We as students as 18 to 25y olds 10 minutes from us just got word that four kids were brutally murdered in their beds while they were sleeping I I didn’t believe it for sure I mean it didn’t make any sense see if she was okay she obviously didn’t ever respond it was
In the morning a college town going from shock to fear to International headlines we’re on the ground here in Idaho with all new reporting the most complete picture yet it turns out that one of the survivors came face to face with the killer have you been able to draw any connections we
Do think that he possibly followed them on Instagram if he’s the guy everyone’s been talking about him as this if he’s a great Mastermind he was a criminology student he was so smart based on what we saw in that affidavit it would appear he wasn’t a
Very good criminal the shock of being in class with the alleged killer there’s no real way to suspect that your ta would do it he didn’t ever give like really good grades before it and he only gave good grades after it if it’s not Brian CER who is it This is a story that has captivated the nation the man who stands accused of murdering four University of Idaho students showing up to court with scratches on his face just yesterday this is state of Idaho and Brian cobber but this all started November 13th 2022 with a 911
Call and what they understand from the caller is that someone is unconscious police are dispatched and find something far more pinous KY gones Madison Mogan Zan carod and her boyfriend Ethan chin were found stabbed to death in their off-campus home the were stabbed with a knife but no weapon
Has been located at this time no one could understand why would anyone want to kill these four students you’re all in fight our flight we have no idea what to do we have never had a situation like this in our community this doesn’t happen in Moscow Idaho
There’s no indication about who did it why the person did it growing fear in that Idaho College town where four students were brutally murdered many this morning are questioning the police assurances that everybody’s safe when the story broke the national media descends on this small college town that
At this point is gripped with fear we didn’t know if someone was just breaking in houses if they were targeting college kids we believe this was an isolated targeted attack on our victims we do not have a suspect at this time and that individual is still out there we were
All scared we just didn’t feel safe you felt like you had no choice but to leave oh absolutely yeah my mom she was waiting for me in the airport and I just ran to her arms I think it really hit everyone hard and we were all just shocked it’s been a month
Now since four students were murdered in off-campus housing more than 5 weeks into that investigation there’s still limited answers days were going by weeks were going by but then a break in the case the man has been arrested in connection with the murders of four University of Idaho
Students police say the alleged killer studies criminology at Washington State University this man was in our community and we were told that we were safe are you kidding the allege killer Brian cobber lives just 10 miles away from the crime scene while authorities are searching for answers in the small town of Moscow Idaho Moscow it’s nestled in the poo and uh the poo is this sea of rolling wheat Hills that just goes as far as the IE can see this is the wheat Capital the poo this area produces more wheat than just about anywhere in the country when
You drive in it says Moscow Idaho the heart of the Arts we honor creativity we know it’s important Moscow is full of art and Culture part of what makes Moscow such a Vibrant Community is that there’s a college right in the heart of the city you have one of the top ranked schools in all of the state the University of Idaho idah idah the University of Idaho is known as
The home of the Vandals so tailgating is huge obviously for the Games every fall to Spring there’s about 15,000 new faces that come through I tell our students this all the time when you go away in the summer it’s like well everyone take a deep breath because traffic calms down things are quieter and they come back and it’s lovely
Chaos the University of Idaho is well-known academic Al but it’s also the choice for many in the state to attend because of the life on campus there’s the fraternities there’s the sorties angry grow Kay gonzalves and Madison Mogan were both ins sororities at the University of Idaho and the now
Roommates have been childhood best friends they met in the sixth grade and pretty much from that day forward they did absolutely everything together first dates first boyfriends graduated high school they had their first heartbreaks together Kaye was 12 13 years old they’re blasting Taylor Swift in the basement you know comforting each other
One of the other roommates was a young woman named Zanna konot she was a junior and she belonged to the same sorority as Madison Mogan there was one night it had snowed and we see a sled and we just went flying her smile was contagious her biggest joy in life was
To be happy and to make others happy Zanna had started dating a freshman named Ethan chapen in the spring of 2022 and he spent a lot of time at the girls House Santa and th were two peas in a pod they were goofy they both had a beautiful smile they were both Kind this is Main Street Moscow Idaho great restaurants bars and shopping that attract students from another nearby University just 15 minutes away Washington State the much larger University is just across the Idaho line in pulman Washington there is definitely a crossover with the two universities really it’s not two
Separate communities here we’re all one big Community when you want to get a good meal you go to Moscow it really is like the hub for shopping food entertainment often you’ll leave the bars and you’ll go to the grub truck and you’ll end your night with your mac and
Cheese and then you go home it is an extremely safe place to live people don’t worry about locking their doors locking their cars Moscow hadn’t had a homicide in more than 7 years it was definitely a very happy place and like feeling very safe I guess is the biggest Thing a place where four young lives with so much promise we just starting out you would never imagine that those lives would come to such a terrifying End this is the start of the school year there’s that young optimism that exists at the beginning of every school year on every college campus in America you can just imagine the sparkle of life for these young people a group of girls who’ve known each other a long time have
Found a perfect house just off campus it’s a three-story house it’s got six bedrooms and three bathrooms there was a really tight bond that all those roommates had with each other these girls posted their whole lives to social media and in those videos you can see just just how much they loved each Other to know Kaye was to love Kaye some of their friends have asked we not use their last names Kay she was like the protector if we needed honestly anything she would just do it I remember I had like a professor I was having a hard time with she’s like kitty sit down
I’ll call the DAT for you you I’ll draft the email we’ll figure it out she was in everyone’s Corner she was the voice for people who didn’t have the voice if I had one or two words to describe Maddy may it would be just an angel she just made me
