So I was flattered to see my theory copied and pasted to Instagram almost word for word. So I thought about it a little more...and decided to put together a quick timeline that helps bolster it. I'm going to distill my notes down to just a few key dates....I'm hesitant to dump the 12 pages I have. sorry for the hacky copy and paste job. I had better intentions. But it is what it is at this point.
For those that don't know about my theory it's that LE knew about Bryan as early as November 15th. And at that point they started investigating him while keeping an eye on others. Once they started getting pretty confident that they had their guy....they stalled until they could get DNA back. Eventually having to turn to Familial.
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11/13 - The 4 Students are killed and bodies are discovered around 12pm local time.
In later reporting the Captain of Moscow LE said that by the time he got to the scene on this day. Investigators had already identified cameras in the surrounding area and were procuring the video. This moved a lot more quickly than people originally assumed.
11/14 - The 4 Students are identified.
I'm a believer that they were able to immediately find video of the Elantra leaving the scene or close to it. I also believe that they immediately found the Elantra license plate on video away from the crime scene. And I'm going to stretch and say they likely found video of the Elantra in the area on the days preceding the murder. And this is what led them to believe that the crime was targeted.
11/15 - Police make a seemingly controversial statement.
"The City of Moscow Police Department would like to address community concerns about public safety. We hear you, and we understand your fears. We want you to know that we, like you, have been devastated and distressed by these young lives that were cut short needlessly. We determined early in the investigation that we do not believe there is an ongoing threat for community members. Evidence indicates that this was a targeted attack.
At this time, we have shared every piece of information that we can without compromising the ongoing investigation."
So what made them so confident that this was a targeted attack that they would keep reiterating over and over again that it was? Read on...
11/16 - Video Press Conference
I invite everyone to watch this press conference and listen to what they are saying. Listen to the nuance in their words. It's clear that they think they know who did it but at this point all they had was video. That the person was out there but not a danger. There's more that's carefully crafted.
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11/14-11/18 - WSU Midterms Week
Not sure what the requirements are for advanced degrees. But at most schools mid-term week is dedicated to midterms and professors who have a heart don’t hold classes. soon as you were done with your midterms you could leave for Thanksgiving break. I will be interesting to know when Bryan left town for Thanksgiving.
Was Bryan already back in WA? Taking a flight out on Sunday shortly after the murders? Is that why police were so confident that there was no danger before walking it back since it made no sense.
11/17 - FBI joins Investigation
At the time a lot of people wondered why the FBI joined this investigation so early. I now believe that it was a combination of things. Their suspect was likely on the East Coast and they had no clue when he was coming back. They likely had super early circumstantial evidence, video included, but couldn't place him at the scene. And they needed help processing DNA evidence.
Also worth noting that Captain Lanier later said (on 12/15) that they had already worked the local cameras and as soon as they got more resources (FBI) they expanded and canvased outward.
11/23 - LE reaffirms that this was targetted
11/28 - WSU is back in session and we assume Bryan is back in town at this point.
11/30 - Prosecutors vs LE confusion
12/1 - LE tripples down that this was targetted
If anyone doubts that LE has the perp casing the area or has other evidence...this should put it to rest.
12/2 - 12/3 - The house receives numerous visits from Detectives after a lull in activity.
Things are picking up again from here. On the 3rd they were seen taking out bags of evidence.
12/5 - LE decide to start removing the victims personal belongings. To happen on 12/7.
It's pretty clear that they are confident at this point. Again, the public interprets this as unusual because no suspect has been named.
12/6 - LE, through a press release requests surveillance video taken from 3am - 6am from a list of 4 geographical areas.
We know from reports that LE had already been looking at videos for over 3 weeks at this point.
They also went out of there way to confidently clear a bunch of people and get rumors under control. Which resulted in some ire from the internet, community and family. This is more evidence pointing to them having their guy.
I believe at this point they had DNA sent out to the lab and they were fairly confident that Bryan was their guy. I think the request for video could have had a much tighter window if they wanted it to. But they didn't want to show their cards. How many times did they tell us - send us all info. we know what we are looking for and we'll filter through it?
I also believe that LE needed video from these areas because they needed to show that the crime scene Elantra was the same Elantra heading back to Bryan's house or the Elantra in whatever picture of the license plate they had. Otherwise the defense team could easily cite the 22,0000 Elantras. The picture/video of the Elantra's license plate was pulled from a place that could only be accessed by going through THESE NEIGHBORHOODS
12/7 - LE announce the Elantra. And they'd like to talk to the occupants.
