4 Univ of Idaho Students Murdered - Bryan Kohberger Arrested - Moscow # 76

[Sister Golden Hair]

That is a bit of a stretch, no? IMO most anything is possible when it comes to online dating, but connecting BK to redacted Tinder accounts nearly a year and a half before he was in the area is a bit much for me. In addition, those 20 accounts could be redacted for several reasons including: they were cleared and deserve privacy or they are still under investigation and LE does not want that known. Of course, BK could be one of those people, but if one of them is, why redact his info now that he is in jail?

I think you're right. I considered that it could be a catfishing tactic, but that's farther down my list of Reasons for 20 Redactions, primarily for the reason you mentioned - he's in jail, and his name hasn't been redacted from anything else. Imo jmo icbw this is a more complicated piece of the story.

 

[Boxer]

How Can Prosecutor Clear Up DM's 911 "Call Delay?"

@U.N. Known Interesting thought. (Not addressing the "early morning visitors.")

Hypo:
Prosecutor calls DM to testify and asks very narrow questions about what she saw and she answers very narrowly (at approx. 4:__ a.m. [Sorry, I, al66pine, forgot the time], I opened/cracked my bedroom door and saw guy in mask & dark clothing, bushy brows, certain height, walking in this direction.)

How can prosecutor "clear up" DM's delay in calling 911 herself or in prompting/urging/begging someone else to call 911?

Anyone? TiA.

MOO there is no delay. They reacted and 911 call was made by them or whoever was with them when murders discovered on Sunday morning.

A delay would be not calling after doscovering the murders.

 

[Boxer]

That's perfectly valid. She was traumatized and scared. The mind can play tricks on you during trauma. But that said, I think it's naive of us to think this won't come up in court. There's no way a competent defense attorney won't probe this further. It's a major piece of the case.

MOO.

She described seeing a man that matches the man who owns a white 2015 Elantra.

 

[Sister Golden Hair]

I think you're right. I considered that it could be a catfishing tactic, but that's farther down my list of Reasons for 20 Redactions, primarily for the reason you mentioned - he's in jail, and his name hasn't been redacted from anything else. Imo jmo icbw this is a more complicated piece of the story.

Quoting myself b/c time limit for editing has passed:

adding this thought re a CI...

imo jmo there's a possibility that a CI exists based on the language in the motions and orders and State's response to discovery. ICBW, but the idea of a CI is not a flight of fancy in this case imo jmo.

If there is a CI and the CI is not called as a witness, then their identity is exempt from disclosure.
Information in an investigatory record compiled for law enforcement that would disclose the identity of a confidential source is exempt from disclosure, so that means that we may never know.

If there is a CI, then that would explain some of the redactions and some of the sealed warrants imo jmo. There could be other reasons as well. We just don't know imo jmo, but I believe it's more of a probability than a possibility (my own definition of that is not just a spitball, but it's highly subjective).

I.R.C.P. 509. Identity of Informer. | Supreme Court

isc.idaho.gov

Section 74-124 – Idaho State Legislature

legislature.idaho.gov

see 74-124(d)

A CI is different than an anonymous source, and different rules do apply. I'm not sure what I can link here, so I'd suggest a search to read about the differences. (edited to remove original link)

I found this case during my Brady List searches for potential officers involved.

https://isc.idaho.gov/opinions/45635.pdf

It is on the periphery of things related to this case, and I am in no way suggesting that anyone in this case is associate with the Kohberger case. I'm sharing it because it explains how CIs work in general. It is not required reading but it is interesting imo jmo and useful information may be gleaned.

 

[jepop]

MOO there is no delay. They reacted and 911 call was made by them or whoever was with them when murders discovered on Sunday morning.

A delay would be not calling after doscovering the murders.

Yes, the idea that the timing of the 911 call can be described as a 'delay' is an assumption in itself. MOO

ETA: I don't assume that DM knew a crime,let alone four murders, had been committed at around 4.25am on Nov 13th. This is why I never use the term delay when talking aboutthetiming of the 911 call. MOO

 

[CGray123]

I just want to point out two things. The first is that there is still an ocean of things we don't know (I realize you all know this too), and that includes DM's state of mind when she saw the intruder. The delay in the 911 call has been discussed at length here and elsewhere, and most people have assumed she was too traumatized to take action. Many have shared heart-rending stories of feeling that same way. But if she did assume they were just being noisy (as some accounts have claimed), then I think we just can't know if she was necessarily experiencing trauma in that moment. The PCA doesn't specifically say she was afraid or traumatized. Just that frozen moment when she saw the person walking through. As near as I can tell, we have assumed or inferred everything from the time she closed and locked her door until the friends arrived later that morning. At least IMO.

