ID - 4 Univ of Idaho Students Murdered - Bryan Kohberger Arrested - Moscow # 64

[drmrgrl]

I think it will be circumstantial evidence. Additionally, these sounds were picked up 5 minutes after we know Xana was on tik tok, and 3 minutes before the suspect peeled out of there. I can't reconcile his hasty 4:20 a.m. departure with him slamming a trunk lid at 4:17 a.m. One is not like the other JMO

IMO, the only thing that I can come up with are “approximate” times being used so that events don’t meld together precisely.

 

[jepop]

I think it will be circumstantial evidence. Additionally, these sounds were picked up 5 minutes after we know Xana was on tik tok, and 3 minutes before the suspect peeled out of there. I can't reconcile his hasty 4:20 a.m. departure with him slamming a trunk lid at 4:17 a.m. One is not like the other JMO

Incisive point IMO

 

[jepop]

In a house during the precise time of 4 people getting brutally murdered with a knife, there is a thud and whimper heard from someone inside the house who opens her bedroom door. The thud and whimper a car and an animal? I don’t think so. I think it related specifically to what was happening inside the house. Moo

The thud was audio from neighbour camera outside and adjacent to X's room, per PCA. Cannot remember if whimper was audio or DM statement. I suspect audio. Time stamp on audio was 4.17am. Ref: PCA

 

[GRT]

Doesn't everyone here agree that nothing in BK's background excuses the murders he allegedly committed?

I can't keep up with all the posts, but my sense is people are trying to understand why he did it if he did it.

So far, I haven't found anything in his background that would excuse the murders -- actually, I haven't found anything that would even point to him being capable of murder, much less serve as a reason or catalyst.

I doubt he was a heroin addict, although I don't doubt he told someone he was--likely for attention (MOO). I'm also hesitant to accept his word as having VS syndrome. Getting into a doctoral program--and getting good grades as he reportedly did--do not sync with drug addiction or mentally debilitating syndromes.

It seems to me that the heroin and VS stories came when he was a teen, and IMO just trying to figure out who he was. I doubt he was bullied as much as has been reported as well.

Obviously, we should insist that children stop bullying, mostly because it's mean, and bullies grow up to be a-holes. MOO. But, it doesn't give the bullied carte blanc to kill.

If BK did this -- something is off in him that no one has really documented (that we know of) so far.

The only thing I've noticed--and, I could very well be wrong--was that his father may have had a dual purpose during the traffic stop for telling the officer about his son's academic achievements. It may have partially been about trying to keep them from getting a ticket--after all, LE is known for letting "their own" get away with minor infractions (I say that as a mother whose daughter is LE.)

But, the other reason could have been to soothe BK if his father felt he would become angry by being pulled over unfairly. That, plus BK's words from his teen years on Tapatalk where he described his father as being a good man, yet BK mistreated him (what teen doesn't?), send up just a tiny red flag (just a tiny one), indicating BK might have gotten unreasonably angry at times. But, that's all MOO and nothing more. Just a feeling I got when watching the video of the traffic stop.

Oh to be a fly in that car after the traffic stop(s)...

 

[GRT]

Here's a question for everyone concerning the distorted audio sounds picked up by a camera at 4:17am.

How would you, as a prosecutor, prove what the sounds were and that they are related to the crime?

The "sounds like voices or a whimper"...call experts on voices and whimpers?
The "loud thud"...call a thud expert?
The "A dog can also be heard barking numerous times..."....call a dog bark expert to identify breed bark?

IMO, when I think about these things, I don't know if this audio could be admitted into evidence at a trial or even the PH. It may be totally acceptable for a probable cause arrest warrant but when push comes to shove can any of that audio actually be proved as to its cause and relation to the crime.

Personally, I would be surprised if a judge allowed that evidence because it's pretty open to interpretation. MOO

Not all dogs bark to protect their owners. In fact, many run and hide behind the couch. I suppose there *could be* a bark expert of some type that could reasonably verify if the bark on the video could have been made by K's dog. After all, the bark of a rottie sounds a lot different from the bark of a teacup poodle.

But a thud? To me, that's stretching it--a lot. A thud could be a door of the frat house across the street being shut forcefully--it could be the sound of the house it's attached to cooling after the HVAC shuts off. It could be any number of things -- but I think it's unlikely to have been a body falling in a house next door. To me, the thud "evidence" is pretty hokey.

All MOO.

