Three days after the arrest of a suspect in the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students, authorities have yet to release key details in the case, from whether the suspect knew the victims to what his alleged motive might have been and what finally prompted his arrest.
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Jan 2, 2023
CNN —
Three days after
the arrest of a suspect in the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students, authorities have yet to release key details in the case, from whether the suspect knew the victims to what his alleged motive might have been and what finally prompted his arrest.
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And the probable cause affidavit – the legal document used to justify Kohberger’s arrest and obtain a warrant – remains sealed until he is returned to Idaho, where he faces four counts of first-degree murder as well as a felony burglary charge, per Latah County, Idaho, prosecutors.
That document, “will tell us an awful lot,” said CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson. “It will speak to the issue of probable cause – why is he under arrest, what is the justification for holding him and for going after him from a prosecution perspective.”
Kohberger is due in court Tuesday,
when his attorney has indicated the suspect would waive extradition. The chief public defender for Monroe County, Pennsylvania, expected Kohberger to be returned to Idaho within 72 hours of Tuesday’s hearing, the attorney has said.
Kohberger’s parents and two sisters plan to attend Tuesday’s hearing, public defender Jason LaBar told CNN Monday. They will not be permitted to visit him while they’re there.
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Meanwhile, DNA played a role in the investigation, sources have indicated to CNN.
Investigators focused on Kohberger as a suspect, in part, after his DNA was matched to genetic material recovered at the home where the students were slain, two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation have said.
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Kohberger went home to Pennsylvania for the holidays, LaBar told CNN on Saturday, adding the suspect and his father – who accompanied his son on the cross-country drive – arrived around December 17.
A white Hyundai Elantra authorities had been looking for in connection with the killings was found at Kohberger’s parents’ house, LaBar confirmed.
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An FBI surveillance team from the Philadelphia field office had been tracking him for four days in the area where he was arrested, according to two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation.
While Kohberger was being watched, investigators from the Moscow Police Department, the Idaho State Police homicide bureau and the FBI worked with prosecutors to develop sufficient probable cause to get the warrant. Once the arrest warrant was issued, the Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI made the arrest.