My second point is that, based on what we know of that morning's events, the delay does appear to leave a hole in the prosecution's timeline that I think the defense will try to exploit. Depending on how the questioning goes, I would be very surprised if one side or the other doesn't end up asking why she didn't call 911 immediately after seeing this person. It could be a simple as not realizing anything horrible had happened, she didn't see a need to call anyone. Even if a juror or two don't understand how that's possible, it doesn't necessarily follow that the prosecution's timeline would collapse. If she had not waked up and seen the intruder, they would have to establish the timeline in other ways. So, there may be more than sufficient evidence to establish events even though no one immediately called 911. But I would be shocked if the defense does not try.

Edited for clarity.

I expect that the period between the time DM saw the masked person and the 911 call will be a subject of controversy after the PH, with BM seeking to use it to suggest that someone else could have committed the crime and the prosecution seeking to bar any such suggestion before the jury, in the absence of any plausible alternative suspect. Since we don't know anything useful about that time period, unfounded speculation seems inevitably to arise among those of us seeking answers.

 

[Montecore1]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed< IRC friends and Ethan's brother was called before the 911 call. How long did it take for the others to show up? What was the timeline and what happened after they arrived? One of the girls had to see something first and awake the other.
Yes all this matters because people walking thru the crime scene can contaminate evidence, possibly leaving bloody shoe prints etc

Quoting myself: We don't actually know when (at what time) the bodies were indeed discovered, just when the 911 call was made. MOO

 

[SpiderFalcon]

I'm new here...I have read every word of all the threads on this subject. Y'all are WISE!!!! Something keeps jumping into my mind RE the open front door: IMO, it could have been opened by the roommate that was on Floor 1 at some point, to relieve the smell that may have been coming from the house. Human bodies sometime "evacuate" when fatally wounded, and also, blood smells. Maybe, she woke up at some point, opened the outside door on her floor to let fresh air in, and fell back to sleep. She might have also been the roommate to discover the crime scene, went and woke up DM, then passed out from the horror of it all.

 

[jepop]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed> IIRC friends and Ethan's brother was called before the 911 call. How long did it take for the others to show up? What was the timeline and what happened after they arrived? <modsnip: quoted post snipped>

I think I see what you're implying? I believe it was reported by MSM in general that DM/BF called friends when they realised something was wrong, those friends arrived and one of them used DM's phone to call 911. One event leads to another, so the call was made to friends, the friends arrived (however long that took, probably not long if they were close by) then one of the friends used DM's phone to call 911. Trying to remember, but 911 was called at about 11.50am I think, so all that would have happenned perhaps in the 20 minutes prior or whatever but the specific timing doesn't seem that crucial given the sequence of events has been reported and the time of the 911 call is known. MOO

And ofcourse that is an entirely different thing from assuming that there was a 7 hour 'delay'. MOO

 

[Bogbacal2]

Can we shift to 2021 for a minute? IIRC there are a few different things which seem to point back to 2021.

An interview (Fox) with a former tenant who lived at 1122 King during their junior year: Idaho murders: Footsteps can be heard on 'every floor,' former tenant says

Were there not pings from BKs cellphone to the wifi at 1122 King as early as June 2022? I don't have a link for that.

BK worked as a security guard in Pleasant Valley until August 2021 according to this link: Kaylee Goncalves’ family see ‘connections’ to Bryan Kohberger after arrest

"The six-foot, 185-pound suspect worked as a part-time security officer at Pleasant Valley School District, which listed his mother as a paraprofessional, until at least August 2021, according to school agenda records."

There is the account connected to Tinder with the dates of between March 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021 (apparently there are about 20 redacted accounts) https://coi.isc.idaho.gov/docs/case/CR29-22-2805/030723 Order to Seal Redact - Match Group LLC 4.pdf

I'm not really sure where I'm going with the 2021 thing, just trying to change up the subject. The 20 some odd redacted Tinder accounts likely belong to BK and were probably part of his stalking tactic. How many other dating accounts were there? Apologies for being repetitive.

