Recently unveiled footage captures Bryan Kohberger’s visit to a Washington state DMV, where he exchanged his Pennsylvania license plates just days after being implicated in a chilling quadruple homicide.
The video, first posted by YouTuber Christy’s Chaos, showed Kohberger walking into the DMV office in Pullman on November 18, 2022 and telling the woman behind the counter, ‘I definitely need to get my license plate changed.’
In the video, Kohberger engages in a casual conversation with a DMV employee, providing details about his vehicle while discussing topics such as baseball, academia, the Pacific Northwest’s lifestyle, and camping.
After the interaction, Kohberger successfully acquired two Washington license plates. Prosecutors argue this move complicated the police efforts to trace his white Hyundai Elantra, as they sought the suspect behind the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Authorities quickly zeroed in on the white sedan, which was spotted on surveillance footage near the victims’ off-campus residence in Moscow. Following the harrowing events on November 13, 2022, law enforcement called on the public to help locate the vehicle.
Initially, prosecutors downplayed Kohberger’s DMV visit, attributing it to his Pennsylvania license nearing expiration, as reported by TMZ. However, federal agents maintained vigilance over the PhD criminology student, monitoring him as he and his father embarked on a 2,500-mile journey back to Pennsylvania for the holidays.
Still, federal investigators tried to keep a close eye on the PhD criminology student as he and his dad drove the vehicle more than 2,500 miles back to his home state of Pennsylvania for the holidays.
The pair were then later caught on police body camera footage on December 15, when Kohberger was twice pulled over by officers.
It showed he then had Washington plates on the vehicle.
Bryan Kohberger was caught on surveillance footage casually chatting with a woman behind the counter of a DMV office in Pullman, Washington on November 18, 2022
Kohberger was ultimately able to obtain two Washington plates, which prosecutors have said made it more difficult for police to track down his white Hyundai Elantra
With just three weeks to go before his trial was set to begin, Kohberger changed his plea, pleading guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary last year
Kohberger was finally arrested at his family home on December 30, 2022, after DNA on its clasp led police to the killer.
Prosecutors later revealed that cellphone data placed him in the vicinity of the home on King Road at least 23 times, mostly at night, between July 2022 and the murders on November 13, 2022.
Surviving roommates and friends had also told police about a string of unsettling incidents in the weeks before the fatal stabbings, including Goncalves seeing a man watching her from the trees around the home when she took her dog Murphy outside.
Kohberger may have even entered 1122 King Road prior to the night of the murders.
Digital forensics experts at Cellebrite, who analyzed Kohberger’s devices, also told the Daily Mail that he had searched for pornographic content, including non-consensual sex acts.
They found search terms such as ‘sleeping’, ‘passed out’, ‘voyeur’, ‘forced’, ‘raped’ and ‘drugged’.
He also had a clear obsession with serial killers and home invasions, the review of his devices revealed.
Yet no connection has ever been found between him and any of his victims, and for more than two years Kohberger fought the charges.
The visit came just five days after Kohberger killed Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders), Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle
Federal authorities tried to keep an eye on him as he traveled across the country with his father. He was then pulled over by police on December 15
But with just three weeks to go before his trial was set to begin, Kohberger changed his plea, pleading guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary last year.
The bombshell plea hearing came after he struck a controversial deal with prosecutors to take the death penalty off the table.
As he then began his life in prison for the murders, autopsy findings laid bare the full horror of his attack for the first time, claiming that within just 15 minutes, Kohberger stabbed his victims more than 150 times in total.
Prosecutors said he had entered the house at 1122 King Road through the rear sliding door into the kitchen on the second floor and proceeded upstairs to where Goncalves and Mogen were sleeping together in Mogen’s bed after a night out.
Autopsy reports show that they both died from multiple sharp force injuries – but Goncalves also suffered asphyxial injuries and blunt force injuries to the head.
She was stabbed at least 38 times, including 24 stab and incised wounds to the scalp, face and neck, 11 to the chest and three to the upper extremities. She also suffered punctures to the skull, injuries to her teeth and tongue, perforations of the subclavian artery and vein, and internal bleeding into the chest cavities.
Prosecutors said Kohberger entered the house at 1122 King Road through the rear sliding door into the kitchen on the second floor and proceeded upstairs to where Goncalves and Mogen (pictured together) were sleeping together in Mogen’s bed after a night out
Mogen sustained 28 stab wounds, including 13 stab and incised wounds to the scalp, face and neck, and 10 incised wounds to the upper extremities, and five stab wounds to the chest.
She suffered injuries to the lung and liver, perforations of the subclavian vein and artery, and blood vessels of the chest wall, an incision of the nasal septum and a perforated tongue.
As well as the stab wounds, Goncalves suffered injuries believed to have been caused by something other than Kohberger’s Ka-Bar knife.
Blunt force injuries, including scalp laceration, bleeding around the brain, nasal fracture, scrapes on the nose and cheeks, bruising around the eyes, and patterned bruises across the lower face were all noted in the autopsy.
Police reports have previously revealed that Goncalves’s face was ‘unrecognizable’ following the attack, with Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson saying investigators could not rule out the possibility that a second weapon was used on the 21-year-old.
While Mogen and Goncalves were attacked while they slept, Kernodle was awake on the floor below, using TikTok and having just received a DoorDash food order minutes before the intruder entered, prosecutors said.
She may have headed upstairs after hearing commotion and unfortunately interrupted Kohberger’s attack, causing him to drop the leather Ka-Bar knife sheath later found on Mogen’s bed.
Kernodle (right) was awake when she encountered Kohberger, who proceeded to stab her 67 times inside her bedroom before he turned his attention on Chapin, who was asleep on her bed
Kernodle likely interrupted Kohberger’s attack, causing him to drop this brown leather Ka-Bar knife sheath on Mogen’s bed as he chased her
Kernodle was then stabbed 67 times inside her bedroom before Kohberger killed Chapin in his sleep, according to the autopsy report.
Her wounds included 25 incised wounds to the upper extremities, 23 stab and incised wounds to the scalp, face and neck, seven stab wounds to the chest and four to the abdomen, three incised and puncture wounds to the back, and five incised wounds to the lower extremities.
She also suffered punctures to the skull, perforations of the jugular vein, heart, lung and pulmonary blood vessels, hemorrhage into the chest cavities, wounds extending into the bones of the right hand, and scrapes and bruises to the face, torso and extremities.
Despite Chapin likely being the last victim, he had the fewest stab wounds, sustaining 17 in all: six incised wounds to the upper extremities; six stab and incised wounds to the lower extremities; four stab and incised wounds to the scalp, face and neck; and one stab wound to the upper chest; along with perforations of the jugular vein, subclavian vein and subclavian artery.
