Here's How Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger Was Eventually Caught for His Killings of 4 College Students
A process called genetic genealogy has reportedly played a significant role in identifying Bryan Kohberger as the Idaho murder suspect.
A source close to the Idaho student murders probe told WPBF 25 News that it only took genetic genealogists a few days to identify Kohberger as the suspect.
The source noted that the genealogy part of the investigation went quickly and smoothly. However, authorities initially had difficulty collecting DNA at a chaotic crime scene.
Detectives scoured the house in Moscow, Idaho, where four college students, namely Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found stabbed to death in their beds.
Retired FBI special agent John MacVeigh told the outlet that the crime scene technicians probably had to separate the students and other people's DNA first to find the killer.
"They're going to have to analyze that and... go through every droplet and things like that. Because if the suspect cut himself, he clearly wasn't bleeding as bad as they were. So you could have one droplet somewhere, and you're looking at a room and there's droplets all over the place... you're testing every single one of them," MacVeigh noted.
Police said the unknown DNA sample was run through a public genealogy database. But authorities noted that the national CODIS DNA database came up empty, as Kohberger had no criminal history.
Investigators reportedly had genetic genealogists post the samples to a public database like Family Tree DNA to see if any relatives matched up.
Sources noted that genealogists then built a family tree using census records, birth and death records, and other clues until they formed a whole tree, including extended family going back generations.
Genealogists then move from great, great-parents to living people to check who is the right age in the area that could be a possible suspect.
Sources said authorities narrowed the possible suspects to Kohberger, the owner of a white Hyundai Elantra that was seen near the crime scene.
From that point, the FBI began its investigation, tracking Kohberger and collecting some discarded items with his DNA on them that police positively matched to the crime scene.
READ NEXT: Idaho Killings Suspect Tracked; Family Vows to 'Promote His Presumption of Innocence'
Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger Agrees to Extradition
During his court hearing on Tuesday in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, the 28-year-old man accused of killing four students from the University of Idaho in November agreed to be extradited to Idaho.
Authorities said Bryan Kohberger is unlikely to fly back to Idaho Tuesday night as different agencies involved in the case are still finalizing who will transport him and how.
Major Christopher Paris of the Pennsylvania State Police did not estimate when the extradition would happen, but he did say it would happen within the 10-day window set by the court.
Kohberger was a Ph.D. student in Washington State University's criminal justice and criminology department. He was arrested Friday in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains on first-degree murder and burglary charges.
In a statement, his attorney, Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar, said Kohberger "is eager to be exonerated of these charges and looks forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible."
LaBar told ABC News that the death penalty is on the table.
Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger Updates Car Title Five Days After Killings
According to a Carfax report, five days after the Idaho student murders, the title of the white Hyundai Elantra used by suspect Bryan Kohberger was updated.
On Tuesday night, Nicole Hernandez of KREM 2 News tweeted that she and her colleagues looked up the vehicle's VIN Number using the license plate in the body cam footage released by Indiana State Police.
Crime Online reported that they got the Carfax report by using the VIN Number. According to Hernandez's screenshots, the car was last purchased in 2019 in Pennsylvania, where Bryan Kohberger resides.
Both the November 2020 and November 2021 screenshots show the car registration being "issued or renewed" in Pennsylvania.
Screenshots of the report also showed the vehicle's "title was issued or updated" in Pullman, Washington State, on November 18, 2022, or only five days after the four students were murdered.
A notation that the registration was updated when the vehicle's owner moved to a new location is included in the report.
Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, was where Kohberger pursued his doctorate.
According to the Washington State Department of Licensing website, a new license plate can be obtained "right away" if the Vehicle Title Application is submitted in person at a vehicle licensing office.
In the body cam footage, the white Hyundai Elantra driven by Bryan Kohberger had a Washington state license plate.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger Spotted for First Time Since Arrest - From FOX 13 Seattle