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'The evidence is overwhelming': Ex-FBI agent calls Bryan Kohberger a 'controlling individual'

'But I think this was more of a signal of dominance or control and revenge,' former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan reportedly said about the Idaho murders

This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.

MOSCOW, IDAHO: As the University of Idaho murders' suspect Bryan Kohberger awaits his next court hearing, scheduled for June 26, a former FBI agent has claimed that the evidence is "overwhelming" to convict him. Kohberger, 28, was arrested on December 30, 2022, from his parents' home in Pennsylvania and has been charged with the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.

Key information about the case, including phone data that showed Kohberger visited the murder scene at least 12 times before the killings, and the suspect left a knife sheath with his DNA on it, was revealed in the probable cause affidavit, which was made public on January 5. The four victims - Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 - were stabbed to death on November 13, 2022.

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Speaking to NewsNation on Monday, January 16, former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan described Kohberger as a "controlling individual" and claimed that the Idaho murders could have been a "revenge-type of a killing." He said that even though a murder weapon was yet to be found, there was overwhelming evidence against the 28-year-old criminology student. 

"I think the brutality of the way these murders were carried out, this is an individual certainly that has, obviously, some mental health issues. But I think this was more of a signal of dominance or control and revenge," Kaplan, who is also an attorney told NewsNation. He added that he felt that the evidence may eventually show that Kohberger might have crossed paths with at least one of the victims "and his interpretation or perception was rejection."

"He was not someone who could accept rejection because in his mind he was a controlling individual," the former FBI agent said. Pointing out that there was ample evidence to suggest that the suspect surveilled the home, where the murders took place, for quite some time, Kaplan said that he helt that this was a "revenge-type of killing." The former FBI agent also averred that the lack of a murder weapon would not derail the ultimate success of the prosecution. "I think the evidence is overwhelming to convict Kohberger and I think that the fact that this knife may never be recovered may be of zero consequence to the overall success of this prosecution," he said.  

During the course of the interview, Kaplan pointed out that as most "pieces of the puzzle" had been discovered by investigating authorities, it was very likely that they will go back and try to recover video surveillance of types of stores or online purchases that may have been made to check if they can locate Kohberger of having purchased the type of weapon used for the murders.