MOSCOW, Idaho — The man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in late 2022 said he was out driving at the time the murders took place.
In a newly filed document, 29-year-old Bryan Kohberger said he spent a lot of his time exploring the Palouse after he moved to Pullman. According to him, he was doing just that at the time the four students were killed, and claims his cell phone data will show he was south of Pullman and west of Moscow on Nov. 13, 2022.
The document filed Wednesday serves as Kohberger's official alibi.
According to Kohberger, he spent a lot of time running, hiking and driving around the Palouse after moving to Pullman in June 2022, taking a particular interest in Wawawai Park. He said he became busy with classes and work at Washington State University (WSU) shortly after moving. As such, he said he didn't spend as much time running and hiking and instead opted to spend more time going for nighttime drives.
Kohberger said his phone data will corroborate his expressed interest in driving late at night.
"Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022; as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars," the document reads. "He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho including Wawawai Park."
To further solidify his alibi, Kohberger said he plans to offer testimony from a CSLI expert to show that he was south of Pullman and west of Moscow at the time of the murders, and that he did not travel east on the Moscow-Pullman Highway on the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022.
The family of Kaylee Goncalves released the following statement after receiving news of Kohberger's alibi:
"We have been waiting on this information for months and it has finally arrived. It is so hard not knowing anything about the case and you find you have to cling to dates, motions and hearings in order to figure out anything. A big part of this has been waiting on the Alibi information. Now that it is here we feel even more confident in the prosecution of the Defendant. The Defense’s claim is that the Defendant was driving late at night hiking/running and stargazing. We are not sure why it has taken over a year for this to come out as those don’t seem to be complicated activities.
We believe that If this alibi had any weight it would have been submitted months ago. It also in direct conflict with the Probable Cause affidavit that states that the Defendant’s phone was turned off between 2:47am and 4:48am. So if the Defendant was driving around and there is cell phone information that he was in a different place it would be either before or after the times of the murders. Hence not really an alibi. We continue to look forward to justice in this case and can now put this part of the proceeding behind us. Thank you for all your support for our family!"
Kohberger is charged with the first-degree murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. The four were found stabbed in a home near the University of Idaho campus on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested one month later in Pennsylvania and has been in the Latah County Jail ever since.
Since his arrest, Kohberger has been indicted by a grand jury and chose to stand silent at his arraignment. Last year, the state of Idaho filed intent to seek the death penalty against Kohberger. His trial date has yet to be set.
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