Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger has no criminal history

ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THIS MURDER CASE HAS CAPTURED THE ATTENTION OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE NATION. AND NOW, WITH AN ARREST MADE, THERE ARE STILL SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. WELL, TO HELP ANSWER SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER TERRI PARKER JOINING US IN THE STUDIO NOW AND TERRY YOU SPOKE WITH A RETIRED FBI INVESTIGATOR ABOUT THIS PERPLEXING CASE, RIGHT? BECAUSE SOME PIECE OF EVIDENCE LED POLICE A CRIMINAL JUST GRAD STUDENT, BRIAN BURGER, AS A POSSIBLE SUSPECT. THE MOSCOW POLICE CHIEF WON’T SAY TODAY WHAT IT WAS. I TALKED TO A RETIRED FBI AGENT WHO TELLS ME HOW IT LIKELY WORKED. THE CRITICAL TIP POLICING HAVE WAS THAT WHITE ALONDRA THEY DIDN’T HOW THEY KNEW ABOUT IT OR WHERE IT WAS SPOTTED. JUST PLEADED WITH THE PUBLIC FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THAT CAR AND THOUSANDS OF TIPS DID POUR IN ABOUT A LAUNDRESS. RETIRED FBI AGENT MCVEIGH TELLS ME COACH BURGER DOES NOT HAVE A VEHICLE REGISTERED IN HIS NAME AND NO CRIMINAL HISTORY. MEANING WHILE THEY RUNNING DNA AND FINGERPRINT CHECKS FROM THE CRIME SCENE ON THE NATIONAL DATABASE, HE HAVE SHOWN UP. MCVEIGH SUSPECT THEY SET UP FBI SURVEILLANCE ON COBURG OR ONCE THAT ALONDRA SOMEHOW CAME TO THEIR ATTENTION. AND AGAIN, REMEMBER, WE TALK ABOUT THE VEHICLE BEING SEEN MAYBE THE VEHICLE WASN’T SEEN THAT NIGHT, BUT MAYBE IT WAS SEEN NUMEROUS OTHER NIGHTS WHERE HAS ON A CAMERA. AND THEY’RE LIKE, WELL, WAIT A MINUTE, THIS CAR DOESN’T BELONG ON THE STREET. BUT FOR FIVE NIGHTS IN A ROW, IT’S BEEN SITTING HERE, YOU KNOW, NOBODY GETS OUT OF IT OR SOMETHING THAT. SO IS A POSSIBILITY. YES. THAT HE HE PICKED THEM FOR A REASON. WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT REASON COULD BE. A PERSONAL VENDETTA. OR MAYBE THE HOUSE LOOKED LIKE AN EASY PLACE. GET IN AND GET AWAY FROM QUICKLY. MCVEIGH SAYS AGENTS SURVEILLING KABUGA LIKELY PICKED UP SOMETHING THAT KABUGA DISCARDED AND COMPARED IT TO DNA AT THE CRIME SCENE. KIELBURGER WAS ARRESTED 2500 MILES AWAY NEAR SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, WHERE HE IS FROM AND WHERE HE MAY HAVE GONE HOME, SUPPOSEDLY FOR CHRISTMAS. AND TODAY, MOSCOW CHIEF FRY CONFIRMING THEY DID CONFISCATE A WHITE ELANTRA WHEN THEY MADE THAT ARREST. WE DON’T KNOW WHERE EXACTLY, BUT IT HAS BEEN REPORTED. ONE WAS TOWED FROM THE RESIDENCE IN PENNSYLVANIA WHERE THEY FOUND HIM, WHICH IS LIKELY THE SAME HOUSE WHERE HIS PARENTS LIVE. I CALLED HIS PARENTS AND SISTERS AND NO ONE ANSWERED. AND MANY QUESTIONS STILL GO UNANSWERED TONIGHT AS WELL. TERR

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger has no criminal history, no car registered in own name

Retired FBI agent says Kohberger would not have been in national DNA, fingerprint database