Check Sister GoldenHairs posts. She has very good info on the dates. She has just what you are looking for.

 

[Sister Golden Hair]

The case summary was updated today:

https://coi.isc.idaho.gov/docs/case/CR29-22-2805/Summary/Case-Summary-Kohberger-040423.pdf

I don't see any add'l or updated docs, but I only glanced.
I've been meaning to check dates on the sealed docs with dates when we could potentially see them unsealed, but haven't had time. iirc, some dates are early April.

 

[whiterhino]

That is a bit of a stretch, no? IMO most anything is possible when it comes to online dating, but connecting BK to redacted Tinder accounts nearly a year and a half before he was in the area is a bit much for me. In addition, those 20 accounts could be redacted for several reasons including: they were cleared and deserve privacy or they are still under investigation and LE does not want that known. Of course, BK could be one of those people, but if one of them is, why redact his info now that he is in jail?

Admittedly I was hoping to provoke a response from someone in an attempt to change the subject (I know, sneaky and manipulative). The discussion of certain witnesses was getting repetitive IMHO.

BK was working in Pleasant Valley, PA as a security guard until August 2021 (IDK his start date). I saw dates from March 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021. I'm assuming that BK lived in Pleasant Valley during the time he worked as a security guard. Correct me if wrong.

There's also this:

Idaho murders: Bryan Kohberger investigation clues revealed as court unseals heavily redacted documents

"On Nov. 21, police sought numerous records from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, from between Aug. 1 and Nov. 20.

On Nov. 29, detectives obtained a sweeping warrant for Goncalves' Tinder activity from Jan. 1, 2021 to present, including all "subscriber information, conversation history, photos and videos belonging to account holders communicating with Kaylee Goncalves."

I'm not questioning why the accounts are redacted. The reasons for doing so are obvious IMO. It appears that the 20 accounts could be part of the search warrant for KGs account. Wondering if BK is amongst the user accounts that have been redacted or if they are other users/potential POIs. The dates for the Match/Tinder/Meta warrant for KG seem to overlap with warrants for BK.

Maybe I am pointing out the obvious? FWIW.

 

[10ofRods]

Speculation: (also in the interests of changing the subject)

By June, I think we will see:

• evidence that the slider was opened by a gloved hand; evidence as to the order of the murders
• Victim DNA evidence from an obscure part of the car; I predict that not many people had been in BK's Elantra, but that will have to be sorted out; I believe this evidence will come from blood cells not epithelial cells. Car will also show various signs of repeated cleaning.
• Internet searches of many kinds (maps, shopping, how-to videos, perhaps even training videos). These may have been deleted from BK's various devices, but the search engine owners will have complied with the sealed warrants
• GPS data. This is crucial. It will either back up the cell tower pinging or it won't. If it doesn't, then I am not sure this will go on to trial. But I do believe it will show an even more extensive and detailed account of BK's whereabouts for quite a period of time, including that of the murder run. I also believe it will show that he was frequently on the U of I campus on weekends perhaps even showing he had attended parties near the University
• More cell tower data (from secondary masts around Moscow)
• More video data, from neighbors' cams but also business cams around the area, most of it about the Elantra
• Footprints from outside the house matching the ones inside
• Car track analysis (likely weak but will be presented)
• Fiber analysis showing at least a few fibers from BK's car inside 1122.
• Possible hair analysis showing a hair of victim or Murphy at BK's Steptoe apartment
• A record of what BK purchased at Albertson's
• A record of BK using multiple Tinder accounts to try and find women, also showing a pattern of preferring college women who are blonde
• A record of BK reaching out (perhaps both anonymously and also with his own name) to three of the victims, via attempts to "friend" on Insta, Insta messages and possibly also Tinder messages
• A record of BK downloading pictures of one or more of the victims from Instagram
• Very little data that BK ever did much research on digital forensics (esp. of apps and phones) before the crime
• Evidence of more than one stop on his first trip leaving Moscow and of the terrain where he stopped
• Receipts for various items related to the crime
• Possible forensic radiology evidence pointing to a Ka-Bar knife along with autopsy evidence showing that the murder weapon was the size of knife that fits in that sheath
• Forensic examination of BK's skin on hands and arms (whether exculpatory or not)
• More evidence from the sheath
• Very little BK DNA inside the house, possibly only the sheath (showing great care to leave no trace)
• Analysis of both bloody and latent footprints showing that the killer got very little blood on himself on the third floor, but got at least one foot bloody during Xana's struggle with him
• Footprints showing that BK has the same size shoe as the killer, but also the same overall length of toes, height of arch, size of heel bone, etc. The toe pattern will be one that's shared by less than 1% of the population because yes, toe patterns vary a great deal. Vans have such a flexible sole that I'm optimistic about this data.
• All the more obvious stuff (BK had nitrile gloves; BK had the proper wardrobe items; BK had some boxing/kickboxing training; BK was active at night; his phone and car return to the scene of the crime, etc.)

