Idaho police have stated that a TV special about Bryan Kohberger’s quadruple murder case included “gross inaccuracies” and “complete falsehoods.”
In July, Kohberger pleaded guilty to the Nov. 13, 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20. He also admitted to a felony burglary charge.
Kohberger received four consecutive life sentences without parole for the four first-degree murder charges and one felony burglary charge. Following his July sentencing, Judge Steven Hippler lifted the gag order that restricted individuals involved in the case from speaking to the media.
In May, NBC’s “Dateline” aired a special episode on the Kohberger case, presenting several newly disclosed pieces of information.
Bryan Kohberger, left, pictured after his Dec. 30 arrest in Pennsylvania. He is accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in a surprise attack at their off-campus home at 4 a.m., including best friends Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, right. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital; Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram)
He mentioned that Kohberger did use his cellphone to look up serial killer Ted Bundy and also search for pornography with terms like “sleeping,” “passed out” and “drugged.”
“All that is pretty accurate. There were searches related to pornography, but it wasn’t extensive,” Gilbertson said. “There was not anything that led us believe, ‘OK, you know, he has some type of a sexual desire behavior that’s driving this.’ But we also know that he deleted and wiped a lot of his devices, so we obviously don’t know what he wiped or what wasn’t there.”
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate where the leaks came from.
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse, for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago. (Kyle Green/AP Photo)
“There is a special prosecutor, and I can tell you that we are not included or privy to what the investigation is doing, nor is the defense, is my understanding, nor is Judge Hippler,” Thompson said. “It’s being overseen completely independently, and whatever the investigation is doing is confidential. That’s what we were instructed by the judge.”
In a statement to the Idaho Statesman, an NBC spokesperson said the network stands by its reporting.
