Family of fatal Idaho stabbings suspect releases statement
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The family of Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the killings of four University of Idaho students, released a statement on Sunday, two days after he was arrested in the Poconos in Pennsylvania.
The statement reads:
"First and foremost we care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children. There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them. We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother. We have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions. We respect privacy in this matter as our family and the families suffering loss can move forward through the legal process."
Kohberger, 28, was arrested on a fugitive arrest warrant at his parents' home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, a law enforcement source told CBS News.
Kohberger will waive his extradition hearing and face the charges in Idaho.
Kohberger got an associate's degree in psychology at Northampton Community College, then went on to complete a bachelor's degree at DeSales University in 2020.
At the time of his arrest, Kohberger was a Ph.D. criminology student and teaching assistant at Washington State University's Pullman campus, which is only about a 15-minute drive from Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger had just finished his first semester at WSU, the school said in a statement.
According to Kohberger's attorney, he arrived in Pennsylvania around Dec. 17 to celebrate the holidays with his family. His father flew to Washington to meet him and the two drove to Pennsylvania together in Kohberger's Hyundai Elantra. It took two-and-a-half days to get back to Pennsylvania, Kohberger's attorney said.
The drive home together was pre-planned, according to Kohberger's attorney. He wasn't planning to move from his on-campus apartment.
The Moscow, Idaho, police chief said some of the 19,000 tips that police received were integral to arresting Kohberger, but declined to say when he became a suspect or what brought him to their attention. Law enforcement sources told CBS News that forensic analysis allegedly linked Kohberger to the crime scene in Idaho.
Those sources told CBS News that FBI agents had conducted surveillance operations on Kohberger in Pennsylvania, tracking his movements on the days before he was taken into custody.
Since the Nov. 13 fatal stabbings, some community members in Idaho have grown frustrated as investigators have yet to offer a thorough narrative about how the night unfolded.