This will be summarized by the prosecution as pointing to a masked man wearing gloves, dressed in coveralls, wielding a Ka-Bar knife, entering the house at 1122 King Road at the same time period that BK's car was parked right outside.

There may be witness testimony, for example, that one of the women had noticed a "weird dude" staring at her in more than one context. The boyfriends of two of the women might have interesting things to say. There may be multiple strands of evidence that 1-2 of the young women (or more) were worried about some stranger who matched BK's general appearance - that would be huge. It's also possible they will bring in the matter of BK's issues as WSU and his suspension from his T.A. job, although I would think that could wait until trial.

What we won't hear at the Prelim is anything from Kohberger and I do wonder how his attorneys will try to counter the evidence. Yep, I'm guessing/speculating on a few things, and I am sure there are some I've forgotten. I do wonder if they'll use KB's own self-descriptions from any of his online musings and postings. I doubt they will, at this stage (maybe not ever). I don't think he has an alibi. I keep wracking my brain thinking what advice I'd give to the defense in this case.

I think he'll be bound over on the DNA evidence (as its existence is a matter of fact and therefore is something that should go to a jury). I think the footprint analysis may be important, combined with the car and phone travel pattern (there will be way more evidence on this by June). And I do believe there's going to be at least one true bombshell (such as a successful use of a drain swab at BK's apartment or the location of a BK hair or some DNA at 1122, perhaps from the forensic vacuum technique). I am not very optimistic about this last thing, though.

=====
End speculation.

 

[10ofRods]

The case summary was updated today:

https://coi.isc.idaho.gov/docs/case/CR29-22-2805/Summary/Case-Summary-Kohberger-040423.pdf

I don't see any add'l or updated docs, but I only glanced.
I've been meaning to check dates on the sealed docs with dates when we could potentially see them unsealed, but haven't had time. iirc, some dates are early April.

I see nothing new - everything still redacted/sealed. Looks like timely compliance by the prosecution for June's hearing.

I'm new here...I have read every word of all the threads on this subject. Y'all are WISE!!!! Something keeps jumping into my mind RE the open front door: IMO, it could have been opened by the roommate that was on Floor 1 at some point, to relieve the smell that may have been coming from the house. Human bodies sometime "evacuate" when fatally wounded, and also, blood smells. Maybe, she woke up at some point, opened the outside door on her floor to let fresh air in, and fell back to sleep. She might have also been the roommate to discover the crime scene, went and woke up DM, then passed out from the horror of it all.

WELCOME TO WEBSLEUTHS.

What you say is possible, of course. The house is very peculiar in its layout (with the lower floor having not much of the upper floors immediately above it, and the staircase from the third floor doesn't join up with the staircase to the first floor, as one would usually expect).

Whatever the case, if the front door was open as described by the neighbor, then that apparently means there were two unsecured methods of getting inside the house. We've also never heard whether Murphy was the only pet in the house (maybe they had a cat? There's a cat wandering around the neighborhood according to some reports - triggering cameras, etc).

I believe that the guy who said you could hear footsteps throughout the house may or may not have lived there after the renovation (it's my own view that it had been a couple of years since he lived there, but I have no link, so that's just opinion). So BF, sleeping on the first part, may have heard absolutely nothing, esp. if sound asleep.