Proud when I would meet somebody Maddie was the first thing I would tell someone about I say oh I have this daughter and she’s so smart and beautiful and funny and she’s just the the thing that makes me happiest in in Life tell me about Zanna and Ethan as a couple we didn’t think Zanna would ever get a boyfriend and when she met Ethan I remember her telling me hey I have got a little crush on Ethan and he was just such a fun person to be around my first
Impression of Ethan was he’s just this huge dude that you wouldn’t really approach but as soon as you really got to know him you realize that he’s like one big teddy bear Whenever there would be a party we’d be singing country Songs Fall In Love by Bailey and that was one of the first songs that Ethan and I had memorized together we sing it together so the house is just a ston throw away from campus the school year it kicked off and the house on King Road was bustling the
Neighborhood nickname was frat lantis it’s a culdesac and people that are a part of sororities or fraternities live in these houses away from the actual campus all the roommates were in sororities it’s a very popular area for students to live and it’s very social there’s always people interacting on
Those streets at all hours the house is unique it’s three levels there are two bedrooms on each level definitely an older home creaky and noisy so you can’t really walk anywhere without everybody knowing it it was very homey it felt like a very nice first home for these
Girls and their new found Independence there’s this neon sign in the house it says Good Vibes it almost seemed to be a house rule Maddie was very girly Maddie loved pink everything Maddie sent me pictures of her room and it was all pink of course she loved wearing pink she had
Pink cowboy boots were probably her favorite thing to wear for her 21st birthday everyone had to wear pink one person had it wasn’t quite the right shade of pink and then uh they heard it from her Kaye had a dog a little mini golden doodle named Murphy Murphy was like the
Love of her life she it was like Murphy became her child it was funny cuzz it was like her step into like adulthood Kaye posted this video on Tik Tok dancing with her treasured Pet the home has been the known house for parties for a long time that’s why I think Kaye and Maddie were so excited to move into that specific home together because it’s been that home for as long as I can remember there was one night when a gathering there resulted in Neighbors calling
Police on September 1st the police received a noise complaint at the house there’s footage of the three officers who go there the kids give them a runaround the cops respond to this uh by taking their liquor and dumping it the police came back to address the
Noise they said was still tooo loud this time s came to the door it was always friends of Ethan that would go over friends of Santa friends of Kaye and Maddie there was never anybody who shouldn’t have been There the semester is well underway and some of the girls had big plans for after they graduated haly worked very hard she always did summer school and picked up the most credits that she could and Kaye actually was to graduate in December she had been working an
Internship but it was going to evolve into a paid job and she would be moving to Austin Kaye was going to be starting an entire new adventure that’s pretty her like was very ambitious and she was always setting goals after college Kaye was going to move out of state Maddie wasn’t quite
Sure where she was going to be but um yeah they were going to be a part that was going to be the first time since sixth grade that they would be living in different areas that was going to be hard this semester both Maddie and Zanna were juggling their schoolwork with jobs
At a local restaurant called The Mad Greek according to a post on her sister’s Instagram Zanna turned in an English essay on November 7th and in it she wrote about having just seen a show with all of her friends and she wrote it was amazing getting to experience one of
My favorite songs with some of my best friends while they were all enjoying life that is one of the most important things you can do in life enjoy the ride not the Destination just 5 days after Zanna turned in that essay she and her boyfriend and her roommates were heading out for a night on the town and early some of the last moments of their lives were caught on video Saturday November 12th is a last home game for the University of Idaho vandals football
Team this was a big day for the students it was the last home game of the season And everybody converged on Main Street for some laps and some fun University of Idaho actually lost their game that night but as the vandals say win or lose there’s always booze the last football home game is just wrapped up and everyone is out it’s the kind of night that college
Students who work hard all week live for it is the night to celebrate earlier in that day Kaye gonzalves posted this photo to Instagram it was of her and her roommates and Ethan chapen and she wrote one lucky girl to be surrounded by these people every
Day Kaye she seems like her usual bubbly saw she was actually at my apartment um and we were just kind of like hanging out for game day um and she was also with her roommates at that time too for Kaye though there was something Weighing on her mind and she had
Confided in her parents about it she felt that someone in the town had been watching her did Kaye ever talk to you about now a potential stalker she did she did sometimes she would contact us and say you won’t believe this guy was following me around I felt
Weird I’m pretty sure she did not report it it was never used like hey I have a stalker like this ongoing thing she goes I went through the self checkout I noticed this person in the self checkout kind of behind me this is she like
Record him she did not I think she was just like I got to get the heck out of here so that night Kaye and Maddie head off to the corner Club bar one of the most popular spots in town There’s Nothing strange about the fact that Kaye Gonzalez and Madison
Mogan were hanging out at the corner club that night you probably find half of Moscow like going to the game going to the corner club that was like routine and then to go home to get home late it’s pretty normal typ difficult yeah you know week nights I think she
Was studying and and being a good girl but uh yeah she would let her hair down a little bit on the weekends they were at the corner Club from 10:20 until about 1ish in the morning Ethan started Saturday night out with his sister Ethan was one of three triplets
They all attended U ofi together they’re always together and you know that that family is so close close they’re so tight net Ethan went to a party with his sister she had her sority party and he was her date it was called the Betty’s ball just a bunch of students getting
Together and mingling and and having a good time Ethan and I were both at the Betty’s ball that night he spent the beginning part of that night at the ball with his sister which was part of the sorority that was hosting the the formal dance shortly after that Ethan then
Meets up with Zanna back at his fraternity at Sigma Kai they were having a great time at that party it was totally a normal thing to see Ethan and Zan having a great time just hanging out with each other dancing singing the University of Idaho is a very Greek University and the housing
Where the party takes place at the sigma Kai it’s a party house if nothing had happened that night you’d say well this is fun we live in a world where there are cameras everywhere so we know a lot about where Kaylee and Maddie were that night and at what