 

[GRT]

The thud was audio from neighbour camera outside and adjacent to X's room, per PCA. Cannot remember if whimper was audio or DM statement. I suspect audio. Time stamp on audio was 4.17am. Ref: PCA

I can't remember exactly either - but a whimper from a neighbor's camera wouldn't mean much -- in my opinion -- unless it caught the sound of a victim that was outside, and I don't think any were outside at any point. Maybe BK whimpered as he left the house? Who knows? But, whimpers are typically pretty soft (MOO) so I doubt one that occurred inside a house next door would be picked up on a neighbor's camera.

 

[GRT]

I hope she is not haunted forever as none of this is her fault on any level MOO

I hope so too.

Even if she accepts that there was nothing she could have done to save her friends, I think she will always be frightened. She may never feel secure living alone -- or even sleeping in a house full of people after this. This has to be the most horrifying thing that's ever happened to her, and I fear it will define her life--for the rest of her life. MOO

 

[IDK]

Just a thought I had and I know it sounds kind of out there—I wondered if BK somehow connected with a criminal or ex-con who had responded to his Reddit questionnaire? And the individual, either in person or online, somehow encouraged this crime—Acting as a mentor, so to speak. Would that be aiding and abetting in the commission of the crime, or conspiracy to commit a crime?

I just don’t know if that would fit the timeline—I think the questionnaire was posted in May 2022.

Not trying to look for excuses— just trying to understand possible motivation.

Another thought I had— there are at least a couple antidepressants that can cause homicidal ideation. Was BK taking any meds with homicidal ideation as a possible side effect?

Top Ten Legal Drugs Linked to Violence | TIME.com

When people consider the connections between drugs and violence, what typically comes to mind are illegal drugs like crack cocaine. However, certain medications — most notably, some antidepressants like Prozac — have also been linked to increase risk for violent, even homicidal behavior.

healthland.time.com

 

[sunshineray]

Could there have been two separate 911 calls?

There's only ever been that I've heard mentioned, a singular call with multiple people talking to the 911 operator.

 

[indicolite22]

I wondered about a somatic problem or attention-seeking or claims about his health that couldn't be ruled out by any lab tests or imaging. None of what BCK said convinced me he was truly sick. He may have been, but I'd like to see some medical records supporting these claims. Generally if a child is suffering and has time to write endless complaints online which requires adequate vision to read that screen for hours, then he should also be in a doctor's care. If I had VS I wouldn't be staring at a computer screen trying to decipher thousands of words... no more than a person experiencing a migraine would. MOO

As someone experiencing migraine-related visual snow, episodes of visual snow can be short (up to half an hour) and they don't necessarily affect the entire field of view.

 

[Dotta]

Personally, I would be surprised if a judge allowed that evidence because it's pretty open to interpretation. MOO

Not all dogs bark to protect their owners. In fact, many run and hide behind the couch. I suppose there *could be* a bark expert of some type that could reasonably verify if the bark on the video could have been made by K's dog. After all, the bark of a rottie sounds a lot different from the bark of a teacup poodle.

But a thud? To me, that's stretching it--a lot. A thud could be a door of the frat house across the street being shut forcefully--it could be the sound of the house it's attached to cooling after the HVAC shuts off. It could be any number of things -- but I think it's unlikely to have been a body falling in a house next door. To me, the thud "evidence" is pretty hokey.

All MOO.

"A teacup poodle"?

Murphy might feel offended haha

 

[Sunny Texas]

Hello again. Been a while since I posted. I can't find the link of BK talking to himself after capture; he was in an orange jumpsuit with police and BK mumbled out loud "I'm fine.....it's going to be okay" or something similar. May have been UTube? BUT that made me think perhaps the witness at 1122 heard BK saying "It's ok. I'm going to help you." to himself. BK was talking to himself; self soothing. Did anyone else see BK's out loud mumbling, orange jumpsuit story?

My opinion is that he actually said, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

 

[GRT]

IMO, what if there were one really really brilliant student who didn’t like BK and wanted to get back at him?

It's not out of the question, but to my mind, it's improbable.

Occam's razor tells us that the perp is mostly like BK.

Still, a recent report published by the National Registry of Exonerations, entitled Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, tells us that many (3,200 as of 2022) inmates have been wrongly convicted. And that's just the ones that have been exonerated via DNA evidence. Just over half are minorities, but that still leaves quite a few white inmates.

