Bryan Kohberger didn’t leave the University of Idaho murder scene empty-handed, according to a chilling new detail revealed by Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson.
Speaking in court just moments after Kohberger pleaded guilty to murdering four students, Thompson shared that one of the surviving roommates witnessed the accused killer holding a “container” as he left the off-campus home in the early hours of November 13, 2022, PEOPLE reports.
The eyewitness account came from the roommate who unexpectedly came face-to-face with the intruder, dressed in black and wearing a balaclava, as he walked past her and exited through the kitchen’s sliding glass door, the same route prosecutors believe he entered the home.
While the contents of the container remain undisclosed, Thompson’s decision to highlight it suggests it was a key detail in the case prosecutors were building prior to Kohberger’s plea deal. Under Idaho law, bringing that container into the home, or taking it from the scene, could have supported the burglary charge Kohberger also admitted to when he agreed to the deal earlier this month.
Due to a strict non-dissemination order, court files and further details remain sealed, but speculation about the container’s contents has already begun.
One possibility is that it held Xana Kernodle’s DoorDash delivery, which arrived around 4 a.m., just minutes before she and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin were killed. Prosecutors believe Kohberger initially intended to target only the two victims on the third floor, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, and encountered Kernodle unexpectedly on his way out.
The probable cause affidavit notes that Kernodle was still active on TikTok at 4:12 a.m., but her phone showed no activity afterward. Around 4:17 a.m., a neighbor’s security camera, less than 50 feet from Kernodle’s room, recorded what sounded like a whimper, voices, and a loud thud.
Another theory is that the container was used to conceal the murder weapon or other incriminating evidence, possibly explaining why the eyewitness didn’t see a knife in his hands and why Kohberger left behind the sheath to his KA-BAR blade. A third theory is that Kohberger, a former criminology PhD student, may have taken a “trophy” from the scene, as some serial offenders have been known to do.
It’s considered unlikely that Kohberger brought the container with him, which would suggest it was something taken from inside the home.
The truth may come to light soon. On July 17, Judge Steven Hippler will hear arguments from media outlets requesting that the non-dissemination order be lifted and that sealed court records be released.
One week later, on July 23, Kohberger will be formally sentenced. Prosecutors are recommending four consecutive life sentences, terms he accepted as part of the plea deal in exchange for the state dropping the death penalty.
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