Timec from that point they stopped by what’s known as grub truck and Kaye and Maddie are seen on video from the truck’s live streaming camera thank you thank you it’s a food vendor truck that’s parked on Main Street downtown a lot of people stop by there on the way
Home to get a taco or a burrito or something like that and then just keep on moving and these are their last moments and that’s what makes it so poignant all these videos I found tremendously affecting to see you the these last moments that’ll never be relived
Again this was just them being them not even knowing that they’re being filmed in m e i could just tell just by her body language that she was she was de definitely feeling pretty good that food truck video kills me because just knowing that what they were
About to go home too and they had no idea and they were so happy Kaye and Maddie get carbonara this the sort of thing you want to have to absorb all the alcohol in night of drinking they catch a ride back they grab the order they go
Kaye called for a ride service cuz they had been drinking as for Ethan and Zanna they leave that party at Ethan’s frat and head back to the house on King Road it’s a quick walk 3 or 4 Minutes by 2: a.m. everyone’s home Ethan and Zanna Kaye and Madison and their two other roommates are all settling in for the night and so everyone’s in there and yet still this is being young their night goes on they’re on the phone Kaye started making phone calls late at
Night which is not unusual for college students she called her exboyfriend multiple times remember there’s three stories to the house Kaye and Maddie were together in Maddy’s room on the third floor kayle’s dog Murphy was alone in kayle’s bedroom just down the hall Ethan was staying over that night in zanna’s room
Which was on the second floor one of the other roommates in the house also o on the second floor and one in a bedroom on the first floor so I think around three they probably called it said all right I’ll just sleep with you then Maddie I think that they ate their pasta
And they probably got in bed together like they had so many other Saturday nights everything was so normal in that home on King Road nobody could have imagined it was about to become a house of horror for University of Idaho students were found dead on Sunday police say was
A targeted attack near the University of Idaho Sunday November 13th becomes the day that the people of Moscow Idaho will never forget officers responded to a call here on King Road just south of c three police cars went screaming up the street with lights and sirens and going
They never use lights and Sirens what the hell is going on now it’s 11:58 a.m. on a Sunday and a 911 call comes in that’s very confusing we still don’t know who made the 911 call that day but we do know that the 911 operator spoke to multiple
Individuals on the phone what they heard in the 911 call was discussion of like a friend being unconscious it was not Apparent at the time that the call was about four murders so when the police roll up to this house they’re probably thinking this is somebody who had too
Much to drink they have no idea what they’re about to walk into people who spoke with them in the aftermath of of what they encountered shared this with me that the officers confronted a sea of Silent students the officers hear one word dead when the lead Sergeant goes into
The house he later told people how that high smell of Blood Rose up in his nostrils and it it took him back whether you’re a rookie cop or a season cop there is nothing that could prepare law enforcement for what they would see in this house this is a brutal crime scene
These these victims were not shot they were stabbed to death the brutality that occurred at the different levels of this residence it’s just unheard of this was a brutal weapon they weren’t stab WS you know they were like large punctures but at that point in time no
Knife could be found what was baffling to police they say is that it didn’t appear that there was any forced entry it doesn’t appear that any of the victims had been sexually assaulted the town and soon the whole world comes to know that there are actually two
Survivors in this house how is it possible that four people could be killed in one house and yet have two people in the house survive these violent attacks live to tell the story of what happened in there with a killer on the loose you cannot be too careful the university
Sends out something called a bandal alert basically a warning to everyone in the community so they sent out a vandal alert notifying students to shelter in place so I think a lot of people were kind of shocked and you know confused about what was going on unfortunately one of the victims is
My very best friend and when I got the Vandal alert that there had been a homicide on campus on King Road I called her three times she didn’t answer I texted her four times she didn’t answer just the worst news you could ever possibly imagine you know I just kind of
Went num for about 30 minutes it’s just not something that like you can comprehend in that moment we were just very like shocked like oh my God they were like okay it’s an accident let’s not panic you know and I remember texting Kay see if she was okay she obviously didn’t never respond it was in the morning the growing mystery and growing fear in that Idaho College town where four students were brutally murdered so
This local homicide bursts onto the national scene there’s frustration with police and fear in the community everybody knows young people that go to college this could be anybody’s kid at any school in the entire country at the moment the police are saying very little have they shared any of that information
With you no they really haven’t shared too much with me I I’ve had very general questions to them and they got their cards close to their vest they’re they’re not sharing much of anything it’s horrible CME has affected all of us the families the University of Idaho
Police hold a press conference and this is the first time they released any information to the public about this heinous crime but it was vague and limited that individual is still out there we cannot say that there’s no threat to the community and as we have stated please stay vigilant people in
The community were scared word is starting to spread authorities have no suspect they’ve released very little information I got to Moscow as quickly as I could and people were still in shock but the fear was palpable just like everybody else in town I was it’s kind of embarrassing to say but I
Started locking my door a lot of the students on campus we all went home yesterday or today just because we don’t really feel safe how how could you convince people that they’re safe that’s the trick you can’t and among all that worry people are asking questions one of which is why
Did it take so long for that 9911 call to come in you know we don’t know why that call came in at noon and not um in the middle of the night um would have we loved for that to have happened yes I really feel for the victim’s families it
Seems like they’re really unable to grief because they just they have no CL Ure they don’t know who could have done this the motivating factors of this person were pain and fear and that was one thing that I could control is to not grant that satisfaction um this
Individual doesn’t get to see how he hurt me when you have somebody this evil it’s going to take some serious Force to U hunt this guy down you either get him off the street or you’re going to have another family that has to go through this initially they didn’t think it
