Idaho homicide updates: Bryan Kohberger’s parents testify in death of Pennsylvania woman Dana Smithers

Bryan Kohberger is believed to have broken into a female student’s home and then installed security cameras to spy on her in the months before he allegedly killed four other students in a terror attack in Moscow, Idaho.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student had befriended the woman after he moved to Pullman, Wash., to begin a graduate program in criminal justice at Washington State University (WSU), according to a source.

One day, the woman returned to her apartment and discovered that someone had broken in and moved items in the home – but that nothing was missing.

Since nothing was taken, the woman decided not to call the police and instead called her new friend Kohberger and asked him to come over.

Mr. Kohberger allegedly offered to install a video security system in her home and the woman agreed.

After the installation, investigators believe Kohberger used the security cameras to spy on the woman because — knowing her Wi-Fi password — he was able to use the cameras when he was near the apartment.

Bryan Kohberger’s parents have been subpoenaed to testify before a Pennsylvania grand jury in a case related to Dana Smithers, who disappeared in 2022, according to NewsNation.

Smithers, a 45-year-old woman, was last seen on May 28, 2022 in Monroe County and her remains were discovered in a wooded area in Stroudsburg on April 27, about 30 miles away from Kohberger’s home in Albrightsville.

But a source told NewsNation that Mr. Bryan’s alibi proves he was unlikely to be involved in Smither’s missing case.

But the grand jury has not completed its proceedings in the case and investigations are ongoing.

A judge found not guilty Monday for a man accused of stabbing to death four University of Idaho students, setting the stage for a trial in which he could face the death penalty.

The murders on November 13, 2022 stunned the rural community of Moscow, Idaho, prompting many students to leave campus early and transfer to distance learning for the rest of the semester.

Bryan Kohberger, 28, was arrested late last year and charged with burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at an apartment building near the University of Idaho campus.

Her suspicions were so great that several family members at one point searched Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra for possible evidence of the crime, they said.

The independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:

The grieving family of slain University of Idaho Kaylee Goncalves has filed a lawsuit after the judge presiding over their daughter’s murder case mispronounced her name.

Bryan Kohberger has refused to enter a plea to four murder charges, prompting the judge to enter one on his behalf and effectively moving the case to trial.

The independentIo Dodds reports:

The father of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves has expressed his support for the young women who survived the attack in which his daughter was killed.

Dylan Mortensen and Brittany Funke were inside their off-campus home in Moscow when roommates Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in the early morning of Nov. 13.

According to an affidavit released earlier this year, Mortensen told investigators that during the night of the murders, she saw “a figure dressed in black clothing and a mask covering the subject’s mouth and nose walking toward her.”

Mortensen and Funke were subjected to online harassment as speculation grew and questions were raised in the eight hours between the attack and the police being called. They were never considered suspects and authorities have described them as survivors since the early stages of the investigation.

In an interview with NewsNation‘s Ashleigh Banfield aired last week, Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves thanked Ms. Funke and Ms. Mortensen for their cooperation with the investigation, which he called critical to building a strong case against suspect Bryan Kohberger.

“They go through a lot; I appreciate what they have done for the case and all the information they have provided,” Goncalves said. “I wish they didn’t have to go through that, but it’s crucial, it absolutely will so I commend them for their courage and going through this and knowing that I can’t fix it for them.”

At least two items seized from accused killer Bryan Kohberger’s home tested positive for blood.

Court documents, released by authorities in Washington earlier this month, show that several items taken from the 28-year-old Washington State University criminology doctoral student’s apartment in Pullman had been tested for the presence of blood.

While most records came back negative, two records were positive.

These items were a mattress cover on the bed and a pillow without a cover, both of which were described as having visible “reddish brown stains”. It is not clear from the documents who the blood belongs to.

All of the items were seized when police executed a search warrant at Kohberger’s address on December 30 – the day he was arrested for the murders at the University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.