Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger cleaned car, was seen wearing surgical gloves, source says
The man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in November had thoroughly cleaned the interior and exterior of his car and was also seen wearing surgical gloves multiple times before being apprehended, a law enforcement source tells CNN.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, is currently the sole suspect in the gruesome stabbings of students Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, who were found dead inside their off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13.
Kohberger, who was pursuing a PhD in criminal justice at Washington State University at the time of the killings, "cleaned his car, inside and outside, not missing an inch," according to the law enforcement source.
WATCH | Bryan Kohberger's criminology background
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was briefed on observations made by investigators during four days of surveillance leading up to Kohberger's arrest at his family's Pennsylvania home on December 30.
As Kohberger now remains behind bars in Idaho awaiting his January 12 status hearing, new details have emerged elucidating some of the suspect's movements in the days leading up to his arrest.
A surveillance team assigned to Kohberger was tasked with two missions, according to multiple law enforcement sources: keep eyes on Kohberger so they could arrest him as soon as a warrant was issued, and try to obtain an object that would yield a DNA sample from Kohberger, which could then be compared to DNA evidence found at the crime scene.
Kohberger was seen multiple times outside the Pennsylvania home wearing surgical gloves, according to the law enforcement source.
In one instance prior to Kohberger's arrest, authorities observed him leaving his family home around 4 a.m. and putting trash bags in the neighbors' garbage bins, according to the source. At that point, agents recovered garbage from the Kohberger family's trash bins and what was observed being placed into the neighbors' bins, the source said.
The recovered items were sent to the Idaho State Lab, per the source.
WATCH | Idaho suspect's direct link to the crime scene
Last Friday, a Pennsylvania State Police SWAT team then moved in on the Kohberger family home, breaking down the door and windows in what is known as a "dynamic entry" -- a tactic used in rare cases to arrest "high risk" suspects, the source added.
On Thursday, Kohberger had his initial court appearance in Idaho after he was booked into the Latah County jail Wednesday night following his extradition from Pennsylvania.
Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. He did not enter a plea at the hearing.
Victim's father says suspect 'was hunting them'
Steve Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee was among those killed, told CNN's Jim Sciutto in an interview that aired Friday morning he has no reason to think his daughter was the killer's target in particular.
"Nobody understands exactly why but he was stalking them, he was hunting them," Goncalves said. "He was a person looking for an opportunity and it just happened to be in that house. And that's hard to take.
"She had her phone right next to her and she couldn't call 911. So these were just girls that went to sleep that night and a coward, you know, a hunter that went out and he picked his little opponent that was girls, that's probably why the house was targeted.
"None of these girls deserved this," Goncalves said. "The real problem we have is we have an individual that thought it was okay to attack other human beings. That's what I'm going to focus on."
He said, "I'd be a little bit surprised if there wasn't a clearer touch point that would suggest that he was interested in one or two of the people more than he was the others."
Goncalves was in the courtroom for Kohberger's appearance.
"He knows I want him to look me in the eye. So he didn't. He didn't give me that opportunity," Goncalves said. "He's scared to look at me in the eyes and start to understand what's about to happen to him. You know, he picked the wrong family. We're not scared of a conflict. We're not running. We're coming at him."
The evidence against the suspect
Authorities spent nearly two months investigating before they were able to name publicly a suspect, a task that grabbed national attention and rattled the victims' loved ones as well as the community -- which had not recorded a murder in years.
Still, the public's view of the case remains mired with questions. As of late Thursday, it remains unclear what motivated the killings. It's also unclear how the suspect entered the house after authorities said there was no sign of forced entry or why two roommates who were inside the residence at the time of the killings survived the attacks.
Here's how investigators narrowed the search to Kohberger:
Roommate reveals she heard crying the day of attacks
One of two roommates who were not harmed in the attacks said she saw a masked man dressed in black inside the house on the morning of the killings, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Identified as D.M. in the court document, the roommate said she "heard crying" in the house that morning and also heard a man's voice say, 'It's OK, I'm going to help you.'" D.M. said she then saw a "figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person's mouth and nose walking towards her," the affidavit continued.
"D.M. described the figure as 5' 10" or taller, male, not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows," the affidavit says. "The male walked past D.M. as she stood in a 'frozen shock phase.'
"The male walked towards the back sliding glass door. D.M. locked herself in her room after seeing the male," the document says, adding the roommate did not recognize the male.
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