Would be difficult to solve they’re speculating the suspect had gotten away without leaving a trail of blood they had no idea where this investigation would ultimately lead who could have done this and then a lead something that drives the case in a whole new Direction it was a solemn day here in Moscow a campus ordinarily packed with students and energy quiet and empty moscow’s always been a very safe community in some ways this took our innocence in the days and weeks following the murders the community in Moscow Idaho is reeling so
They’re processing this loss through a series of memorials and vigils on campus and off- campus this time we’re going to watch a video slideshow Zanna was such a light in my life and so many others she was a person I could relate to the most and she knew and
Understood me more than anyone peddy and Kaye were each other SI every day she was one of ours and my just heartbroken once the parents came on stage and started talking about Maddie Kaye Ethan and Z that’s when the tears started flowing they went to high school together then
They started looking at colleges they came here together they eventually get into the same apartment together and in the end they died together in the same room in the same bed that’s the two of us there we are When We Were Young those are the last photos that we ever got to take
Together it’s so sweet today we’re here to honor The Life and Legacy of our son and brother Ethan chapen one of the most incredible people you’ll ever know the police turn to the public and the other students several times asking for help we ask anyone with any information related to what happened to
Get that information to us even if you don’t believe it is relevant now the chief has asked for help so there’s a gas station not far from the house where the murders took place and one of the attendant at the gas station takes it upon herself to start reviewing old videos she finds
Just at the time that the murders possibly occurred she finds a white car zipping down the road and she sends this into the police and then on December 7th police announced that they’re looking for a 2011 to 2013 white Hyundai Elantra we have information of a white vehicle that
Was in the area during the time frame of the homicide we are just wanting to talk to the individuals who are in that vehicle we’re trying to pull any surveillance footage from people’s cameras doorbells whatever they could find they go to a local apartment complex and they get more video footage
And L and behold between 4: to 4:25 a.m. and this white car is seen on the streets just at that time this could be the person who’s getting away because there’s no other reason really for that car to be in in this area at this time
Of night to be speeding like that the Hyundai alantra was great news so now police are focusing on a specific car at the same time that’s a common car there are what 22,000 that they have to look at it’s still a long ways away from buttoning Up
The case the search to track down that car has no limits for a while people were thinking it was this abandoned car in Eugene and it is just the wrong car it has no ties to this case at all the mood suddenly turns to despair again 16,000 tips over 250 interviews and
Still no murder weapon no suspects still searching for the owners of a 2011 to 2013 white Hyundai Elantra days weeks have passed and it appears there’s been very little progress made in the investigation into this quadruple homicide people are starting to openly question will this killer ever be caught it is
Disconcerning that there is somebody out there who’s done such a horrible thing and they haven’t been caught ever since this happened I’ve had this sensation of like somebody’s sing me somebody could be after me it’s ludicrous that they have absolutely nothing nothing we need to find this person or person
Now with the lack of information coming from police so-called cyber sleuths on the internet began making claims that they had cracked the case everyone can play detective everyone can go online and everyone now can put together a theory it becomes not just slanderous now becomes something much more vindictive these people with these
Platforms hurling baseless accusations at at members of the community bil had recently broken up with her long-term boyfriend cyber sleuths not only falsely accused him of being involved in this horrifying murder but they also reveal details about his private life kait’s family is firmly standing behind that
Boyfriend I know for an absolute fact that he is not a suspect he’s not suspicious he is 100% innocent in this we have a University of Idaho Professor who’s having to sue a tick tocker out of Texas because this person is continually blaming her as being involved with the
Homicides police have publicly cleared both the ex-boyfriend and the professor of any involvement in this case the holidays coming go the new year is approaching and there’s no resolution the public and victim’s families at this point still have more questions than answers still no suspect no weapon and no motive
But they are planning to work through the holiday to get this killer off the street we do have a lot of information and we’re not releasing specific details because we do not want to compromise this investigation it was really hard not knowing everything that was going on
With the investigation but I never lost faith that uh that someone would get caught then seemingly out of thin air just days after Christmas a miracle the police were telling me things maybe a day before the public would know them and he said Ben this is
The day that we’ve been waiting for the arrest of a 28-year-old man in Pennsylvania in connection with the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students I start cursing up a storm I saw his MK shot and just about fell on the floor those who knew the alleged murderer stunned by his Arrest we were robbed from our best friends and I would give Anything anything at all to just hear zanna’s laugh see Ethan’s beautiful smile see Kay’s radiant big gorgeous eyes and madd’s sweet personality one more time we’re here in Idaho where murder suspect Brian cobber was in court just yesterday killing with a knife is up close and personal I want to get back at
Somebody for something if he is a killer he seems to be someone who is trying to create the Perfect Crime things he said to me is I will always love you guys even if we stop talking one day so at the time it was really endearing now
It’s kind of creepy tonight all new details we know that Kaye had some defense ones Kaye fought back yes she did I’ve read thousands of probable cause documents in my career and this one blew my mind I mean I was stunned at how much evidence they had so there’s
Bombshells that hadn’t dropped all of the wise like why why why For 7 weeks the entire community of Moscow Idaho has been holding its Collective breath waiting for some answers or some resolution locals Whispering maybe it’ll go cold maybe they’ll never find the person or the people who did this we knew investig gorish were working on it but beyond
That all we could do is hope for closure just before New Year’s Eve the police have finally broken their silence there’s news and it’s big the big story on Action News tonight is a major break in the murder of four Idaho college students the arrest of a 28-year-old man
In connection with the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in their beds more than a month ago at about 2:00 a.m. on December 30th 2500 M away from the scene of the murder SWAT teams are breaking into a house in eastern Pennsylvania to make an arrest a