It just occurred to me to remember that DM's eyewitness account includes hearing a man's voice in the house, as well as a whimpering sound (she's on the second floor, just meters away from Xana's room). Ethan and Xana are both found in Xana's room (with the door closed initially, IMO).

Sometimes I think that BK opened that door (to cool off the house and throw off investigators for time of death)

All my opinion only. MOO.

 

[gliving]

It's been awhile, but remember when Fox News obtained a list of 90 white Elantras registered to park at the Uni of Idaho campus?

Idaho murders: 90 white Elantras were registered to park on campus as cops struggle to find vehicle

Police are seeking a white Hyundai Elantra spotted near a crime scene just steps away from the University of Idaho in connection with a quadruple homicide.

www.foxnews.com

(see PFD document in article)

 

[Boxer]

It's been awhile, but remember when Fox News obtained a list of 90 white Elantras registered to park at the Uni of Idaho campus?

Idaho murders: 90 white Elantras were registered to park on campus as cops struggle to find vehicle

Police are seeking a white Hyundai Elantra spotted near a crime scene just steps away from the University of Idaho in connection with a quadruple homicide.

www.foxnews.com

(see PFD document in article)

Great.Looks competent.
From article.

"However, the documents (PDF) also included Elantras from outside the model year range of the car that police are looking for.

It was not immediately clear how many of the cars on the list did fall into that range, because many fields for model year were left blank. "

 

[jepop]

That is a bit of a stretch, no? IMO most anything is possible when it comes to online dating, but connecting BK to redacted Tinder accounts nearly a year and a half before he was in the area is a bit much for me. In addition, those 20 accounts could be redacted for several reasons including: they were cleared and deserve privacy or they are still under investigation and LE does not want that known. Of course, BK could be one of those people, but if one of them is, why redact his info now that he is in jail?

My guess is that the 19 reacted tinder acounts were identified as a result of the Maddie and Kaylee Tinder warrants. LE looked into them pehaps because they had been in touch with KG or MM or been looking a their profiles a lot or whatever... you know had some kind of contact that was significant, so LE following up and probable cause for warrnts granted given the complexity of this crime with four dead and no 'usual' suspect (the boyfriend, the ex etc). I still think March 2021 date might possibly have something to do with Tinder data retention. Also it's possible that some of these account holders were discovered to be drivers of white elantras. MOO

 

[10ofRods]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed> Whose DNA was found on an object within the crime scene. And whose phone traveled with the Elantra from Steptoe Apartments toward the crime scene and is caught on video circling the house at 1122 King Road 3-4X before parking in an area hidden from the neighbor's camera, at around 4:00 am. Then is caught again on video leaving the crime scene, and the phone turns back on 20 minutes or so later, showing that the same phone (and no other) is still in the white Elantra.

The people finding the DNA did not know what DM had already said. At this point, I wish they would in fact use the services of a group like Paraben, to show at the Prelim. They also didn't know whose phone it was, so they didn't spoof their findings by looking up BK on the internet. Everything corroborates what DM said.

They should MRI BK's skull and see if it matches the genetic markers in the profile, and leave DM out of this altogether. I'm mostly serious - and think that one day, we will see this type of forensic radiology.

Facial / Skull Reconstruction - Parabon® Snapshot® DNA Analysis Service

snapshot.parabon-nanolabs.com

The science has advanced a lot since this (freely available) article was written:

How Accurately Can Scientists Reconstruct A Person's Face From DNA?

Predicting physical features from genetic data certainly has its limitations, but it is advancing. What does this mean for our privacy?

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[taml]

well, you may well be right, but I won't and can't assume what she was thinking. Really, though, imo it's not about either of us and our opinions or even about DM. It's about presenting evidence in court, competently, in pursuit of justice. This isn't about DM; it's about the story she has to tell that is essential to what happened that night. jmo imo

as someone who has been through trauma, I can only speak for my experience that it is more than devastatin. Still cannot find the word to use. Let’s please pray for her. She needs all the strength and uplifting that this world has to offer,we live in a crazy time.
their families are literally going through hell. Be good to yourself and to each other. I showed my grandkids this man’s picture and told them that was the face of evil. Monsters are not under our beds. They live next to us or with us… So sad
I don’t post much I guess I should say IMO and this post just fell when it touched my heart.