Moscow Police and prosecutors won’t reveal what tip led them to Bryan Christopher Kohberger as the prime suspect in the murders of four Idaho University students six weeks ago, but the mysterious white Elantra seen near the crime scene may have been critical.Friday, Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed a white Hyundai Elantra was seized in Pennsylvania, where the FBI and state police SWAT teams arrested Kohberger early Friday morning.Retired Special Agent John MacVeigh told investigative reporter Terri Parker that Kohberger does not have a vehicle registered in his name and no criminal history, meaning while police were running DNA and fingerprint checks from the crime scene on the national database, Kohberger would not have shown up as a match.”They would have found no criminal history, nothing in the database, and so if they then linked him some by other means, then they would have probably set up a surveillance on him,” said MacVeigh.”Possibly the bureau would have done that for them, set up surveillance, and you wait until, you know, he spits on the ground, he drops a tissue, he’s at a deli, and he takes a glass, something like that,” said MacVeigh, who said agents then would have compared DNA on the discarded item to DNA at the crime scene.But what led them to zero in on Kohberger?The critical tip police seemed to have was that white Elantra. They didn’t say how they knew about it or where it was spotted, but on Dec. 7, police put out a public plea for information about that car — and thousands of tips poured in about Elantras.”Maybe the vehicle wasn’t seen that night (of the murders), but maybe it was seen numerous other nights where somebody has a Ring camera, and they’re like, well, wait a minute, this car doesn’t belong on the street. But for five nights in a row, it’s been sitting here, you know, nobody gets out of it or something like that. So is it a possibility? Yes. That he picked them for a reason,” said MacVeigh.MacVeigh said because of the violent nature of the fatal stabbings, the killer could have been seeking revenge or had a vendetta against one of the victims.Or, he could have targeted the house itself because he knew it was easy to get in and out of and close to the highway for a quick getaway.Kohberger was a Ph.D. student with the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University — and lives on campus in Pullman, just eight miles from the off-campus home in Moscow where the four students were stabbed to death last month.”It’s odd that he was getting a doctorate in criminal justice,” noted MacVeigh. “Mostly people who go into law enforcement do that.”Kohberger’s parents live in a gated neighborhood in his hometown of Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. His parents and sisters did not answer their phones when called.Kohberger will appear in court on Tuesday for extradition proceedings, and details on what led to his arrest will be unsealed once he is brought back to Idaho to face charges.

Moscow Police and prosecutors won’t reveal what tip led them to Bryan Christopher Kohberger as the prime suspect in the murders of four Idaho University students six weeks ago, but the mysterious white Elantra seen near the crime scene may have been critical.

Friday, Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed a white Hyundai Elantra was seized in Pennsylvania, where the FBI and state police SWAT teams arrested Kohberger early Friday morning.

Retired Special Agent John MacVeigh told investigative reporter Terri Parker that Kohberger does not have a vehicle registered in his name and no criminal history, meaning while police were running DNA and fingerprint checks from the crime scene on the national database, Kohberger would not have shown up as a match.

“They would have found no criminal history, nothing in the database, and so if they then linked him some by other means, then they would have probably set up a surveillance on him,” said MacVeigh.

“Possibly the bureau would have done that for them, set up surveillance, and you wait until, you know, he spits on the ground, he drops a tissue, he’s at a deli, and he takes a glass, something like that,” said MacVeigh, who said agents then would have compared DNA on the discarded item to DNA at the crime scene.

But what led them to zero in on Kohberger?

The critical tip police seemed to have was that white Elantra. They didn’t say how they knew about it or where it was spotted, but on Dec. 7, police put out a public plea for information about that car — and thousands of tips poured in about Elantras.

white elantra

“Maybe the vehicle wasn’t seen that night (of the murders), but maybe it was seen numerous other nights where somebody has a Ring camera, and they’re like, well, wait a minute, this car doesn’t belong on the street. But for five nights in a row, it’s been sitting here, you know, nobody gets out of it or something like that. So is it a possibility? Yes. That he picked them for a reason,” said MacVeigh.

MacVeigh said because of the violent nature of the fatal stabbings, the killer could have been seeking revenge or had a vendetta against one of the victims.

Or, he could have targeted the house itself because he knew it was easy to get in and out of and close to the highway for a quick getaway.

Kohberger was a Ph.D. student with the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University — and lives on campus in Pullman, just eight miles from the off-campus home in Moscow where the four students were stabbed to death last month.

“It’s odd that he was getting a doctorate in criminal justice,” noted MacVeigh. “Mostly people who go into law enforcement do that.”

Kohberger’s parents live in a gated neighborhood in his hometown of Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. His parents and sisters did not answer their phones when called.

Kohberger will appear in court on Tuesday for extradition proceedings, and details on what led to his arrest will be unsealed once he is brought back to Idaho to face charges.

https://www.wpbf.com/article/idaho-murder-suspect-bryan-kohberger-criminal-history/42371087