Break in the case that has gripped this nation police arresting a suspect PhD student Brian cerg he’s facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary this was finally proof to the families that investigators had been working the entire entire time on this this was a
Big step forward in hopefully the beginning of healing for a lot of people in this community the university the families and uh and bringing Justice For Those victims I never lost faith that somebody would be caught I just was definitely worried about how long it was going to
Take I mean it was a huge weight that got lifted but at the same time I knew that for the rest of my life there was going to be someone’s face that I was going to have in my head but I think I just have to be more focused
On the fact that we caught someone to find out it was our neighbor it was like big F those who knew the alleged murderer left stunned by his arrest Brian cobber was one of my regulars I’ve been cutting his hair since July and the first time I was ever contacted by Brian
Was through voicemail hi my name is Brian would you be able to give me a haircut tomorrow by any chance my last appointment with him was December 2nd at 1:45 p.m. it’s crazy to find out I interacted with this person I touched this person’s hair I made this person
Look and feel good about themselves I saw his mug shot and just about fell on the floor I was just questioning everything and I hopped on Tik Tok and made a video I used to be friends with Brian cob I am just an absolute shocker after Brian cerg is arrested and
In custody in Pennsylvania everybody wants to know who is this guy Brian koberger is a 28-year-old PhD student he grew up in eastern Pennsylvania he has two sisters his father worked as a maintenance worker and his mom was in the school system as soon as they said that he was
In Monroe County I realized that he would have had to have gone to my high school cober attended Pleasant Valley High School in his home state of Pennsylvania now looking at his yearbook photos you can see for a time he’s considerably heavier set Brian was an overweight kid growing up people would
Make fun of him he’s right there and you can see he he is a lot heavier there than we see him now and there’s his name Brian cober my interaction with with him was never one-on-one or direct it was always at a party or whatever and his
Demeanor at these places was always more or less withdrawn I did reconnect with him very very briefly in 2017 at my friend’s wedding he was kind of not very social he kind of kept to himself I just told him how proud I was of him because he
Was going to school for criminal justice a fascinating twist in this case is that Brian cober is a PhD student in criminology Brian cerer attended the sales University and he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and then in 2022 as seen in this video of his commencement he graduated with a
Master’s degree in criminal justice when Brian cober was studying at the sales University he conducted a Reddit survey for an academic research project during which he asked people for their psychology during the commission of a crime so one of the specific questions that Brian carer asked in the survey was
The following quote before making your move how did you approach the victim or Target please detail what you were thinking and feeling it raises the very disturbing possibility that Brian coburger did this because he wanted to see and feel what it was like to kill people and this is
Something I guarantee that law enforcement and the prosecutors from all in this case are spending a lot of time on right now Brian cobber travels to pulman Washington in the Su of 2022 to start working towards his PhD at Washington state where he continues his studies in
Criminology and ends up being a teacher assistant for some of the professors once the name did come out I think it was obviously a big shock for the whole WSU community and everyone here when I first saw his picture and its name it took me a second to realize who it was
And was like oh that was my ta he was the TA for my criminal justice 420 class which was criminal procedures Brian ber was pretty quiet he didn’t really talk too much he kind of didn’t really look at us directly and he just seemed really kind of awkward seeing that he’d been
Arrested on suspicion um was definitely shocking he did leave one longer comment on my final paper which mean good luck in my career in law enforcement with the hindsight of the crimes that he’s been alleged of it’s definitely Eerie knowing that he was wishing me good luck in law
Enforcement we received an email from the ch on our campus saying that he was now a former PhD student here at WSU feeling there’s been a lot of talk about him studying criminology but if he’s the guy and the authorities are right he wasn’t actually a very good
Criminal at all at this point he has been injected into the center of what will be the largest case in recent memory in this country now the prime suspect Brian cobber is in custody everybody wants to know how did police track him to Pennsylvania and what a story that Is the vigil was a really big Event And it just was a really somber day everyone was really quiet in the aftermath of the Idaho student murders the community family and friends are just trying to make sense of this horrific tragedy the police had to face the pressure not just of their local community but of the entire world
Watching this case frustration and worry over the unsolved murders of four students from the University of Idaho prior to this Arrest A lot of people in the community feared that this was a crime that was never going to be solved you know I think a lot of officers work
Their tails off and we we put our foot down and we said hey this happens a lot of times but we’re not going to let it happen here we’re going to we’re not going to let this case go cold we can’t make a stand everybody is very aware of their
Surroundings right now they are and really they should um at this point and there’ll be a resolution to this to this investigation you have to remember that leading up to this we were kept in the dark because they were building a case news and the murders of those four students at the
University of Idaho Police moment ago saying they are now looking for a vehicle what police were keeping from the public was that on November 29th a Washington State University officer had discovered the white Elantra parked in a student apartment parking lot the car came back as registered to Brian
Coburger and when police looked at the registration in the photo attached they realized the driver had bushy eyebrows they discovered that his car had been previously registered in Pennsylvania 5 days after the murders with his registration set to expire he then registers his vehicle in Washington state this is our highest priority it
Will remain our highest priority while authorities were searching for a killer Brian coburger was heading home for the holidays cobber thinking he’s going to have a white Christmas in Pennsylvania I had learned that Michael cerg had a plane ticket out to Seattle on December 11th they had planned that
Michael would fly out for the holidays and they drive back cross country together so they would have left on the 13th it’s not uncommon for people traveling across the country to road trip with a friend or a parent and make their way back home authorities tell ABC news that law
