ID - 4 Univ of Idaho Students Murdered - Bryan Kohberger Arrested - Moscow # 63

[Montecore1]

According to the PC affidavit they searched for everything up to a 2016 after additional analysis by the FBI Forensic Examiner. They had no duty to publicly address the reasoning any more than they did any of their other investigative techniques. I am sure there is plenty of documentation to show why they broadened the search outside of it being obvious those 2 model years side by side could be confused for each other. Even if it was a mistake, they are expected to correct it.

Sure thing!!

 

[Ccging]

Here's what I have been wondering. Where did he put the knife when he was done? Obviously, he didn't put it back in the sheath. Was he holding it when DM saw him? If not, where did he put it? I'm guessing that he did not walk out of the house with it still in his hand. MOO

Purely IMO but I’m guessing he wore a backpack. Could be totally wrong but that’s my guess.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Just ... caution. So many of us have experienced depersonalization related to PTSD because of trauma or extreme stress. We have no real idea of why this was written, but it isn't a code word for revenge or an arrow pointing to murder. It's a symptom.

Over the next few months, people will have nothing better to do than comb through his old posts to find every "eery" and "chilling" thing that points to him being the murderer because they have their minds set on it. On the way, they're going to dehumanize him AND set mental health back as they do it. I'm hoping we can gently remind each other here that we don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
MOO

I'm not saying it's a code word for revenge/murder. Hell, I personally suffer from depersonalization episodes and CPTSD myself. But the mainstream media is reporting these posts in the news, so I linked it.

 

[SteveP]

It's being reported in main stream media so I figured we were free to post it, per TOS.

We just must take it with the understanding that there is no confirmation that they are in fact BK's words.

 

[Nila Aella]

According to the PC affidavit they searched for everything up to a 2016 after additional analysis by the FBI Forensic Examiner. They had no duty to publicly address the reasoning any more than they did any of their other investigative techniques. I am sure there is plenty of documentation to show why they broadened the search outside of it being obvious those 2 model years side by side could be confused for each other. Even if it was a mistake, they are expected to correct it.

They haven't really said when they adjusted the models up to 2016, just that they did. It could be argued, whether true or not, that they might have done it to fit the person they thought was responsible. Won't really know until the dates and reasoning behind the change are available. JMO

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23564673/122922-affidavit-exhibit-a-statement-of-brett-payne_redacted.pdf

edit: added JMO

 

[Cindizzi]

[…]

Years later, Mr. Kohberger appeared to be doing much better, studying psychology at DeSales University in Eastern Pennsylvania and telling one friend that his drug problems were in the past.
“I only used when I was in a deep suicidal state,” Mr. Kohberger wrote in May 2018 to Mr. Baylis, with whom he had been friends since eighth grade. “I have since really learned a lot. Not a person alive could convince me to use it.” Mr. Kohberger followed up later that day, telling Mr. Baylis that he had been off drugs for two years and telling him to not mention his drug use again, according to screenshots of their conversation on Facebook Messenger.
He told Mr. Baylis at one point that he thought he had been depressed since he was 5 years old, for so long that he had “developed a weird sense of meaning.”
In one message from October 2018, Mr. Kohberger wrote that he was interested in studying criminals. He said he would like to be involved in capturing violent criminals but that it could be difficult to get a job like that.
“I’m thinking more along the lines of dealing with high-profile offenders,” he wrote. “Counseling.”

[…]

Idaho Murders Suspect Felt ‘No Emotion’ and ‘Little Remorse’ as a Teen

 

[AggieMeg]

Not the case. The more urban an area gets the less range the tower will cover.

They don’t exactly live in a large urban area though?

 

[Mad Hettie]

for 5 hours?

If he was in the National Forest on a hike (as people on here have said he was prone to do) there is apparently no cell service in most of that area and it's sketchy in a lot of the towns.

 

[TooMuchGun]

If he was in the National Forest on a hike (as people on here have said he was prone to do) there is apparently no cell service in most of that area and it's sketchy in a lot of the towns.

Hes there for 5 months and doesn't make 1 friend?

 

[GRT]

Thanks.

When the 28-year-old Ph.D. student was asked why he had been in Moscow – an eight-mile drive from his apartment in Pullman, Washington – he allegedly retorted, "The shopping is better in Idaho."

Idaho Murders: Bryan Kohberger makes tasteless joke in Pennsylvania prison, report

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger made a tasteless joke while locked up in a Pennsylvania prison for five days, according to a new report.

www.q13fox.com

I'm not sure that qualifies as a joke, at least I wouldn't have called it one, but whatever. I wonder if he meant a specific type of shopping--like groceries--was better in Idaho? Maybe vegan foods? Organic foods?