Bryan Entin reports that LE has stated that the license plate is "Unknown". The car is a 2011-2013.
I believe that LE knew it was a 2015. But didn't want to tip Bryan off that they might have been on to him. I think at this point they were pretty confident that he was their guy...but they had that pesky unresolved DNA kicking around. That likely had to go through a Familial search. The 2011-2013 and 2015 models are similar enough that it wouldn't hinder public tips.
I also think this was their way of asking about Bryan without saying Bryan's name. Hoping that someone he knew or lived with come forward.
He later updates his Tweet with a link to the press release that's solely focused on the Elantra.
I'm also going to go out on a limb and say they were talking directly to Bryan through these words. Knowing who he was, what he was studying. They were hoping that he would come forward under the guise of helping and staying close to the investigation.
12/8 - Five Plain Clothed LE investigators show up to the crime scene. One of the 2 vehicles had a Washington plate.
This is my biggest indicator so far that this was the point where Bryan went from person of interest to suspect. And they brought in Washington investigators as their suspect lived in another state and they would likely have to arrest him there. They go in. Move around a bit. Come out an hour later. Empty handed. Make of this what you will
12/9 - The last day of instruction for the term
Mind you, this is the general calendar. I'm not sure if the PhD program operates on a different schedule or if Bryan had office hours of any sort.
If the FBI was planning on tracking someone across the country and coordinating it. This is the window of time where it would have needed to start happening.
The Cross Country Drive
This is where the timeline gets a little fuzzy as reporting is not really lining up. So we're going to guesstimate.
12/10 - 12/13 - Likely the Window Where Brian and his Dad set off on their cross country trip
This date is a window. It's essentially a 2 day drive . The last day of classes was on the 9th. If it's a 2 day drive we can assume that they left no later than the 13th as it would be almost impossible for them to be cited in PA a few days later.
12/12 - Statement from Captain Lanier + FBI
“We do have a lot of information. We are specifically keeping that information safe. We are not releasing specific details because we do not want to compromise this investigation. It is what we must do. We owe that to the families,”
"We want more than just an arrest. We want a conviction. We owe that justice to Xana, Kaylee, Madison, and Ethan"
– Moscow Police Capt. Roger Lanier.
12/12 - 12/15 - Likely the Window Where Brian and his Dad arrive.
This date is a window. It's a guesstimate based on what we know. If they left the day after classes ended and drove straight through they'd be there as early as the 12th. But we know they couldn't have arrived any later than the 15th.
12/15 - Brian Entin Reports the "22,000 Elantras" and another interesting tidbit
On this day a NewsNation report had an interview where Capt. Lainer where he said on the day of the crime Detectives had already located cameras on residences surrounding the crime scene. I whole heartedly believe that one of those cameras got them the Elantra (but no plate) and shortly thereafter an adjacent camera (as the team expanded their canvas) got them the license plate of the only Elantra heading out of the area.
I whole heartedly 100000000% believe that this 22,000 Elantra message was put out to put Bryan's mind at ease as he headed across the United States of America. That he would rest assured that 22,000 Elantras would take LE a long time to comb through and he could enjoy the Christmas Holiday with his family. Not only that....but LE had blundered (i believe purposely) and misidentified his Elantra and he was likely not even amongst the 22,000.
Arrive in Pennsylvania
12/16 - Brian and his Dad are cited at a Car Service Business
The man arrested in connection with the November killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death attended a nearby university in Washington state and traveled across the country in December to spend the holidays with his parents.
www.cnn.com
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OK. So am I crazy? Maybe....
But if you take anything away from my theory....take away this. The 22,000 Elantra's announcement came during a time when the FBI was already following Bryan around and tracking him. If that's not an indicator that the message was to put Bryan at ease and that LE was deceiving him and the public...I'm not sure what is. They told us over and over again that they would not release information that would compromise the investigation.
Also, we've heard multiple reports that the DNA came back just in time to lock up a probable cause affidavit. So how did they manage to find Bryan without that familial DNA? As the FBI was on to him likely weeks before his arrest. I think this also points to the fact that they identified his car via a license plate pretty early in the investigation.
Lastly, I think the FBI followed him across the country because it was a cross state trip. Federal involvement needed. I think they tailed him 4 days before the murder because on or around 12/27 the DNA was back and they were trying to lock in their probably cause affidavit and this would be an out of state arrest. I think we'll come to learn that local police had been tailing him from the moment he drove into PA.
Kohberger's attorney said he plans to fight the charges against him, while law enforcement official said they are confident he was responsible for the murders.
www.newsweek.com
Thanks for reading!