Enforcement tracked Brian cober’s movements as he made his way across the country on December 13th the vehicle they were driving was captured by a license plate reader in llama Colorado and he takes a little curus route two days later in Indiana police body camera footage shows Brian cober
Being pulled over for following too close to another vehicle how you doing how yall doing today good good take a look at your driver’s license real quick and I could is this your car okay cool where you Headed well from WSU you can really see his eyes look surprised you have to wonder if he knew something was up okay I I’m having a hard time hearing it because of the traffic so you’re coming from Washington State University and you’re going where oh oh
Okay so so y’all work at the University there actually oh okay but do me a favor don’t follow too close Okay a short time later an Indiana State Trooper pulls them over again for tailgate he was pulled over twice so I mean Ryan cerer is a really bad driver I’m not
Going to give you guys another ticket or warning if you just got stop in both instances they’re let go with just a warning yeah it’s a long aanes according to authorities surveillance video shows Brian cger vehicle in albrightsville Pennsylvania on December 16th once coburger is back in Pennsylvania they police are keeping
Him under surveillance they’re watching everything he does they see when he goes out at night uh taking the garbage in the house and putting it in a neighbor’s house creating a picture that this could be our suspect Just Before Dawn December 30th a Pennsylvania SWAT team raided the family
Home of 28-year-old Brian coburger and arrested him in connection to the murders of the four University of Idaho students last night detectives arrested 28-year-old Brian Christopher Colberg multiple windows that were broken i b multiple Doors Mr cerg was taken into custody without incident these guys were
Smart they played it well they played I I wouldn’t play poker with the chief of police right now 4 days later Brian cger is is in a Pennsylvania courtroom before a judge and he waves his extradition Brian’s extradition hearing his entire family was there his mother was obviously upset
Brian had turned around one time he said I love you to his mother now to the suspect accused of brutally murdering four Idaho college students agreeing to be sent back to Idaho Brian cober is escorted across an Airfield he is Shackled and he will be taken to face
Charges he sat down in the courtroom and it was terrifying you just felt sick to your stomach this is State versus ring seber Merc I couldn’t take my eyes off the family I was in so much pain for them when they read individual charges um you know and hearing Kay’s name and
Murder in the first degree just again just so surreal one of the things that you said to me Steve right away was I’m going to be in court he’s going to have to look me in the eye mhm unfortunately he never even looked back I mean not
Even he didn’t turn around and look at you in court no I’m not going to give him satisfaction an empty courtroom he’s going to he’s going to have to deal with one of the goods offices there every single day he picked the wrong family do you understand yes count four
Brian believes that he’ll be exonerated I think it’s important to understand he is presumed innocent until proven Otherwise that affidavit was the key to getting an inside look in what we’ve all been wondering this whole time I was reading it end I I just cried until I I fell asleep that night it was a a horror show really there’s going to be lots of parts of this case that are
Going to be surprising to to most so there’s Bombshells that haven’t dropped I I we are not done yet court documents reveal how authorities were able to identify Brian corber as the suspect the documents shed new light on the investigative process the morning after Brian cerg is back on Idaho soil authorities unsealed
That arrest affidavit revealing what they think happened inside that house the night of the murders and the evidence that led to his arrest I was reading it out loud to my family when we received it and I got to about the seventh page and I I just I
Broke down and I just I just cried until I I fell asleep that night I still haven’t read the rest of it I’ve read thousands of probable cause documents in my career and this one blew my mind the affidavit in this case begins at 400 p.m. 12 hours after the murder
With Corporal Brett Payne of the Moscow Police Department arriving at the scene and he takes the reader through each level of the house as officer pan approaches the first bedroom he sees a body which turns out to be Zanna carod also in the room deceased is her boyfriend Ethan chapen
He proceeds upstairs to the third floor and he stops at kayle’s bedroom where her dog Murphy had been found earlier in the day by First Responders officer Payne moves on to the second bedroom on the third floor Maddy’s room officer pay writes as I entered this bedroom I could see two
Females in the single bed in the room both consalvas and Mogan were deceased with visible stab wounds who would be capable of that kind of savagery there’s a tan leather knife sheath but no knife and it’s in bed right next to Maddie it’s incredibly significant that
Police find the sheath a cover to a knife in the bed next to Maddie it’s called A Kar it has a marine Insignia on it which implies that it’s a combat knife a serious knife is this the cover to the murder weapon there is no filler in this
Affidavit there is a tremendous amount of information and you can literally hang on every single word it zeros in on a critical 25 minutes between 4 and 4:25 a.m. according to the affidavit the two survivors roommates confirm that the five housemates and zanna’s boyfriend Ethan were all home by 2
A.m. at 4:00 a.m. Zanna gets a door Dash delivery and based on what police retrieve from zanna’s phone they believe that she was still awake and on Tik Tok at 4:12 a.m. at approximately the same time as zanna’s 400 a.m. door Dash order is received one of the surviving
Roommates wakes up that roommate whom the a the David describes by the initials DM tells police that she woke up because she thought that she had heard Kaye playing with her dog a short time later DM said she heard who she thought was consolis say something to the effect of there’s someone
Here DM told police that she opened the door peaked outside but didn’t see anything she opened the door a second time because she believed she heard crying from zanna’s room something really chilling at least when I read it was DM told police that she heard a male
Voice saying it’s okay I’m going to help you but when did she hear that was it before or after 4:12 a.m. we don’t know the next time stamp in the affidavit is at 4:17 that’s when a nearby security camera picks up what sounds like voices some whimpering and then a
Thud also a dog can be heard barking repeatedly starting at 4:17 a.m. I mean your mind is racing and what made the dog bark just then she looked out a third time she saw a man dressed in black wearing a mask covering his nose and mouth she described him to be 5’1
With bushy eyebrows and an athletic but not muscular build this man walked past her towards the backsliding glass door and she stood in a quote Frozen shock phase she told authorities at that point she locked her bedroom door so now authorities know that they’re looking for a tall Slim Man all