Or, maybe he said said it off-the-cuff, making an excuse. IMO

 

[TL4S]

I'm having trouble with my internet today so was unable to watch this video. Another WS member once posted this as the reference to the coroner saying she thought the stuff dripping down the wall was blood. It's around the 25:46 mark. Can someone post what was said as I can't get it to play? Thanks!

Coroner: Idaho college students were likely sleeping | Banfield

 

[ag513]

I'm just curious why out of 42 schools, you feel WSU was probably one of his only choices. I'm guessing criminology PhDs are not overly sought after? JMHO

Here's my rationale (all of these factors taken together create a very small number of choices one would have for a PhD program IMO and based on my experiences):

1) There are 42 criminology programs in the US according to US News & World Report; that does not mean all 42 have PhD programs. It's highly likely some of them only offer undergrad and/or master's degrees.

2) Depending on the size of the academic department, I would guesstimate that most departments with PhD programs probably have somewhere between 4-8 faculty who are able to serve as PhD supervisors, and most of those will not be accepting new students every academic year. For example, in my program (again, a different field, but also in the social sciences), we have 8 full-time faculty who are able to supervise PhD students and we have about 24 PhD students total who are currently enrolled. Of our 8 faculty who are eligible to supervise, only 2 of them currently have any capacity to take on new students in the next academic year. I cannot over-state how competitive it is to even be considered for a PhD program as an applicant. I receive at least 1 email per week from a prospective PhD student who wants me to supervise them. Some of them look like they'd be great students and their research interests are well aligned with mine. I don't have capacity, so I can't take them on. That means over the course of the year, I turn away at least 52 potential students. PhD supervisors typically get to be picky about which students they want to work with. PhD students aren't a significant income source for universities (unlike cash cow undergrad and some master's programs), so there is no reason to admit PhD students unless you truly want to work with them and have the time to devote to it. The student-supervisor relationship is a very close one and is a time-consuming part of the supervisor's workload, so as a supervisor you want to make sure you are taking on students who show promise and who don't seem as though they will be high-maintenance. I would guess BK had several phone/video calls and/or an in-person interview with his supervisor before he was admitted to the WSU PhD program.

3) Another thing that needs to be stressed is how imperative it is that the PhD student plans to complete their dissertation on a topic that is very closely related to the supervisor's area of expertise. It can be quite difficult to find a supervisor with the same or similar research interest as you (if you're the prospective student). For example, I'll use an example from Business. Let's say a student wants to do a PhD focused on marketing. It's not enough just to say, "I'm interested in marketing" - what sub-discipline of marketing? Let's say it's consumer behavior. That's still not granular enough. Behavior of social media users when consuming posts containing user-generated branding. Okay, that's getting granular enough. I have not looked at what BK's proposed dissertation topic was or who his supervisor was (and that's all been taken off the WSU website), but if we looked at them side-by-side, my guess is that his specific topic and his supervisor's expertise would be closely aligned.

4) PhD studentships (funding) are difficult to come by. When I was doing my PhD, my university only had 4 funded positions (and usually about 10-12 PhD students). Everyone else had to self-fund or take out student loans. My discipline is pretty comparable to the number of criminology programs in the US. Two years ago we had one funded position available for a PhD student at my university and 62 people applied. Only one person out of those 62 received the studentship, and the other 61 were not accepted into the PhD program. Out of the 24ish PhD students we currently have, only 4 of those are fully funded by the university. Hopefully this gives a sense of the competitiveness of funding. For BK to find a funded position with a supervisor who presumably had the same niche research interests as him, and who had the capacity to take on a new student must have been fairly difficult.

5) Criminology is not my area, but from what I've read it seems to be a fast-growing academic field. I can't link to the NYTimes since it's behind a paywall and that is not allowed on this forum, but a recent article published there, which was related to this case, said there were over 11,000 criminology degrees awarded by US universities in the 2020/21 academic year (it didn't break it down by undergrad/grad degrees). If the field is growing overall, I assume this means the demand for criminology PhD placements is increasing also.

I know this is a lengthy answer and apologize for the level of detail I've included in some areas, but I hope that when you look at all of those factors combined, it provides context/rationale for why I believe it would have been difficult for BK to get a PhD placement. Based on my own experience in academia for the past 15 years (18 if you count the PhD years), I would guess he probably had no more than 2 offers/acceptances from PhD programs. MOO

 

[Mad Hettie]

They don’t exactly live in a large urban area though?

