The doctoral student accused of murdering four Idaho college kids has found the perfect hideout thousands of miles away from prying eyes, neighbors told the Herald.
“Holy (expletive). It’s crazy,” said Felix Martinez, owner of a rental property on Lamsden Drive in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. “It’s a gated community and it’s very quiet.
Every neighbor contacted by the Herald agreed if you wanted to go underground, their street near Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains is ideal.
“Unless you’re disturbing someone, you won’t be disturbed,” said Jariyah St. Hill-Taylor, 20, who just left Lamsden Drive after graduating from high school. “It’s mostly a summer place. There is plenty of space where you can hide.
It was there that police – with flashing lights and a helicopter overhead – arrested Bryan Christopher Kohberger at 3 a.m. Friday, ending a manhunt that had gripped the nation. He will be flown back to Idaho to face trial for the November 13 murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20.
The manhunt for the 28-year-old was a murder mystery that ended in an idyllic corner of the Quaker state.
“The houses are all about an acre apart,” said Donna Carbone, also of Lamsden Drive. “I’m surprised to say the least, but our development has a lot of Airbnbs and a lot of people who live here come for the privacy.
“We are in shock,” she added of the accused killer being so close. “To say we’re pissed off is an understatement.”
Neighbors say Kohberger had relatives in the enclave, but they didn’t know the exact details.
Kohberger is a doctoral student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University. WSU is a short drive across the state line from the University of Idaho. The two universities are partners in several academic programs, and students sometimes take courses and seminars or work at neighboring schools.
But University of Idaho President Scott Green wrote in a memo to students and staff late Friday that the Idaho school had no record of him.
Police in Moscow, Idaho, told a news conference on Friday that the car matching the description of the white Hyundai Elantra sought by authorities had also been seized.
Kohberger’s DNA was also compared to samples recovered from the crime scenes, according to CNN.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry praised the officers – from the first patrol officers to respond to a 911 call – to state police and the FBI for working as a ‘team’ to hunt down some of the 19,000 tips from all over the country.
He urged anyone with information about the accused to call 208-883-7180 or email [email protected].
He also said the case was not over.
“We’re still looking for the gun,” Fry said. “I will say we found an Elantra.”
Chief Fry said they were still “putting all the pieces together” to determine the motive.
Ethan Chapin’s family emailed a statement after the press conference. “We are relieved that this chapter is complete as it offers some form of closure. However, this does not change the outcome or relieve pain,” the family wrote. “We miss Ethan and our family is forever changed.”
The Chapin family also thanked the University of Idaho and the Sigma Chi fraternity of which Ethan was a member for their support.
“We also appreciate the outpouring of kind words from so many others, which we will need as we enter the next chapter of this nightmare,” the family wrote.
Kohberger is not out on bail and faces an extraction to Idaho in the coming week unless he waives it and goes straight to court where more on this tragic case will come. revealed, the chef promised. Authorities said early in their investigation that they believed the killings were targeted.
Associated Press, New York Post and New York Daily News contributed.
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