Dressed in black who exited the house through the sliding glass doors and then the Hunt is on officers responded to a call law enforcement is still looking for evidence at that point police engage in what’s known as a video canvas hoping to find something on surveillance camera
That might give them a clue as to who this person might be authorities identify a white sedan in the area starting at 3:29 a.m. this was not a vehicle that drove by at a random time of the night there were three passes of this vehicle and ultimately the fourth
They see the same car come back at 4:04 a.m. looks like it’s either trying to park or turn around that car is seen again around 4:20 in the morning departing the Kings Road area at a high rate of speed an FBI forensic examiner identified that white sedan as a 2011 to
2016 Hyundai Elantra that’s why Moscow police issued that bolo request asking other law enforcement to be on the look out for that white Hyundai alantra 4 days later two police officers at Washington State University make the same Discovery and they find a 2015 white Hyundai Elantra uh which is registered to Brian
Cober as police are digging into to Brian koberger they find that he had two recent traffic stops and one of those encounters involved him providing a phone number to the police officer now they’ve got a cell phone that they can that they can do a search war on and now
They can start looking for the location of that cell phone in relation to the time of these murders his comings and goings before during and after the killing are tracked according to the affidavit this cell phone data shows at 2:47 a.m. Brian’s phone is no longer at his home and then suddenly stops
Reporting information to the tower which means it’s either an airplane mod mod it is Off the Grid or it has been turned off almost exactly 2 hours later at 4:48 a.m. the phone again registers back on the grid and appears to be moving away from Moscow Idaho to Pullman Washington
According to the affidavit less than 4 hours later that cell phone is on the move again and between 9:12 and 9:21 a.m. it appears to return to the area of the King Road residence before the police are there which is absolutely bound showing the way that the
Authorities were able to connect the car to the cell phone records to the crime scene back to Brian cerg it’s a very powerful affidavit the affidavit essentially lays out what we call critical mass where eventually all of the clues start stacking up the video surveillance cameras the cell phone PS
The physical description all of it starts to come together but authorities are about to reveal a detail hiding in plain sight that seems to connect Brian CER directly to this murder scene the Idaho state police crime lab team and forensic team have been in and out of the crime scene the FBI is
Joining The Manhunt for the killer as investigators return to the crime scene looking for any new evidence that could shed light on the mysterious killings in crime scene investigation one of the most important things that they’re looking for is DNA was there any DNA Left Behind from that perpetrator and
When there has been an incredibly violent intimate crime like this it’s virtually impossible not to leave DNA behind what they’re looking for can vary it could be blood semen saliva or even a single hair it could be touch DNA just a few skin cells and it can be just a tiny amount of
DNA one of the challenges with this house is that a lot of people lived in the house and a lot of people were in and out friends visiting so it’s like a soup of DNA but remember remember that tan leather knife sheath that had been left
Behind in the bedroom that would be a huge clue for investigators so obviously glove wearing CSI people are picking this sheath up they’re preserving it so as not to damage or destroy any potential DNA they enclose it it gets sent to a crime lab where they will do everything in their
Power to connect it to a killer would have swabbed different parts of it including that button and on that button they found a single Source male DNA sample that’s really important because that ties it back to just that one Male if they run it through cotus which is the big database of criminal DNA and there is no match that tells them that the Killer is likely not a previous offender investigators then have the option to upload the suspect’s DNA profile to a public database and see if they can get
A hit on a relative they may have been performing parallel investigations where they started the investigative genetic geneology very early they would have gotten their match list and started building trees you’re looking for common ancestors in those trees so you can piece back together the tree of this unknown perpetrator
But investigators in idah Hill already had a head start on who their suspect was because of that white 2015 Hyundai Elantra and that was Brian coburger according to the affidavit the cops have a name of a suspect they have a car and they’ve tracked the suspect and his dad back to
Their home in Pennsylvania and they’re under surveillance the next step is to find a way to match the DNA that they have in their possession police now know that Brian is back home in Pennsylvania with his family for the Christmas break so the FBI and the other
Authorities get a search warrant to grab the family trash bag legally you have abandoned your trash or your DNA when you throw it away and Most states allow for your trash to be picked up by law enforcement and searched they’re looking for items in the trash bag that can be swapped for
DNA and those items like cups tissues anything that your mouth would have touched like a soda can a pop bottle those items are then sent back to the state lab in Idaho for analysis the trash is processed and boom there is a match the DNA on the sheath
Matches is DNA found in the family trash they were able to confirm that the DNA from the trash was very likely from the father of the individual who left the DNA behind at the crime scene the match to the dad is a home run for investigators because she shares 50%
Of the suspects DNA which means this is a 99.998% chance that the DNA found on that knife sheath belongs to Brian cober so you add all this great circumstantial evidence which is very powerful to this incredible DNA statistic and that DNA is the Smoking Gun this Gibbs police as seen in the
Probable cause affidavit everything they need to get in and get this guy in cuffs once they get Brian and custody they do the old cheek swab taken directly from primary suspect and that definitively tells the police they’ve got their guy at that point all the rest of the DNA analysis and investigation becomes
Irrelevant what’s important is getting that exact match being able to say the chances that this individual is the one that left their DNA behind at the crime scene are one in say 300 trillion and that’s an astronomical probability so how could Brian cober’s attorneys mount a defense against those
Odds even after Brian cober’s dad is seen in images posted by the dailymail.com picking up the pieces after that SWAT team raid on their family home in Pennsylvania University of Idaho students are bracing themselves to return to campus it was definitely a decision coming back to Moscow rather
Than imp pass I know I was like it’s going to be hard no matter what and it’s going to be just overwhelming even with the suspect Behind Bars there’s a new sense that life on campus will never be the same there’s a little sense of relief now
That they have a person in custody but I’m still locking my bedroom door which is something I’ve never done in the Past yesterday’s status Hearing in this Idaho Courthouse was requested by Brian cober’s public defender an Taylor and given the sheer volume of evidence and complexity of this case it’s no surprise she told the judge she needs more time to prepare her def defense we are going to ask the court to set preliminary
