Following the murder of four companions close to the University of Idaho, police have detained a suspect.
In connection with the stabbings of Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, on November 13 in Moscow, Idaho, Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, has been detained in Pennsylvania, US.
On the basis of an active arrest warrant for first-degree murder issued by the Moscow Police Department and Latah County Prosecutor’s Office, Kohberger was being held for extradition in a criminal homicide investigation, according to arrest paperwork filed by Pennsylvania State Police in Monroe County Court.
According to the Moscow Police Department, they have been investigating roughly 12,000 public tips in an effort to identify the suspect.
Nearly 50 FBI agents are also looking into the matter, which is being investigated by more than 10 police investigators.
Online sleuths who conjectured about potential culprits and motives were drawn to the case as well. Police made comparatively few public revelations throughout the early stages of the inquiry.
Following the fatalities, between 25 and 40% of students are said to have avoided the campus as a result of the stabbings.
Nearly half of University of Idaho students abandoned their dorms and flats in the generally safe campus due to fears of a repeat attack, and switched to online classes for the rest of the semester.
Due to safety concerns, the university also hired a second security company to accompany students across the campus, and the Idaho State Police dispatched troopers to assist with street patrol.
Parents of the deceased pupils have voiced their anger with the police over the police’s lack of information, and some of them have responded by engaging their own private investigators.
Police were criticised for two big informational retractions.
Police had claimed there was no threat to the community in the days following the murders, but were compelled to reverse their claim just three days later.
Police have also backtracked on their claim that the attack was “targeted,” but it is still unknown whether certain housemates were singled out.
Mayor Art Bettge also said the murders may have been a “crime of passion.”
Fry said: “We want people to pay attention to what we’re putting out there because that is accurate information, and anything that comes from other sources is either rumour or speculation.”
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