Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, was previously investigated in connection with a home invasion that occurred in Pullman, Washington, a year before the killings. The home invasion took place in October 2021, just 10 miles from the crime scene in Moscow, Idaho.
According to new reports, police responded to a woman’s terrified call after a masked intruder with a knife entered her home at 3:30 a.m. The woman fought off the attacker, who fled the scene. Although the case was initially unsolved, it has since raised eerie similarities to the quadruple murders Kohberger is accused of.
The 2021 home invasion, which was not immediately connected to Kohberger, involved a masked intruder who was silent during the encounter, mirroring elements of the brutal murders that would occur more than a year later. Kohberger, 29, is accused of killing four University of Idaho students—Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and Madison Mogen—on November 13, 2022.
The killings took place at around 4 a.m. in their off-campus house. A surviving housemate later reported seeing a masked man fleeing the scene, describing him as having “bushy eyebrows.”
Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania on December 30, 2022. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Bryan Kohberger Linked to Unsolved 2021 Home Invasion, Raising Chilling Parallels to Idaho Murders
Thirteen days after his arrest, Kohberger was named a person of interest in the Pullman home invasion case. However, authorities later ruled out his involvement, citing a significant height difference between Kohberger, who is 6 feet tall, and the attacker described as being between 5’3″ and 5’5″. Additionally, Kohberger was not yet enrolled at Washington State University at the time of the break-in.
Despite Kohberger being cleared of involvement in the home invasion, the case remains unsolved, leaving the victim frustrated with the lack of investigation. The Pullman Police Department has stated they have no evidence to link Kohberger to the burglary, and they have closed the investigation.
The victim of the break-in expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the case, claiming it was not thoroughly investigated. The home invasion case, which remains unresolved, continues to stir public interest due to its chilling resemblance to the later murders in Moscow.
Kohberger’s upcoming trial for the University of Idaho murders is scheduled to begin in August 2024, with proceedings set to last until November. The trial will be held in Boise, Idaho, and will be divided into two phases: one to determine his guilt or innocence and another to decide whether he should face the death penalty if found guilty.
The trial is highly anticipated and will likely bring further attention to Kohberger’s criminal background and the details surrounding both the Pullman home invasion and the brutal murders in Moscow.
