Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger was once investigated in connection to a chilling home invasion that took place mere miles from where he allegedly slaughtered four college students inside their off-campus housing in 2022, according to a new report.

New information about the accused killer comes after ABC News obtained bodycam footage of police responding to a suspected home invasion in nearby Pullman, Wash., in October 2021 — more than a year before the University of Idaho students were stabbed to death.

“I heard my door open and I looked over, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife,” a frightened woman told police.

“I kicked the s–t out of their stomach and screamed super loud, and they like flew back into my closet and then ran out my door and up the stairs.”

The alleged incident — which took place just 10 miles from the gruesome slayings in Moscow, Idaho — happened at 3:30 a.m., the woman told police, adding that the masked intruder was silent the whole time.

Her roommate immediately called the police, the outlet reported, but the case was left unsolved as police were left without a suspect or evidence at the time.

The terrifying incident shared eerie similarities with the gruesome quadruple University of Idaho murders.

Kohberger, 29, is accused of butchering students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, around 4 a.m. inside their off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022.

A surviving housemate later told police she saw a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing the house after overhearing cries and sounds of a struggle.

Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University, was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home on Dec. 30 and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary — charges he has since pleaded not guilty.

Thirteen days later he was named a person of interest in the Pullman case, ABC reported, but is no longer considered a suspect. 

“We have no reason or evidence to believe he was involved in this burglary at this time,” Pullman police told the outlet, citing a height difference between the alleged attackers.

While Kohberger is 6 feet tall, the alleged attacker in the Pullman incident was described as being 5’3′ to 5’5′. The accused stabber was also not yet enrolled at Washington State University at the time of the 2021 incident, the outlet reported.

The case is now closed but remains unsolved, police said.

“My family and I have been frustrated that the case was not investigated more in-depth or resolved,” the victim in the break-in told the outlet.

Kohberger’s highly anticipated trial is slated to begin in August and last through November.

The lengthy trial, which was moved to Idaho’s capital of Boise, will include two phases — one to determine his guilt or innocence, and the other, if he’s found guilty, to determine whether he should receive the death penalty. 

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

Kohberger, a 28-year-old PhD criminology student at Washington State University, was arrested weeks after the Idaho murders at his parents’ home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He now faces four first-degree murder charges and a felony burglary charge. Prosecutors allege Kohberger meticulously planned the attack, stalking the victims’ off-campus rental home prior to the killings.

The Pullman home invasion occurred in October 2021, just 10 miles from Moscow, Idaho, where four college students were brutally stabbed to death in November 2022. Newly released body camera footage cited by ABC News provides a bodycam footage of the break-in that left a young woman traumatized and fearing for her life.

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“I heard my door open and I looked over, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife,” the woman told officers in the footage, her voice trembling. “I kicked the s*** out of their stomach and screamed super loud. They flew back into my closet and then ran out my door and up the stairs.”

Kohberger named person of interest in Pullman case after Idaho murders

The alleged attack happened around 3:30 a.m. The masked intruder, who carried a knife, entered her bedroom silently. Despite her quick reaction and her roommate’s immediate call to 911, police found no trace of the suspect or any physical evidence.

Just over a year later, on November 13, 2022, the town of Moscow, Idaho, was shaken by the brutal murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. Survivors in the home described a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing after hearing cries and the sounds of a violent struggle.

Thirteen days after the Idaho murders, Kohberger was named a person of interest in the Pullman case. The eerie similarities between the two incidents—both involving a masked intruder, a knife, and nighttime break-ins—drew immediate attention. However, authorities later clarified that Kohberger is no longer considered a suspect in the Pullman case.

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Despite initial suspicions, critical differences between the Pullman and Moscow cases ultimately ruled out Kohberger’s involvement in the earlier incident. The victim of the Pullman break-in described the intruder as 5’3” to 5’5”, while Kohberger stands six feet tall.

ICYMI 2024
In Case You Missed It: Some of our best stories of the year

The BoiseDev team is off for the holiday break. (We’ll keep an eye out for any major breaking stories.) While our team enjoys some downtime, we bring you a few stories you might have missed this year. A note that some stories may have new updates since the original date of publication. Have something we should know? Email us.

Idaho’s most expensive currently active residential real estate listing is located in Parma.

The $22.5-million listing on Highway 95 in Parma spans more than 450 acres and includes a massive home, or, as it’s described, “owner’s lodge,” that totals roughly 9,000 square feet.

“Parma Lodge and Stables is among the Northwest’s premier equestrian, sporting, and lifestyle properties,” the real estate listing boasts. “The ranch is conveniently located 45 minutes west of Idaho’s capital city of Boise and 20 minutes from Treasure Valley Executive Airport in Caldwell.”

The property, more commonly known as Tree Top Ranches, is owned by Larry and Marianne Williams.

The couple is known locally for founding the Idaho Timber Corporation, which owns timberlands across the US. They also are behind significant charitable giving, including donating Marianne Williams Park in Boise, giving funds to Boise State Athletics, and more. Larry Williams was also involved in the Big City Coffee case against Boise State and has pledged to stop giving funds to the school over his view of the political leaning of the school’s curriculum. The couple has given significant funds to conservative lawmakers, ponied up dollars for a failed 2018 effort to legalize a form of gambling known as historical horse racing, and recently poured funds into a political action committee aiming to steer legislation related to fentanyl.

Bit of Kentucky in Idaho

Idaho Statesman columnist Brian Murphy reported in 2012 that The Williams sold their share in Idaho Timber in 2005, and used a portion of the proceeds for the ranch operation. They bought it from NFL Hall of Fame player Jerry Kramer in 2000.

“We determined we wanted to start a horse farm around ’99-2000,” Williams told the Statesman in 2012. “We looked at thoroughbreds, and we looked at quarter horses. We came back (to Kentucky) and just fell in love with the place. We couldn’t do it here so we decided we would try to do it in Idaho on a much smaller scale.”

The property, which includes an 18-stall horse barn, was used to raise horses for competitive racing – including the Kentucky Derby, the Statesman reported. The sales flier mentions four separate times that the property is “home to one of the most successful thoroughbred breeding operations” in the western part of the United States.

The ranch is bordered on one side by the Boise River, which the sales website says is lined with cottonwood trees and “abundant wildlife.” Much of the land is used for horse pasture with sprinkler irrigation as well as cropland with flood irrigation used for growing corn.

The home includes eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms and was built in 2001. There’s a separate four-bedroom manager’s residence, a training/breaking pin, several equipment storage buildings and a large shop building. It sits on a set of lakes on the property.

Larry Williams told the Statesman in 2012 that the whole property was modeled on Kentucky horse farms, and had his team visit Kentucky to draw inspiration.

“It wasn’t a grandiose plan. That wasn’t the way it started. We kept building a building and then another building. It got out of control,” Williams said. “It’s a baby. The ones in Kentucky are much bigger.”

The property is offered for sale by Trent Jones of Hall and Hall.