Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger arraigned in court
Bryan Kohberger, the 28-year-old Ph.D. student accused of murdering four undergrads at the University of Idaho in November, appeared for his arraignment Monday, and the judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Bryan Kohberger allegedly stalked a female classmate at Washington State University months before he would be accused of killing four undergrads at the neighboring University of Idaho, according to a new report.
It was an apparent ruse that ended with Kohberger installing surveillance cameras in the woman's home which he could then access at will.
"I was surprised to learn more details about the alleged break-in and camera installation," Kerri Rawson, the daughter of serial killer Dennis Rader told Fox News Digital.
"If it’s true, and Bryan was involved, then it’s really a sign of escalation and another potential nail in his guilt," said Rawson, now a victims advocate who appeared in the NBC report Friday.
IDAHO MURDERS: BRYAN KOHBERGER'S DEFENSE STANDS SILENT AT ARRAIGNMENT, JUDGE ENTERS NOT GUILTY PLEAS
Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, listens during his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, Monday, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (Zach Wilkinson/Moscow-Pullman Daily News via Pool)
The report also detailed a bizarre incident involving woman's underwear just three doors down from the King Road home months before the murders.
In the most ominous claim, it was suggested Kohberger's immediate family feared he might be the suspect as they gathered for the holidays.
The suspicions ended in a pre-dawn raid on Dec. 30, 2022 when Kohberger was arrested for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Home security cameras
A female friend Kohberger met last fall at Washington State University in his criminology program reportedly came home to find her belongings shuffled out of place.
Nothing was stolen, according to NBC sources, so she did not report it to police.
Instead, she asked Kohberger, who previously worked as a security guard and already had a master's degree in criminal justice, to set up a home surveillance system.
Wilson-Short Hall at the Washington State University campus in Pullman, Washington, which houses the school's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Afterward, according to an unnamed source cited by Dateline, Kohberger could access the cameras any time he was within the woman's Wi-Fi range.
INSIDE IDAHO MURDERS SUSPECT BRYAN KOHBERGER'S UNUSUALLY LONG ROUTE HOME TO PENNSYLVANIA
Kohberger, while obtaining a master’s degree in criminal justice from DeSales University, studied under Dr. Katherine Ramsland, an expert on serial killers, mass murderers and Rawson’s father – also known as BTK for "Bind, Torture, Kill."
Bryan Kohberger, left, in an anti-suicide smock after his arrest in Pennsylvania Friday, Dec. 30, 2021. Dennis L. Rader, right, the man admitting to be the BTK serial killer, is escorted into the El Dorado Correctional Facility on August 19, 2005 in El Dorado, Kansas. (Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Facility via AP, Jeff Tuttle-Pool/Getty Images)
BRYAN KOHBERGER INDICTED IN IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS
Like Kohberger, Rader had also studied criminal justice. He eventually found work for ADT, the security company, installing home security systems.
"I believe if Kohberger did break into a young woman’s home, and then offer to install a security system and cameras, then access the password as Dateline reports, it’s a sign of escalation, and further descent along the scale of deviation; another overlapping similarity to my father, a sexual sadistic psychopath," Rawson said.
WATCH: Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger stopped by WSU police
IDAHO MURDERS: BRYAN KOHBERGER SEARCH WARRANTS UNSEALED
Ted Williams, a lawyer and former homicide detective, told Fox News Digital that the report is alarming but that he believes the case hinges on DNA evidence, Kohberger's phone pings and whatever evidence police were able to collect after they seized the suspect vehicle at his parents' house in Pennsylvania.
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle,, and two other housemates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
"When that seat belt retracts, there's physical evidence that may well be within that seatbelt compartment that Kohberger would not even think about cleaning up," he said. "That’s certainly something that I'm sure authorities are looking at closely."
John Kelly, a criminal profiler and psychoanalyst with experience interviewing mass murderers, agreed.
"At some point, this guy goes to court," he told Fox News Digital. "If he has a jury trial, which I assume he will, he has got to explain how that sheath ended up in that room under that girl's body with his DNA on it."
Ethan Chapin, Kayle Goncalves, Maddison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, who were stabbed to death Nov. 13. (Fox News)
Suspicious sibling
Immediate relatives may have even suspected Kohberger once police announced they were looking for a specific vehicle, according to an unnamed source cited in the report.
One of Kohberger's sisters allegedly found his behavior back in Pennsylvania odd and pieced together his connection to his white Elantra and previous proximity to the November crime scene.
She even apparently floated the idea to the family that Kohberger was the suspect.
"If his family did allegedly suspect him before he was arrested, I would hope they approached law enforcement, but I understand from long experience how much hindsight factors in," said Rawson.
IDAHO MURDERS: ETHAN CHAPIN'S PARENTS BREAK SILENCE ON LAST TIME THEY SAW SON
Kohberger's relatives went outside to search his car according to the Dateline report, but it had already been cleaned up.
"No matter how much and how good you think you cleaned up the physical evidence, I can unequivocally tell you that the authorities have means and methods to overcome those cleanings," Williams said.
The victims of Nov. 13 University of Idaho massacre, from left to right: Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. (Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves)
Rawson recently recounted on the "Fox True Crime Podcast with Emily Compagno" how she was blindsided when the FBI knocked on her door in 2005 and told her that her father was a serial killer.
Family members becoming so suspicious before an arrest is a red flag, according to Kelly, the criminal profiler. It's very unusual for someone to begin to believe a family member might be a murderer without a good reason, he said.
"What happened in the past for her to think he's such a monster? A man without mercy who slashed those four kids?" he asked.
Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for his arraignment hearing in Latah County District Court, Monday, May 22, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (Zach Wilkinson/Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP)
It may have been Kohberger's past drug addiction, he said, referring to claims of the suspect's high school friends who say he fell heavily into drug abuse before cleaning up and going on to obtain a graduate degree in criminal justice. Many heroin addicts grow increasingly antisocial. Or maybe his sister knew of his purported disdain for women, he added.
"Don’t forget his sisters went into the mental health field too," Kelly explained. "Usually we don’t end up there by mistake. I have to believe that they saw some stuff."
The King Road home where four University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, were fatally stabbed in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Suspect Bryan Kohberger is expected to be arraigned Monday morning. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Additionally, he said, teen drug abuse can be incredibly stressful for family members, affecting them for years.
"And if he's found guilty, it not only affected them to this point, it will affect them for the rest of their lives," he said.
The underwear incident
There was also a previous case in which a woman called Moscow police to report someone had tampered with her car and stuffed underwear in her cupholder.
However, police were commonly called to the neighborhood, full of student rentals and just 200 yards from the university's Greek Row.
WATCH: Moscow police bodycam shows Xana Kernodle speak with officers during noise complaint response
While there is a laundry list of serial killers who stole women's panties, including Joel Rifkin and Canadian pilot Russel Williams, Kelly said, Kohberger could more easily have collected trophies online – from the victims themselves.
WATCH: Bodycam footage shows officers responding to Idaho home over noise complaint weeks before students were murdered
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"These girls had such an online presence, because of technology, his trophy could be right in his computer, the social media pictures of them," Kelly said.
All four students had been stabbed to death, according to Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt – and at least some of them were likely sleeping at the start of the 4 a.m. ambush.
Latah County District Judge John Judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf at his arraignment Monday.
He is being held without bail at the jail next door.
A trial date was set for early October but could be postponed if the defense waives Kohberger’s right to a speedy trial.
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