Bryan Kohberger wore gloves to sort trash as cops nabbed him in brutal Idaho slayings
Accused Idaho multiple murderer Bryan Kohberger was meticulously sorting through his trash wearing latex gloves when he was busted at his parents’ Pennsylvania home, a prosecutor has revealed.
Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso told BRC 13 that “Kohberger was found awake in the kitchen area dressed in shorts and a shirt” on Dec. 30 when cops raided his family’s Albrightsville home around 1:30 a.m.
The 28-year-old suspect was also “wearing latex medical-type gloves and apparently was taking his personal trash and putting it into separate Ziploc baggies,” Mancuso said.
The items were previously listed in search warrants, without detail on what the troubled criminology student was doing.
Hiding his trash, Mancuso suggested, could explain why “the trash pull that was done days before” the raid had only detected DNA profiles of his family members “but not from him.”
It will likely be used by prosecutors in Idaho, where Kohberger was quickly extradited to be charged with the Nov. 13 slaying of four University of Idaho students.
“It could very well explain some of the other aspects of the case from Idaho, some of the lengths that a person would go to to avoid having their DNA left behind when they know or should’ve known that there was an investigation underway,” Mancuso suggested.
The most important part was a cheek swab, the prosecutor noted — calling it “something that they could compare to the DNA of … the snap button for the sheath of the knife” left at the murder scene.
The inventory also suggested other potential distinctive clues — particularly the fact that Kohberger’s black and white Nike sneakers were listed as being a size 13.
“I would be keen on the shoes, the size of the shoes, comparison to any shoe impressions that might have been recovered at the scene, that sort of thing,” Mancuso told the outlet.
The prosecutor stressed that “Kohberger, as with any other criminal defendant, is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law.”
“But certainly for the investigation and the interest of the investigators in building the case layer by layer — that was a significant find,” he said of the items taken from Kohberger’s possession.
A separate warrant released later showed that law enforcement officials also took a Glock 22 .40-caliber handgun and empty magazines, a Smith & Wesson pocketknife, and a third Taylor Cutlery knife in a leather sheath.
Officials have not said if either of those knives is thought to be the one used to stab to death Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
Kohberger was busted while home for the holidays after driving cross-country from his student digs in Washington, where he lived just 10 miles from where the four students were murdered in their off-campus home.
Cops had zeroed in on him after his white Hyundai Elantra matched a car seen speeding from the crime scene. He was under surveillance before, during and after the road trip.
Kohberger is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on June 26. He has not entered a plea yet but previously said through an attorney that he is “eager to be exonerated.”
