Idaho
Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger penned essay showing he knew how to cover tracks
Idaho prosecutors have unveiled a college essay from student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger that shows he knows his way around a crime scene, new court filings reveal.
In the missive, written in 2020 during finals for a 300-level criminal justice course, Kohberger described how crime scene investigators use “fiber-free” overalls, gloves and booties to avoid contaminating the location with their own DNA and fingerprints.
At 1122 King Road, where he allegedly killed four University of Idaho undergrads in November 2022, police have revealed little evidence aside from a Ka-Bar knife sheath found under one of the victims that allegedly had Kohberger’s DNA on the snap.
Before the FBI identified him as a person of interest through investigative genetic genealogy, his name was unknown to detectives.
He went into other aspects of a crime scene investigation, but repeatedly referenced measures police should take to protect the location, shared his thoughts about circumstantial evidence, identified domestic partners as potential suspects and warned that crime scenes could be staged.
“Prosecutors are going to talk about this when they bring up the lack of forensic evidence left by the killer,” said Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD cold case investigator and a criminal justice professor at Penn State-Lehigh Valley.
“They’re going to say, ‘Look how much he knew about this. He talks about fiber-free clothing.’”
Kohberger mentioned fiber-free overalls, shoe covers, gloves, hair nets and more when talking about protective gear an investigator should wear to avoid contaminating a scene.
“This is not helpful for him,” Giacalone said.
“The same way he talks about this fictitious cop about not leaving evidence behind…we might have a little insight into how, or at least an answer about, the lack of forensic evidence was left behind,” Giacalone told Fox News Digital. “He doesn’t mention it by name, but Locard’s Exchange Principle, the theory of transfer between all evidence, he does talk about transfer of evidence a number of times throughout this.”
But Kohberger also made some mistakes in the piece, Giacalone said.
“He said staging is common,” Giacalone told Fox News Digital. “It’s not common. You know, most of the things that happen at crime scenes are mistakes or just panic mode.”
He also doesn’t believe that Kohberger, if he committed the crimes as alleged, would have had time to stage the scene after killing four people in roughly 15 minutes, then running into an eyewitness on the way out, who he did not attack.
“I think there’s no way that he didn’t see her,” he said. “So the staging part of this, I don’t find it plausible for him in that scenario.”
Kohberger, who, through his attorneys, has argued there was blood and DNA evidence at the victims’ home that could point to potential alternate perpetrators, wrote in his essay that crime scene investigators don’t have the responsibility of vetting potentially planted evidence.
“Even if there was an item introduced to the scene by an offender to throw off investigators, it is not the job of the criminal investigator processing the crime scene to jump to conclusion,” Kohberger wrote.
Giacalone said if Kohberger turned in the paper for one of his classes, he’d probably give it a B.
“He knows a lot, but you can get this out of any academic book,” Giacalone said. “You can learn about this, but putting it into practice and doing it are two other things.”
Kohberger graduated from DeSales University with a master’s degree and then went on to Washington State University to pursue a Ph.D. in criminology.
The school is just 10 miles away from the University of Idaho, where he is accused of entering a house at 4 a.m. and killing four of the six students inside on Nov. 13, 2022.
The victims were Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The three young women were all roommates. Chapin lived nearby and was dating Kernodle.
Kohberger’s trial on four charges of first-degree murder and another of burglary is set to begin on Aug. 11. Jury selection is scheduled for July 30.
A previous judge entered not-guilty pleas on Kohberger’s behalf at an arraignment in May 2023.
He could face the death penalty if convicted.
FOOTHILLS, Idaho — Areas near the Claremont Fire have been reduced to Level 1 evacuation status, the Boise County Sheriff’s Office updated on Facebook.
“Most of the unburned fuel near the spot fire has been consumed. There may be a pocket or two of unburned fuel that will need to be monitored tomorrow [July 11] afternoon,” BCSO says in an 8:40 p.m. update.
Idaho News 6 will continue to monitor evacuations in the area. To find your evacuation zone, click here.
Investigators are still working to determine what sparked the fire and are asking the public for tips.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | How did the Claremont Fire start? Investigators seek tips after 6,500 acres burn in the Foothills
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Idaho
“We won’t insure you”: Robie Creek homeowners struggle to get home insurance due to wildfire risks
ROBIE CREEK, Idaho — The Claremont Fire has brought wildfire risks to top of mind for neighbors living in places like Robie Creek, where residents saw Level 3 evacuations this week.
Many Idaho homeowners in rural areas like Boise County say they are having their home insurance policies dropped because of wildfire risks, leaving many scrambling to find coverage or going with none at all.
“This one was good — we knew it was coming, the one that was the Valley Fire in 2024 came up behind the hill. It was closer than this one even,” said Christian Dahlstrom, who has lived in Rocky Canyon since 2008.
WATCH | Hear from Robie Creek homeowners about being dropped from coverage with no luck getting re-insured
“We won’t insure you”: Robie Creek homeowners struggle to get home insurance due to wildfire risks
“I was insured since then until last year, so following the 2024 fire or fires, the insurance companies up here started reevaluating and they canceled a lot of folks and I was one of them,” Dahlstrom said.
He and many of his neighbors are now living without homeowners insurance because they can’t find a provider that will offer them full coverage.
“I have contacted every insurance carrier in the phonebook,” Dahlstrom said.
He said his mortgage company eventually insured the home, but only for the value of the mortgage. He could still lose everything if the home were destroyed in a fire.
“One insurance company said yep they’ll insure me but I had to take every single tree off the property. Well, then why am I living in the forest?” Dahlstrom added.
Others in Robie Creek say they are facing similar problems.
“And it’s not even a, well now you have to pay twice as much. It’s a we won’t insure you,” said Oscar Williamson.
Williamson recently bought a home in Robie Creek and said he needed insurance coverage to close on the property.
“We had gone through 40 different insurance companies to try to get it insured and nobody would ensure it they said it was in a high fire area,” Williamson said.
He nearly backed out of the purchase until his mortgage company offered limited coverage similar to Dahlstrom’s.
“You have no choice either run it without insurance or you don’t own the house,” Williamson said. “There should be an easier way of doing this.”
RELATED | “We’re all being canceled”: Idaho homeowners struggle to maintain home insurance amid wildfire risks
This is an issue affecting homeowners across the Treasure Valley and Idaho — residents in Garden Valley and the Boise Foothills have also reported losing coverage because of wildfire risk concerns.
RELATED | Idaho homeowners face insurance cancellations and rate hikes over wildfire risk
Boise Fire Chief Aaron Hummel says they’re working with partners to help reduce risks for homeowners and improve insurability.
“We also we’re trying to do our part with the Western Fire Chief Association, insurance carriers to see what can we do to use some of the contemporary tools to help mitigate some of this challenge,” Hummel said.
They are hoping to use new technology and grant funding to better protect homes in the wildland-urban interface.
“And essentially what we’re trying to do is leverage current AI technology and modeling tools to be very targeted in addressing areas that are vulnerable,” Hummel said.
You can find more information about Boise Fire’s goal to help reduce wildfire risks for homeowners here.
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