Certainly, it seems that BK wasn't the most popular assistant in his classes, but it would take someone who was truly evil to not only want to set him up--but to kill four innocent people in order to do so. MOO

So, if BK didn't do it -- I think it would probably just be mistaken evidence rather than a frame-up job. But, that's all MOO.

 

[GRT]

"A teacup poodle"?

Murphy might feel offended haha

LOL

Probably so. I think Murphy is adorable.

 

[Dotta]

Re the knife sheath

Was his DNA only on the button?
I thought if the knife was his, then BK's DNA should have been all over the thing, no?

I'm curious if different DNA was also found on the sheath.

 

[NCgardener]

I've been trying to come up with any other vaguely reasonable explanation for the evidence we know about already, even though I'm sure LE has a lot more. I got pretty far down one path! Farther than I expected to get

But even so, there would be communication between my hypothetical mastermind and bk. If there's no communication between them, the frame job absolutely couldn't happen, imho.

So if he wants to try that in court, he'd better have some receipts is my end verdict on that!

 

[CityKid]

This is a fascinating article written before the gag order by an author, Howard Blum, with outstanding credentials. Elsewhere he writes about the "perfect crime". Four important takeaways: 1) "unconscious person" is used as a catchall by 911 personnel serving the Moscow area for any serious situation where valuable time might be used up in questioning the caller; 2) when the first LE officers arrived there was absolute, unnatural silence out front, someone said just one word - "dead" - despite a number of people milling around; 3) the first officers were overwhelmed by the smell of blood from the front/north door onward; 4) Kaylee suffered substantially more vicious wounds than any of the others. Initially Blum called the dog "Morgan" but changed it to "Murphy" by the next day, and he speaks of streets at 3 AM which makes me think initial parts of the article were written before the 4-4:25 timeframe evolved. Really worth reading. Info here isn't available elsewhere and won't be for quite awhile. Blum is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, was an investigative journalist for The New York Times and has won multiple awards for non-fiction. Not a hack! An Exclusive Look Inside the Idaho Murders: Part I
edit: typo

This is a great story and you are correct about Blum's bona fides. This on on AirMail, which requires a subscription. Well worth it for excellent journalism (currently $10/month and less when paid annually; often with special pricing/discounts) and there's a Part 2 coming shortly on this story.

 

[NCgardener]

Re the knife sheath

Was his DNA only on the button?
I thought if the knife was his, then BK's DNA should have been all over the thing, no?

I'm curious if different DNA was also found on the sheath.

From memory, so fwiw, I believe it said 'single source DNA'. I assumed it was probably/maybe the only single source DNA found on it.

 

[NCgardener]

For the thud, I'm thinking either the sliding glass door (given the time) or possibly a big, late blow that knocked someone against the window or into furniture that fell over.

Do we know exact details about that camera? I can't find whether there really was one or not on the back of that house. I know about the one in front. The house listed by street number in the PCA.

 

[cottonweaver]

I don't recall the original source saying that BK's TAship was in jeopardy. Of course, it may have been, the prof may have said so, or maybe BK just feared that his position at WSU was at risk.

In any event, essentially reprimanding--even if it wasn't stated as such, it was a public humiliation--an employee in front of 150 colleagues, clients or however one thinks of undergrads, was cruel.

BUT, as someone with years of experience as a TA and as a professor supervising TAs, the degree to which student evaluations rule universities is both astonishing and appalling! (And I did my grad work and teaching at one of the most prestigious universities in the USA; I also, FTR, had very high numbers, which is how I kept my job.) Treating students as customers instead of protégées has had--IMHO--a deleterious impact on higher education everywhere!

Even though, in my experience, TAs are evaluated separately, students' feelings about TAs tend to spill over into evaluations of the professor. If s/he was getting complaints from scores, dozens or even just tens of students, I don't wonder that the prof was very concerned (which explains but does not excuse the solution s/he chose).

***

BTW, technically, a TA ("teaching assistant") usually holds classes of his/her own with smaller groups of students. (E.g., when I taught a class of 120-150, I had four TAs, each of whom taught 3 one-hour small group discussions per week.) A TA may also grade papers, run the AV equipment, etc., whatever the prof requires. (There are cases of abuse where TAs are treated as personal assistants, but this is very much against policy.)

A grad student who merely grades papers is often hired as a "Reader". This is true at UCLA, where I spent most of my academic career. I don't know how WSU classifies student employees.

We do things differently over here with brand new PhD students but in your experience do the PhD TA's get any training in teaching before they begin holding seminars?