Idaho murders: Internet thinks police asked public help to find car to see what Bryan Kohberger would do
This is based on sources and we have been unable to verify this information independently
MOSCOW, IDAHO: Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, who has been charged with the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students, was arrested on December 30, almost seven weeks after the killings. Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21 were stabbed to death on November 13, 2022, in their off-campus rental home on King Road in Moscow, Idaho. A probable cause affidavit, released on January 5, revealed several key details linking Kohberger to the case. Netizens, however, are discussing the motive behind the police requesting public's help to get information about the white Hyundai Elantra when they already had a suspect.
Before Kohberger's arrest, the police indicated that they were looking for a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra, which was believed to be in the immediate area of the King Road residence during the early morning hours of the killings. The investigators believed that the occupant of the car may have critical information to share regarding this case. However, the police did not indicate that they had a suspect in mind and the arrest of Kohberger at his parents' home in eastern Pennsylvania, more than 2,500 miles from the crime scene, came as a surprise to the public. Kohberger, who was a PhD student in criminal justice and criminology at the neighboring Washington State University, has waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing when he appeared in court on Thursday, January 12.
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After a Redditor questioned why the police released a public request for help on the car, when they already had a suspect, several users came forward with their theories. "What was the true motive behind the police releasing to the public a request for help on the car when they already knew it was Kohberger’s and he was in their cross hairs?" asked the post that kicked off the discussion.
The user believed that the purpose was to cause Bryan Kohberger some stress to see if he would react. "Interested on theories surrounding what LE had to gain in doing so? Doesn’t seem that they needed to keep him thinking that he wasn’t a suspect as, in my opinion, this would only stress him even more."
A user, answering on the thread, wrote, "I think it was a very clever move. Bryan was closely following the police activity and was a part of a lot of Idaho murders FB communities. They just wanted to mislead him so that he doesn't try to clear his tracks."
Another user speculated that the police were waiting to see if Kohberger would 'voluntarily report' that the car belonged to him. "I wonder if they were trying to see what he would do? Would he voluntarily come in to report he drives that car, like they were asking? Would he do something suspicious? My assumption is they didn’t have the DNA yet but they were watching him. They weren’t 100% on him without the DNA so they were baiting him," they speculated.
Another reply noted, "There are still big gaps in the location of the car immediately after the murders. I suspect they wanted to fill them in and potentially find the murder weapon. Also the more positive connections between the suspect and the car they can make, the better. In the PCA there is a bit of a patchwork of phone pings and surveillance that could be stronger. Obviously I don’t know what was omitted from the PCA."
One user speculated that the police needed public's help to make sure they had 'a movement pattern' of the vehicle that made sense. "They might have had strong suspicion that was the right white Elantra, but that doesn't mean they immediately had all the movement info they have now. I think they wanted all the footage they could get to track the movements of any vehicle that could be the Elantra, to make sure they had a movement pattern that made sense with him committing the murders. They needed public help to do that. We're looking with hindsight knowing at least the key points of what the video canvas found - but if they had turned up footage which indicated there was multiple possible white Elantras driving around that night, or have footage of him leaning out of his white Elantra at McDonalds drive through between 4:00 and 4:20, they could have come to a very different conclusion," wrote the user.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.