Idaho murders: Kaylee Goncalves’ family lawyer claims Bryan Kohberger had 'no connection' to the victims
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MOSCOW, IDAHO: A lawyer for one of the Idaho murders victims’ families has spoken up after the arrest of Bryan Kohberger on December 30. Shanon Gray is representing Kaylee Goncalves’ family and has now declared that the accused was not known to any of the four slain students.
Speaking with Insider, Gray said, “No one knew of this guy at all.” Kohberger is believed to be the killer of Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin as well as Kaylee. It has been alleged that the 28-year-old suspect stabbed them to death in the early hours of November 13 while they slept. Following his arrest, the PhD student has been slapped with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary charges.
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Though the reason behind the students’ murders, allegedly carried out by Kohberger, is not known, investigators have reportedly revealed that he had gone near the victims’ house several times before the slayings. These findings have been made by analyzing his phone data, as stated by the police affidavit unsealed last week. The affidavit also added, “All of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours of their respective days.”
The attorney shared, “It appears from the affidavit that he was in the area of the house on several occasions. That's all we know.” Gray then went on to express his confidence in the police’s probe as he noted, “The police have always said they want not only arrests. They want a conviction. So we're hopeful that that's where we're headed. Who knows what they will find.”
Gray also has few words for people who were not kind toward one of the surviving roommates, who apparently saw the alleged killer, matching the description of Kohberger, leaving the house after the stabbings. He added, “She's a victim in the case. So I think everyone needs to treat her as a victim. I don't think anybody knows what they might do in that situation.”
This comes after earlier Kaylee’s father Steve Goncalves spoke with ABC's 'Good Morning America' following the December 30 arrest of the accused. He reportedly said, “It definitely provided relief for our family. It felt like a cloud was lifted off of us. I mean, it's like seeing sunlight after you've been stuck in a house for a month.” Steve had also added that the detention of Kohberger “definitely provided relief and comfort to know things were progressing and all this torture waiting had a purpose and a meaning.”
Benjamin Roberts, Kohberger's classmate at the Washington State University, also recently opened up about how Kohberger's behavior changed in the aftermath of the murders, which he ascribed to the typical stress all graduate students experience. "I did notice he was showing up to class a little late sometimes, he always had a coffee in hand, he always seemed to be just perpetually exhausted," he told News Nation. However, he also noticed that Kohberger appeared to become friendlier after the killings. Roberts said, "He did seem to get a little chattier going into the later parts of the term," and stressed that he doesn't remember Kohberger ever making a particular reference to the Idaho case.