Comedian Russell Kane asks people to stop messaging him about Idaho murderer
‘Please stop telling me I look like a murderer in America,’ comedian wrote
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Your support makes all the difference.Comedian Russell Kane is tired of being compared to the man charged with the November Idaho murders.
On Friday (30 December), law enforcement released a photo of 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger, the man charged with a quadruple homicide.
Kane apparently received “at least 100 messages” the following day from people noting the physical similarities between himself and Kohberger.
“Please stop telling me I look like a murderer in America,” the British comedian wrote on Twitter, alongside a side-by-side headshot of both him and Kohberger.
“Omg… you could be his brother!” one person responded, with another writing: “Ha, I saw that and that was my first thought. Great way to start 2023.”
A third added in amusement: “Oh sweet Jesus! Now I can’t unsee it, Russell!”
The 47-year-old comedian has appeared on numerous shows, including the 2012 two-season comedy Unzipped and his self-hosted series Stupid Man, Smart Phone.
In the early hours of 13 November, four university students were found dead. They had been stabbed to death while they slept in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
For nearly seven weeks, local and state police worked with the FBI to solve the murders of Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21.
After weeks with little information and mounting criticism from the victims’ families for seemingly not advancing in the investigation, law enforcement arrested Kohberger on 30 December in his home state of Pennsylvania.
That same day, Kohberger appeared before a Pennsylvania judge and was charged with four murder counts and felony burglary. Police appear to have ruled out any other suspects.
Kohberger faces extradition to Idaho where the murders took place. He is expected to waive his rights to a 3 January extradition hearing in Pennsylvania to expedite his return to Idaho.
According to school records, Kohberger had earned an associate arts degree from Northampton Community College in Albrightsville, PA, before graduating with a masters degree in criminal justice from Desales University in May 2022.
He later began his PhD at Washington State University’s criminal justice and criminology department in Pullman, Washington, which is around nine miles (15km) west of Moscow, Idaho. You can read more about Kohberger here.
The Independent has reached out to members of the Kohberger family.
Follow along here for real-time updates on the murder case.