers, a 45-year-old woman, was last seen on 28 May 2022 in Monroe County and her remains were discovered in a wooded area in Stroudsburg on 27 April, around 30 miles away from Kohberger’s home in Albrightsville.

However, a source told NewsNation that Mr Bryan’s alibi proves that he likely wasn’t involved in Smithers’ missing case.

But the grand jury has not concluded their proceedings in the case and investigations are ongoing.

[25 May 2023 15:03 · Rachel Sharp]

Dana Smithers’ last known movements

In May 2022, Smithers vanished without a trace from Monroe County – the same county in Pennsylvania where Mr Kohberger was living at the time before moving cross-country to Washington state in the summer to pursue a graduate degree program in criminal justice.

A ring video camera captured Smithers leaving a neighbour’s house at around 11.05pm on the night of 28 May, holding her cellphone in her hand.

She was never seen alive again.

What was especially odd was that Smithers’ cellphone, wallet and daily medication were all found at her home.

Earlier that day, Smithers and her youngest daughter, 7, had gone to a local festival at the Happy Hour Bar and Grille in Stroudsburg with her daughter’s father.

Smithers’ sister Stacey told NBC’s Dateline in December that the couple were no longer together but were still on good terms.

At the festival, Smithers appeared to be having a good time, dancing and saying hello to people.

The three later returned to the home that Smithers, her daugher and Smithers’ mother shared.

Later that night, best friend Tara Cioni said that Smithers called into her home to hang out. The two women lived just a couple of doors down from each other and would often just call in to see each other on an evening.

“We’re best friends. She’s been my neighbor for 16 years. We’ve raised our children together,” Ms Cioni told Dateline.

“It was an open door policy, like, with her. So she came in and she was here for a little bit.”

Ms Cioni said that, in hindsight, she wonders if something was troubling her friend that night.

Smithers – who had a history of substance abuse – was smoking, something she only did if she was “nervous” or on edge.

Ms Cioni said that Smithers later asked her if she wanted to come back to her house to hang out but she was tired so said she was going to bed.

That was the last time anyone saw her.