Hearing out into June Mr cerg have you had enough time to speak with Miss Taylor about your decision to wave your right to a speedy preliminary hearing yes images from the hearing show that cober has a number of cuts on his face the sheriff says they’re from shaving
ABC can also report that there’s extra security watching cober at all times the judge has imposed a gag order prohibiting lawyers or investigators from publicizing any details about this case you’re balancing the rights of Mr Colberg and the Public’s right to know and that’s a delicate balance but one
That has to be maintained in pursuing a fair trial despite what authorities say is convincing evidence of guilt a resolution in this case is likely years away the defense is going to pump the bricks in a huge way what they’re going to want to do is create as much distance
As possible between the horror of this case and the ultimate presentation of evidence in front of the jury there is a mountain of information and evidence that has to be presented and developed provided to the defense tested by them this is a long road to Justice I think that what we’re going to
See next is there will be a not guilty plea entered by Brian cober and his defense team and which point the discovery process begins I fully expect Mr CER to continue to plead not guilty I think a trial is extremely likely in this case they will
Either take it to a grand jury for indictment or they’ll do what’s called a preliminary hearing in order to establish the probable cause that Brian cober more likely than not committed these crimes and yet there are a number of questions in this case that may have direct impact on whether coworker is
Found guilty or innocent of the charges against him the burning question for me is why why kill these four students and why them what was it about them is there a connection between Brian cerg and these four students there’s a shoeprint that hasn’t figured into the case as of yet but will
That be more important down the road we will see we also don’t know what happened to the murder weapon where is can it be Found motive is a question that everybody has in a case like this but it’s important to remember that motive is not actually an element of the crime often times we don’t know what motivated a human being to take the life of another human being and we don’t have to prove it as
Prosecutors there are so many questions about this case and perhaps one of the biggest points that really does not make sense to people is how is it possible that there could be a Survivor who saw the killer face to face how is it possible the real question for me is
Going to be what’s his defense I would expect that as the prosecution tries to put all the pieces together the defense will try and attack each piece separately attack the cell phone data attack the car evidence attack the DNA evidence the significant issue with the sheath DNA is that it’s transfer or
Touch DNA that DNA can remain on there for a significant period of time what they will likely argue is that it could have been transferred it could have been on there for a long period of time that perhaps Brian gave that knife sheath away and someone else could have
Transported that to the crime scene if it’s not Brian Colberg who is he Brian specifically say that he’s eager to be exonerated implicitly meaning that he’s innocent of the crime after reading the Affidavit of probable cause I do believe there are obviously holes in the prosecution case at this
Time in response to this tragedy the coburger family has released this statement first and foremost we deeply care for the four families who have lost their precious children we will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a we will love and support our son and
Brother while much of the attention has been focused on Brian cerg and the allegations against him friends and family of the victims are seeking special ways to honor those taken from them we felt like that was a really really significant opportunity for us to to honor our friend This is a roll up your sleeves Community we were really raised to help each other out tulips are iconic for scet Valley and because of our geography and our climate we can grow amazing tulips Ethan was on our parking lot crew and he was also out in the field and he
Was so great at his job because he’s a big guy always smiling I mean I never saw him not smile Ethan was a standup guy just such a genuine person there was not an ounce of bad in the guy he was one in a million he’s one of those
People that’s like you feel like you’ve known him forever and then we came up with the idea that we could name a tulip after him so we made a mix and named it Ethan smiled and you know I immediately thought of him standing smiling in a tulip Field we felt like that was a really really significant opportunity for us to to honor our friend Ethan chapen family sent a statement to 2020 saying that it’s incredible to see the new scholarships organized by the University of Idaho and the Sigma fraternity in Ethan’s name in addition
His love of basketball inspired a new nonprofit these actions are a testament to his incredible character and will continue to honor Ethan’s Legacy now and in the future Ethan and Zanna really painted the perfect picture for what a relationship should look like Zan and Ethan they were in The public’s eyes and
My eyes almost a perfect match I’ve never met someone like Zanna before usually people keep their guard up when you first meet someone and Zanna she never batted an eye it was all right you’re in my life and you’re going to see The Good the Bad the Ugly Zanna had
Her most fun when she was surrounded by her friends or family that’s where she shined the brightest just one of the best people to be around with Zanna came Ethan with Kaylee came Maddie that was her sidekick best friend ride or die I wouldn’t even call them
Best friends because I had best friends and I’ve never had a relationship like theirs like they were sisters they were the friends that everybody aspired to be they were definitely put on the planet to be together and to be best friends something special about Kaye is that she
Was really really really loyal anything would happen Kaye was a call away and she was very very protective of those that she loved Maddie was so much fun to be around she was so many people’s best friend Maddie’s father said that their family always bonded over music and from
Now on there is one song that will always make him think of Maddie Angel by Sarah mclin the lyrics really are touching and uh that’s what reminds Me a lot of dads refer to their little girls as their Angels but Maddie actually had angel wings tattooed on her arm and this is a picture of her first tattoo she got these little angel wings I’m even going to go in with my sister and we’re going to get that tattoo
Together I think next week and it’ll be my first tattoo also these were for amazing people that just had the biggest hearts loved those around them and loved each other keeping their memories alive and of course there are still so many questions to be answered in this case and we will
Stay on this tragedy in Idaho every step of the way in the meantime that is our program for tonight I’m David mure from all of us here at 2020 in ABC news thank you for watching good night
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