Idaho Killings Suspect Tracked; Family Vows to 'Promote His Presumption of Innocence'

Law enforcement officials followed the suspect wanted in connection with the murders of four college students in Idaho to his new residence in Allbrightsville, Pennsylvania and kept tabs on him for many days before eventually detaining him on Friday, CNN reported.

In association with the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in November 13, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania and slammed with four charges of first-degree murder and criminal burglary.

Investigators have publicly acknowledged neither the suspect's motive nor his prior acquaintance with the victims.

Chief of Police James Fry of Moscow said Friday that the murder weapon was also missing.

Using DNA evidence and confirming that Kohberger was the owner of a white Hyundai Elantra that had been spotted near the crime scene, detectives were able to zero in on Kohberger as a suspect, say two law enforcement sources briefed on the inquiry.

According to authorities, Kohberger lived only a few minutes away from the crime scene.

Washington State University's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology confirmed that Kohberger is a Ph.D. student.

According to a law enforcement source, he traveled across the country in a white Hyundai Elantra and arrived at his parents' house in Pennsylvania around Christmas.

At a certain point during his journey from Idaho to the east, authorities started tracking him.

Before his arrest, an FBI surveillance team followed him for four days as law enforcement and prosecutors worked to establish sufficient evidence to obtain a warrant.

Another source familiar with the case says that genetic genealogy techniques were used to link Kohberger to unidentified DNA evidence.

According to the source, law enforcement ran the DNA through a public database to find possible matches with family members, and those leads ultimately pointed to him as the suspect.

Idaho Killings Suspect Makes 'Creepy' Comments to Staff, Customers, Owner Says

The owner of a Pennsylvania brewery said that the man suspected of killing four students at the University of Idaho last month was known to some employees for making creepy and inappropriate comments, NBC News noted.

Bethlehem's Seven Sirens Brewing Company owner, 34-year-old Jordan Serulneck, claims Kohberger visited the establishment a few times and hung out at the bar.

Serulneck said the encounters at the brewery occurred months ago and that the suspect may have been a student at DeSales University in Center Valley, about 6 miles south of Bethlehem.

In 2020, Kohberger earned his bachelor's degree from DeSales, and in June of 2022, he finished his master's degree there as well.

Even though "unusual characters" were nothing out of the ordinary at the brewery, Serulneck recalled Kohberger from his interactions with the ladies.

In an interview, Serulneck claimed that Kohberger never did anything inappropriate in front of him or the management but would make comments under his breath or when only one person was working at the bar.

Idaho Killings Suspect's Family Will 'Promote His Presumption of Innocence'

The family of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Christopher Kohberger says it is helping authorities to "promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions."

His parents, Michael and Marianne Kohberger, and his sister, Amanda, made their first public statement on Sunday after his arrest early Friday morning. Michael is a criminal psychology graduate, and both parents are teachers.

They said they wanted to "let the legal process unfold, and as a family, we will love and support our son and brother."

Family members of the suspect have expressed their sorrow for the four students' loved ones, saying they care deeply for the families who have lost their kids, and no words can equally express the sadness they feel, per The Guardian.

"We pray each day for them," they concluded.

Four counts of first-degree murder have been filed against the Idaho killings suspect for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.

Jason LaBar, the public attorney for the suspect, claimed in a statement that his client is "eager to be exonerated of these charges."

According to his counsel, Tuesday's session will not be used to dispute Kohberger's extradition to Idaho.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: New details about the Idaho college murder suspect from his childhood friend - From ABC News