 

[schooling]

Speculation: (also in the interests of changing the subject)

By June, I think we will see:

• evidence that the slider was opened by a gloved hand; evidence as to the order of the murders
• Victim DNA evidence from an obscure part of the car; I predict that not many people had been in BK's Elantra, but that will have to be sorted out; I believe this evidence will come from blood cells not epithelial cells. Car will also show various signs of repeated cleaning.
• Internet searches of many kinds (maps, shopping, how-to videos, perhaps even training videos). These may have been deleted from BK's various devices, but the search engine owners will have complied with the sealed warrants
• GPS data. This is crucial. It will either back up the cell tower pinging or it won't. If it doesn't, then I am not sure this will go on to trial. But I do believe it will show an even more extensive and detailed account of BK's whereabouts for quite a period of time, including that of the murder run. I also believe it will show that he was frequently on the U of I campus on weekends perhaps even showing he had attended parties near the University
• More cell tower data (from secondary masts around Moscow)
• More video data, from neighbors' cams but also business cams around the area, most of it about the Elantra
• Footprints from outside the house matching the ones inside
• Car track analysis (likely weak but will be presented)
• Fiber analysis showing at least a few fibers from BK's car inside 1122.
• Possible hair analysis showing a hair of victim or Murphy at BK's Steptoe apartment
• A record of what BK purchased at Albertson's
• A record of BK using multiple Tinder accounts to try and find women, also showing a pattern of preferring college women who are blonde
• A record of BK reaching out (perhaps both anonymously and also with his own name) to three of the victims, via attempts to "friend" on Insta, Insta messages and possibly also Tinder messages
• A record of BK downloading pictures of one or more of the victims from Instagram
• Very little data that BK ever did much research on digital forensics (esp. of apps and phones) before the crime
• Evidence of more than one stop on his first trip leaving Moscow and of the terrain where he stopped
• Receipts for various items related to the crime
• Possible forensic radiology evidence pointing to a Ka-Bar knife along with autopsy evidence showing that the murder weapon was the size of knife that fits in that sheath
• Forensic examination of BK's skin on hands and arms (whether exculpatory or not)
• More evidence from the sheath
• Very little BK DNA inside the house, possibly only the sheath (showing great care to leave no trace)
• Analysis of both bloody and latent footprints showing that the killer got very little blood on himself on the third floor, but got at least one foot bloody during Xana's struggle with him
• Footprints showing that BK has the same size shoe as the killer, but also the same overall length of toes, height of arch, size of heel bone, etc. The toe pattern will be one that's shared by less than 1% of the population because yes, toe patterns vary a great deal. Vans have such a flexible sole that I'm optimistic about this data.
• All the more obvious stuff (BK had nitrile gloves; BK had the proper wardrobe items; BK had some boxing/kickboxing training; BK was active at night; his phone and car return to the scene of the crime, etc.)

This will be summarized by the prosecution as pointing to a masked man wearing gloves, dressed in coveralls, wielding a Ka-Bar knife, entering the house at 1122 King Road at the same time period that BK's car was parked right outside.

There may be witness testimony, for example, that one of the women had noticed a "weird dude" staring at her in more than one context. The boyfriends of two of the women might have interesting things to say. There may be multiple strands of evidence that 1-2 of the young women (or more) were worried about some stranger who matched BK's general appearance - that would be huge. It's also possible they will bring in the matter of BK's issues as WSU and his suspension from his T.A. job, although I would think that could wait until trial.

What we won't hear at the Prelim is anything from Kohberger and I do wonder how his attorneys will try to counter the evidence. Yep, I'm guessing/speculating on a few things, and I am sure there are some I've forgotten. I do wonder if they'll use KB's own self-descriptions from any of his online musings and postings. I doubt they will, at this stage (maybe not ever). I don't think he has an alibi. I keep wracking my brain thinking what advice I'd give to the defense in this case.

I think he'll be bound over on the DNA evidence (as its existence is a matter of fact and therefore is something that should go to a jury). I think the footprint analysis may be important, combined with the car and phone travel pattern (there will be way more evidence on this by June). And I do believe there's going to be at least one true bombshell (such as a successful use of a drain swab at BK's apartment or the location of a BK hair or some DNA at 1122, perhaps from the forensic vacuum technique). I am not very optimistic about this last thing, though.

