- Months of Surveillance: Kohberger tracked the victims’ home at night at least 23 times before the murders, suggesting long-term premeditation.
- Brutal, Targeted Attack: He entered the house around 4 a.m., killing four students with a military-grade knife, leaving behind DNA evidence.
- Failed Cover-Up: Despite studying criminology, his efforts to erase digital and physical traces failed, leading to his arrest through DNA and phone records.
The brutal slayings of four University of Idaho students in November 2022 shocked the nation. As details continue to emerge, a chilling timeline laid out by prosecutors paints a terrifying picture of a methodical killer who planned his attack for months — and nearly got away with it.
Here’s a breakdown of how Bryan Kohberger allegedly tracked, hunted, and murdered the victims in a calculated ambush that left a community shaken:
Early Preparation and Move Across the Country
- March 2022
Kohberger, still living with his parents in Pennsylvania, purchases a military-grade Ka-Bar knife and sheath on Amazon — the same weapon later used in the murders. - June 2022
He moves across the country to Pullman, Washington, just 15 minutes from Moscow, Idaho, to begin his PhD in criminology at Washington State University. - July to November 2022
Kohberger’s phone pings near the victims’ off-campus home at least 23 times between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. — always during odd hours, suggesting he was surveilling the area.
Despite no known connection to the victims, his digital footprint shows an eerie, consistent presence nearby.
The Night of the Murders: November 13, 2022
- November 13, 2022 – Day of the Murders
- Around 2 a.m., Kohberger’s phone goes dark.
- He drives his white Hyundai Elantra from his apartment in Pullman to Moscow, parking it quietly behind the victims’ home.
- Around 4 a.m., wearing a mask, he sneaks in through the sliding kitchen door.
- He climbs to the third floor and brutally stabs best friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen while they sleep in the same bed.
- He leaves the knife sheath at the scene — a crucial mistake. It holds DNA that later ties him to the crime.
- As he descends to the second floor, he encounters Xana Kernodle, who had just picked up a DoorDash order. He attacks her next.
- He then kills Ethan Chapin, Xana’s boyfriend, who had been sleeping in her room.
- One surviving housemate sees a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” leaving the home.
- 5:30 a.m.
Kohberger’s phone reconnects to the network in Pullman. He’s back in his apartment, leaving behind a blood-soaked crime scene. - 9:00 a.m.
Shockingly, his phone pings again near the victims’ home. Prosecutors believe he returned, possibly to retrieve the knife sheath — but it was too late. - 9:30 a.m.
Back in his apartment, he takes a bizarre selfie, flashing a thumbs-up in his bathroom mirror.
Days After the Murders
Kohberger takes a suspicious trip to Lewiston, Idaho, a place known for fast-moving rivers. Prosecutors suspect he disposed of the knife there.
He changes his car registration from Pennsylvania to Idaho in an apparent attempt to confuse law enforcement.
He searches online for more knives and tries to scrub his Amazon purchase history.
Investigation, Arrest, and Evidence Found
December 2022
Investigators track him down through cell records, security footage, and DNA recovered from his parents’ trash in Pennsylvania — a Q-tip with a familial match to the DNA on the knife sheath.
Late December 2022
Kohberger is arrested in Pennsylvania. Investigators describe his Pullman apartment as eerily empty — almost no belongings, as if trying to erase any trace of his life.
His car is described as meticulously cleaned — “spotless” inside, with door compartments scrubbed to the point of obsession.
Despite Kohberger’s background in criminology and a detailed paper he wrote on crime scene analysis, he left behind a trail of digital and physical evidence too large to hide. The prosecution believes his education played a role in how he tried to cover his tracks — but in the end, it wasn’t enough.
With his guilty plea now on record, the world may never learn why he did it. Kohberger has offered no explanation. His sentencing is scheduled for July 23, when he will face the families of his victims. Whether he’ll speak remains unknown.