Cell phone data isn't what anyone thinks it is.

Does Cell Phone Location Data Makes for Bad Evidence?

Dallas Computer Criminal Defense Lawyers state: State and Federal Courts are charging individuals with crimes that pertain to the cyber crime. ...

www.globenewswire.com

According to Michael Cherry, the head of a biometrics consulting firm who spoke to The New Yorker magazine, cell phone location data is “junk science.”

 

[NeverPersonal]

Cell phone data isn't what anyone thinks it is.

Does Cell Phone Location Data Makes for Bad Evidence?

Dallas Computer Criminal Defense Lawyers state: State and Federal Courts are charging individuals with crimes that pertain to the cyber crime. ...

www.globenewswire.com

According to Michael Cherry, the head of a biometrics consulting firm who spoke to The New Yorker magazine, cell phone location data is “junk science.”

Oh my, I hope there's more to this opinion than assuming a guy from one biometrics firm giving a quote to the New Yorker of all magazines...

 

[maskedwoman]

MOO Then LE should have said 2011-2016...but they didn't. You are right there were changes to the front and rear ends and other visible changes. So by LE only searching for the specific unchanged version it would indicate that they were sure of the vehicles year (body style) of the car but they conveniently changed it to match their suspects Elantra

I see that as showing reasonable doubt not an attempt to insult the intelligence of the jury. IMO

This discussion of the model year reminds me of the movie My Cousin Vinny. His nephew and friend are driving a car of the same color and body type, but different make and model than the one used in an armed robbery/murder. The only material difference was in the suspension, I think, which was reflected in the tire tracks. It wasn't the make of the car that saved them. It was the difference in the tracks.

So, in BK's case we have the same manufacturer/make, same model, same color, same body type (number of doors), little difference in the body shape. If you were BK's lawyer and tried to convince me that a little cosmetic difference was reasonable doubt, I would not be buying.

Now, if his car was blue, or had a bicycle rack, or a giant spoiler, or body damage and the one in the video didn't, to me anyway, THAT would be material enough to call it reasonable doubt.

 

[Mad Hettie]

I'm not sure that qualifies as a joke, at least I wouldn't have called it one, but whatever. I wonder if he meant a specific type of shopping--like groceries--was better in Idaho? Maybe vegan foods? Organic foods?

Or, maybe he said said it off-the-cuff, making an excuse. IMO

He was vegan and there is a very famous (to vegans) coop there by the name of the Moscow Food Co-op. They have a really great deli with multiple vegan options. It's probably the best bet for a vegan in that region, so he wasn't joking if he actually did say this.

 

[ray9898]

They don’t exactly live in a large urban area though?

It doesn't have to be a large urban area. It has 25k residents in the town and a population that swells during the day due to the college. That is more than enough people to require a saturation of cell towers.

 

[Montecore1]

But I think the towers cover miles and miles; not just an area close to the house. But I could be wrong.

They don’t exactly live in a large urban area though?

"On average, the maximum usable range of a cell tower is 25 miles. While the typical coverage radius of a cell tower is 1 to 3 miles and in dense urban environments, a cell tower usually reaches 0.25 miles to 1 mile before handing off a user's connection to another nearby cell site" (As Per Google)

So you are correct and Moscow has very few towers which broadens the triangulation and lessens the "pinpoint" accuracy of the phone location. This fact is also going to be used by the defense to create the RD to the jury.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1614008157688274945

 

[Twistinginthewind]

So are they claiming he has "two gashes" near his chin or that he was "covered" in facial cuts?

I don't understand the significance. Are they trying to imply the defendant is getting unfair treatment in jail?

The cuts were more visible than typical "nicks" from shaving, so it raised eyebrows when he was seen in court yesterday, with people wondering what may have happened to him. But the sheriff cleared it up saying it was a bad shave job. JMOO

"The local sheriff in Moscow, Idaho, has an explanation for why Bryan Kohberger’s face was riddled with cuts at his last court date: He just had a bad shave! Latah County Sheriff Richie Skiles confirmed the botched shave in a text message to The Daily Beast on Thursday shortly after the alleged killer exited court, where a judge determined his preliminary hearing won’t be held until June 26. Skiles would not say what type of razor Kohberger has access to in jail or whether the 28-year-old is on suicide watch. Kohberger is being held without bail for the grisly slaying of four University of Idaho students in November."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bryan-kohbergers-facial-cuts-are-from-a-bad-shave-sheriff