=====
End speculation.

I decided that I can't stay away. But instead of debating I'll just contribute where I can. This is all MOO.

I agree with everything but the GPS data being a hindrance for trial. The cell tower data is much much stronger than lack of GPS data is.

For one, the only reliable place to retrieve historical GPS data in a Android device is the Google Maps Timeline feature. As it comes installed and turned on by default on the majority of Android devices. If BK had the Timeline feature turned off (as many privacy focused people do) or uninstalled Google Maps before the crimes LE not finding GPS data would not be very surprising. As the only other way to have GPS data in there would be to Ask an App like Waze for Directions to the Crime Scene. I could be wrong but I don't think Android's default settings allows any other apps to passively collect location data. But if I am wrong then this makes BKs predicament only worse.

We also know (via the video from the Indiana stops) that his Elantra was equipped with the base infotainment system option that contains absolutely no GPS hardware whatsoever.

Secondly, GPS data is extremely easy to spoof on Android devices. Either on the device via easily accessible apps (you can literally download them in a minute or two) or via a desktop emulator. You could essentially create an entire trail of breadcrumbs. Though most of the uses I've seen have nothing to do with quadruple murders.....cheating on Pokemon Go, cheating on a spouse, making Netflix think you totally should have access to that spanish novella.

Cell towers on the other hand are pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to lie to. This is by design. They to rely on a few things. I'll talk about two of them. Unlike GPS....IMEI which is unique to each and every cellular device is extremely hard to spoof. And the fact that spoofing those identifiers will get you thrown in jail (read: illegal) makes it a lot more difficult to find apps or anyone openly creating tools to do it. IMEI (and the other standard I'm going to mention) have been designed with global crime fighting in mind.

Let's say that you managed to successfully spoof IMEI. It would essentially be a gigantic waste of time because the IMSI encrypted on your SIM card is going to get you caught. And the encryption utilized on the latest version of IMSI has all prevented people from cloning them. If anyone wants to read anymore about this look up LE's use of Man in the middle attacks, specifically Stingray's, Cell Site Spoofing and privacy advocates and the criminal world seeking to stop them.

Just another quick comment about smartphones.

If BK more recently deleted anything on his phone LE will likely be able to recover all of it in a unstructured state, fragments of it or references to it. The only way to really avoid this is to use specialized tools/apps or to override every single bit of available hard drive space multiple times over with new data. Effectively wiping out anything that might have been stored on a sector somewhere by the operating system.

Here goes such a tool

DoD Compliant Data Erasure Software - BitRaser

BitRaser Wipes Data Securely Using DoD Standard & Helps Achieve Complaince with Laws & Regulations like EU-GDPR & CCPA.

www.bitraser.com

I'm sure the cell phone equivalent is out there somewhere but keep in mind that this is only the first step in destroying a hard drive. After they are confident that a tool like Bitraser has wiped the drive they usually drill it full of holes, shred it in a hard drive shredder, and might even melt it. There's a reason they go through these lengths....

Again, MOO and only mine.

IMO if BK did do it and is successful in wiping out all remnants of any sinister data then LE could look at the places collecting crazy amount of user information often unbeknownst to said user.

First, Go ahead and Copy and Paste this link into your browser...(this link is showing a preview but it's Google's GPS timeline and will likely only work for people clicking on this link from an Android device or if you're a Google Maps on iPhone user)

https://timeline.google.com/maps/timeline

Then copy and paste this one here.....should work for all Google account holders...even if you don't have an Android device. Unless you've explicitly turned this feature off.....

https://myactivity.google.com

If you have a Google account and nothing appears under either of those links...CONGRATULATIONS!

2 months left! Then we'll know more!

Edit/Update: I don't want to edit this into the stuff I wrote above because I don't have the time to go over it. But if BK was a frequent user of Google Maps in the area (Maps would recognize this and maintain the area in it's cache for quicker access) or explicitly downloaded the map to his cellular device (option on Android). He could use Google Maps to navigate without needing to have cellular turned on. GPS is independent of cellular and is a phone to satellite / satellite to phone connection. Even turn by turn directions would still work, it just wouldn't utilize live traffic data. The cellular network is only involved to enhance GPS data (surrounding POIs, time you leave for work, traffic etc).