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Bryan Kohberger became aware that investigators were closing in on him when they issued a public request for information about a white Hyundai Elantra matching his vehicle, prompting him to conduct a series of frantic internet searches.
Gripping details of what the Idaho murderer then began searching late into the evening on on December 29 2022 have just been revealed.
Kohberger first searched for the phrases ‘wiretap’ and ‘psychopaths paranoid,’ data from his phone showed.
He then read a news story about how police in Moscow, Idaho, were searching for a car whose description matched his.
Clearly unsettled, Kohberger then accessed the Moscow Police Department’s website to check for any updates on the ongoing murder investigation.
‘Immediately’ after that he looked up an auto detailing shop, Fox News reported.
And just 10 minutes later, Kohberger was shopping for a new car online.
In the early hours of December 30, 2022, just a short time after his internet activity, Kohberger was apprehended at his parents’ residence in Pennsylvania.
Bryan Kohberger (pictured during his court appearance in July) began conducting anxious internet searches when he realized authorities were nearing him following the University of Idaho student murders.
At the time, Kohberger was enrolled at Washington State University, located approximately 10 miles from where he tragically killed four University of Idaho students: Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21. (Pictured: Goncalves, left, with Mogen)
Forensic experts have revealed that Kohberger’s internet history indicated he was ‘scrambling’ to dispose of his vehicle after it was identified by police, and he also searched for terms like ‘wiretap’ and ‘psychopaths’. (Pictured: Kohberger with his father during a traffic stop in Indiana)
Last month he was jailed for life without parole for killing Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogan, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, at a student house in Moscow in November 2022.
Jared Barnhart, who owns forensics firm Cellbrite, told Fox News: ‘”Literally the pressure of, ‘Oh, look, they’re really talking about my car,’ caused…within 15 minutes of behavior, him trying to clean it and get rid of it. Just not normal.
‘I think the vehicle was a huge stress point for him, because he had registered it to park there,’ Barnhart said.
‘He had a PDF download of like a list of Hyundai Elantras for the university, and you can see this long list of cars.’
‘If you weren’t the bad guy, you wouldn’t care, but he was scrambling, and he thought the police were on him. And they were. They were at that point.’
Police said they found a Ka-Bar knife sheath at the crime scene which had the killer’s DNA on it.
They used modern genealogy testing to identify Kohberger – but detectives have said that they would have found him by tracing leads linked to his vehicle.
Police said the Hyundai was spotted on several surveillance cameras entering and leaving the crime scene.
On July 2, 2025, Kohberger, 30, formally admitted killing the four Idaho students as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors.
(L-R) Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were stabbed to death on November 13, 2022. Police arrested Bryan Kohberger seven weeks later
Forensic investigators have said Kohberger’s online history showed him ‘scrambling’ to try to get rid of his car after cops identified it, before searching ‘wiretap’ and ‘psychopaths’. (Pictured: Kohberger being pulled over in his car three months before the murders)
That saw him spared execution. But he can never apply for parole and will die behind bars.
Kohberger declined the chance to speak during his sentencing hearing.
No motive has ever been revealed – but there is speculation that he may have become obsessed with one of the female students he killed.
Kohberger’s sentencing saw him finally plead guilty to the killings, almost three years after carrying out a bloodbath that shocked the world.
He made the bombshell admission at Ada County Court in Boise, Idaho, while sitting meters away from the heartbroken families who have waited years for justice.
Several relatives of the victims broke down in tears in the courtroom – as did Prosecutor Bill Thompson when he read out the victims’ names.
The Goncalves and Kernodle families have said the plea pact means they will never have justice for their children who he brutally stabbed to death in one of the most horrific events ever to unfold on a college campus.
Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive sentences of life without parole, plus another 10 years.
