NEED TO KNOW
- Newly released surveillance video shows Bryan Kohberger shopping after he murdered four University of Idaho students
- In the footage, Kohberger is seen being turned away from a Costco store for not having a membership card, while another video shows him browsing and using a self-checkout register
- Kohberger was sentenced to four life sentences plus an additional 10 years for burglary in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin
Newly released surveillance video shows convicted killer Bryan Kohberger shopping soon after he murdered four University of Idaho students.
In the footage obtained by Fox News, Kohberger, 30, is seen being turned away from a Costco store for not having a membership card, while another video — obtained by the outlet from police in Moscow, Idaho — shows him browsing and using a self-checkout register.
Additional footage, which police said they would have used during a trial against Kohberger, before he pleaded guilty in July — shows the 30-year-old’s white Hyundai Elantra in multiple locations, before and after the murders.
In December 2022, Kohberger was charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary for the slayings of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin.
Goncalves, 21, Mogen, 21, Kernodle, 20, and Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home in Moscow on Nov. 13, 2022. Two more roommates at the 1122 King Road residence, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were home and unharmed. Early in the investigation, the surviving roommates were ruled out as suspects.
On July 2, Kohberger formally entered guilty pleas to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. Prosecutors had previously indicated they intended to seek the death penalty before a plea deal was reached.
Kohberger was sentenced to four life sentences plus an additional 10 years for the burglary charge as well as $270,000 in fines and civil penalties on July 23. He will not be offered parole.
The motive behind the murders is still a mystery, nearly three years after the four college students’ deaths — though the convicted killer’s acquaintances and fellow criminology classmates at Washington State University have speculated to police that Kohberger wanted to see if he could get away with the crimes he often studied.
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A source familiar with the investigation previously told PEOPLE that Kohberger also had photos of one of the female victims on his phone. They did not specify whether the images were taken by Kohberger or pulled from social media.
According to the case’s probable cause affidavit, which was reviewed by PEOPLE, Kohberger was caught after a sheath of the knife used in the murders was left at the scene in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found.
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The affidavit states that this is where detectives found DNA linking Kohberger, which they then matched to trash taken from Kohberger’s parents’ home in Pennsylvania. In June 2023, prosecutors revealed that a DNA sample taken directly from Kohberger matched DNA found on the sheath of a knife.
The affidavit also alleged that around 4:20 a.m. on the night of the killing, a white sedan referred to as “Suspect Vehicle 1” in the affidavit was seen leaving the area of the home. The document also stated that the vehicle and a phone associated with Kohberger returned to the scene between 9:12 a.m. and 9:21 a.m.
Additionally, the affidavit alleged a cell phone associated with Kohberger pinged in the area of the 1122 King Road home on at least 12 occasions prior to Nov. 13, 2022.
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“All of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours of their respective days,” the affidavit read.
In August, the Daily Mail reported that Kohberger had complained to guards that he is being “taunted” by his fellow inmates at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
“The inmates are tormenting him at night and almost all hours of the day — taunting him through the vents in his cell,” said retired homicide detective Chris McDonough, who now works for the Cold Case Foundation. “They’re utilizing the vent system. They’re kicking the doors. They’re taunting him. And they’re … torturing him.”
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Public Information Officer Blake Lopez, a spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Corrections, confirmed that Kohberger has complained about his treatment, though he could not confirm the exact accusations.
“We are aware of Kohberger’s complaints about what he considers taunting. Incarcerated individuals commonly communicate with each other in prison,” Lopez told PEOPLE at the time. “Bryan Kohberger is housed alone in a cell, and IDOC security staff maintain a safe and orderly environment for all individuals in our custody.”
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