‘Arrangements … being made’ to transport homicide suspect to Idaho as Pennsylvania police hold news conference
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Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — The 28-year-old Washington State University graduate student accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death waived his right to extradition Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police Maj. Christopher Paris said during a news conference.
When the suspect will actually appear in an Idaho court is still not known, however. In a news release, the Moscow Police Department said that details of Bryan C. Kohberger’s transfer would be kept secret “for security reasons.”
Kohberger, a Ph.D. student studying criminal justice and criminology at the Pullman university, was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police at about 1:45 a.m. Friday at his parents’ house in Chestnuthill Township in Monroe County, roughly two hours from New York City.
Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder in Idaho in the deaths of University of Idaho seniors Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; junior Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington.
On Tuesday afternoon, Kohberger was escorted into Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington’s courtroom by local authorities and signed a waiver agreeing to be taken back to Idaho, The Washington Post reported. He then was quickly taken back to to the Monroe County Correctional Facility, where he will be until he’s extradited.
A court order grants up to 10 days for Kohberger to be transported, Paris said during the news conference.
“Arrangements are currently being made to deliver Kohberger back to Idaho,” he said.
Responding to a question about whether the suspect could be on a plane en route to Idaho by Tuesday night, Paris said that “probably was not likely.”
Moscow police said that “details regarding Kohberger’s transportation to Idaho, specifically when that may occur and by what method of transportation, will not be shared publicly.”
PENNSYLVANIA POLICE OFFER DETAILS ON KOHBERGER’S ARREST
Authorities in Pennsylvania answered questions from reporters and provided a few new details into the arrest of Kohberger. The Pennsylvania State Police got involved in the investigation after the FBI contacted the agency and asked it to conduct surveillance on Kohberger, officials said.
Pennsylvania law enforcement obtained multiple search warrants — one for the Lamsden Drive home in Chestnuthill Township and another for Kohberger himself — and executed them early Friday morning. Kohberger’s parents were home at the time, Paris said.
Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso said during the news conference that authorities also obtained a warrant to seize a white Hyundai Elantra, which the Moscow Police Department began searching for in early December.
The warrants were considered “high-risk” because of the nature of the allegations against Kohberger, Paris said. He added that force was used during the execution of the warrants, but Kohberger was arrested without incident. Kohberger’s public defender told CBS that multiple windows were broken to enter the home, something Pennsylvania State Police confirmed Tuesday.
Mancuso told reporters that there was “ample probable cause for the issuance of the various warrants in the case.” He would not comment further, citing Idaho law that probable cause affidavits must remains sealed until the suspect is presented with charges in the state.