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Why was Bryan Kohberger's phone switched off? Internet finds holes in Idaho murder suspect's 'alibi' about habit of going on long drives

Bryan Kohberger is currently in custody at the Latah County Jail awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin on October 2

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

MOSCOW, IDAHO: Prosecutors are preparing to present evidence against Bryan Kohberger, 28, who is accused of breaking into a rental home in Moscow, Idaho, and fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, to death.

Kohberger is facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He is currently in custody at the Latah County Jail awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin on October 2, during which prosecutors will likely rely on cellphone data as crucial evidence to support their case. 

Why was Bryan Kohberger's phone switched off?

Retired FBI Agent, Jennifer Coffindaffer, quoted a part of the affidavit on Twitter, which read, "Mr. Kohberger has long had a habit of going for drives alone. Often he would go for drives at night. He did so late on November 12 and into November 13, 2022. Mr. Kohberger is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time; at this time there is not a specific witness to say precisely where Mr. Kohberger was at each moment of the hours between late night November 12, 2022 and early morning November 13, 2022. He was out, driving during the late night and early morning hours of November 12-13, 2022."

"Well then, we should be able to see his vehicle at multiple locations on video and his cell records should corroborate," Coffindaffer wrote in the caption, before asking, "Why did he turn his phone off if he was just driving around?"

'Worst alibi ever'

Agreeing with the former FBI Agent, online sleuths seemingly discovered flaws in the alibi provided by Kohberger, who claimed to have a habit of going on long drives. "Good point!" a Twitter user wrote, "Let’s guess. He forgot his car charger and was preserving battery life," they added sarcastically.

Another wrote, "Ya. Driving with his phone off and circling that neighbourhood .. They would been better off saying he was a drug dealer as an alibi. Other than just driving around in wee hours of the morning.., He just was ironically in same area as murders…his print on the sheath.. mhmm mm." "But even saying he a drug dealer wouldn’t fit as his phone was off," they added in a second tweet.

A skeptical user wrote in another tweet, "Phone off? Makes no sense to just cruise around after 3:00am. What was he doing earlier that night? Was he alone? Was he at a party looking for another? He left his house to go to that area… not at 11-12 to look for party or to just check out gals or guys (whatever he into) walking around. He went up to that area around 3am! Im curious if he circled at those hours in the past. Oh and his DNA on sheath too . He didnt even come up with…I was at another party and than looked for another.. ya and his sheath was left there at murder scene. Im not sure how he can explain that away. The fact he never came forward to tell cops he was in that area too."

One user quipped, "If he had been driving around that night and woke up to news that 4 students were murdered around the area he was having a usual late night drive… he would be able to pin point roughly where he was. Big news like that, you’d remember what you had been doing at or around the time." "Was it turned off or did it die ? Cellphone pings will not give an exact location. Can’t wait until we get the actual evidence in this case… have to wait for the trial for that," wrote another. Someone else added, "Worst alibi ever. They actually confirm that he was out driving alone aimlessly that night as the prosecutor alledges but it wasn't his car on video near the murder scene though it was the same color, make and model and his DNA was there."