Idaho murders: Suspect Bryan Kohberger had access to police bodycam footage database as WSU doctoral student
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.
PULLMAN, WASHINGTON: Hearings for Bryan Kohberger- the lone suspect in the University of Idaho students' murders that claimed the lives of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20 and Xana Kernodle, 20- are in full swing. What adds to it is the fact that reports indicate Kohberger may have had access to a crime lab and livestreams from security cameras to aid him. It was reported that the doctoral program that Kohberger had been enrolled into at Washington State University has access to a ‘crime lab’ database of police bodycam videos and livestreams from security cameras on and off campus.
According to WSU’s website, they are used to study ‘complex social interactions’ between patrol officers and civilians and for other appropriate functions as well. It is said that these tools may be used to allow a suspected killer to view crime scene images and potential videos of death. It could also allow suspects to zoom in on faces if it needed to be. However, WSU denied that Kohberger had access to this lab and further stated that he was not part of this program at all.
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"I don’t think that any amount of positive research that has come out of this department is worth the risks of letting a wolf in the henhouse," a source said told Fox News. "They are all obsessed with crime and criminals- you’d have to be to have a Ph.D. in criminology- but sometimes that obsession goes to other levels and attracts this kind of madness," the source added. It was also reported that WSU’s CSI Lab and the Division of Government Studies and Services are located on campus.
It has been found that the CSI Lab shares bodycam video with five different police departments and one of them is confirmed to be the Pullman Police Department. There is a procedure to be followed for students to be allowed access to the lab, and while it is not known if Kohberger had attempted it, the university denies that he was let in.
"To be clear, Bryan Kohberger never had access to any footage from the Complex Social Interaction Lab at Washington State University," Phil Weiler, WSU’s President of Marketing and Communications said. He added, "Access to that facility is strictly controlled. All research assistants must complete a background check, an FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Level 2 certification, be fingerprinted by the FBI and sign a confidentiality agreement in order to enter the facility."
Interestingly, Kohberger had applied for an internship with the Pullman Police Department, which is mentioned in an affidavit in support of his arrest warrant. "Kohberger wrote in his essay he had interest in assisting rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations," the statement said.