Expert Backs Up Reported New Probe Into Idaho Murder Suspect With Chilling Argument - Exclusive
When Bryan Kohberger was arrested Dec. 30 for the murder of four University of Idaho students, it sent Pennsylvania police into high gear. Kohberger was arrested at his parents' house in Monroe County, Penn. Over the past few years, he had studied at schools in two nearby counties, Lehigh and Northampton. Now, law enforcement in those two counties is looking at their cold case files to see if Kohberger might have committed any crimes in their jurisdictions, according to KING5.
In a Dvmmoms exclusive interview, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, president of Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers, explained: "They want to look into all these cold cases because of how carefully and brutally effective he was in murdering the college students to see if any DNA matches those scenes of cold cases elsewhere."
Northampton County District Attorney Terence Houck described his reaction when Kohberger was arrested. "Your natural question is to start wondering, is this guy wanted?" he said. "Is his name out there? Did he do anything here in [my] county?" Kohberger had no criminal record before his arrest, but there's good reason to believe he may have committed other crimes.
A sophisticated crime
Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer mentioned in a Newsweek article that it would be rare for a first-time offender to commit a quadruple homicide; therefore, it's not outside the realm of reason that this may not have been the first time Kohberger has killed someone. Neama Rahmani, speaking exclusively to Dvmmoms, agrees. He said it appeared that Kohberger knew more than most killers, possibly because of his studies of criminal justice.
"Most murderers don't have the wherewithal or knowledge to turn off their phones, for instance," Rahmani said. Whereas cell data shows Kohberger's phone was near the site of the murders (pictured) later that morning, it was untraceable during the time the murders took place (via Fox News). Rahmani added, "And here is someone who killed four people without a very clear motive, and he did it in a matter of nine minutes, reportedly, so he may very well have killed before. This guy was just so effective, so careful and so sophisticated in his killings so if he killed before, you would think he would have been similarly careful."
Next steps for law enforcement
Northampton County's district attorney reported that as of Feb. 8, his office hasn't found anything linking Kohberger to crimes there. Houck said the same in Lehigh County, but added they will continue to look.
Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD sergeant experienced with cold cases, says law enforcement should also be looking at crimes committed along the route Kohberger drove between his Washington state apartment and his parents' Pennsylvania home (via Fox News). Since the FBI is also involved with the Idaho case, investigators may use the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, which facilitates comparison between modus operandi and other details of past and present cases.
If police in Pennsylvania or elsewhere do link Kohberger to another crime, it may not change his fate, according to Rahmani. He told Dvmmoms exclusively, "Even if they end up charging him with a Pennsylvania killing, that's great for the victim's family but I imagine prosecutors are going to seek the death penalty in Idaho so practically speaking, unless Kohberger is acquitted, it's not going to do much but give closure to the families."
A history of sexist attitudes towards women
Bryan Kohberger had displayed "behavioral problems" while working as a teaching assistant in his Ph.D. program at Washington State University. As the Independent quotes, Kohberger was "rude to women" and exhibited a "sexist attitude towards women." On News Nation, criminologist Scott Bonn points out that Kohberger was released from his position during its first semester, indicating some quick and severe escalation in reasons behind his dismissal. Bonn then speculated further, saying, "[Kohberger] reached a tipping point where he simply couldn't take it anymore, and he had to act out on his fantasy of killing." The Independent describes Kohberger meeting with one of his professors, Professor John Snyder, for his dismissal to attempt to curb his "feisty" and "belligerent" behavior, but to no effect.
When speaking with Dvmmoms, Neama Rahmani was candid about the obvious connections between these events and the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. He said, "Obviously, the fact that he [Kohberger] was a Ph.D. student, the fact that he was reportedly stalking at least one of the female victims, showing up at her house, showing up at the restaurant where they worked, he was hunting a young female." Such connections, while inconclusive in and of themselves, do make for a clear case against Kohberger.