Bryan Kohberger applied for police internship around time of Idaho murders, arrest affidavit reveals

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The criminology PhD student charged with the murders of four University of Idaho students had applied for an internship with the local police department within months of the murders, according to an unsealed arrest affidavit.

Bryan Kohberger, 28, was extradited to Idaho this week to be tried in the 13 November deaths of Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21.

The affidavit unsealed on Thursday details how Mr Kohberger, a student at Washington State University, right across the state border from the UI campus, had applied for an internship in fall 2022 with the Pullman Police Department.

“Kohberger wrote in his essay he had interest in assisting rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations,” the affidavit states.

“Kohberger also posted a Reddit survey which can be found by an open-source internet search. The survey asked for participants to provide information to ‘understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision making when committing a crime.’”

Prior to his WSU studies, Kohberger had obtained a masters in criminal justice from DeSales University in his native Pennsylvania. He had also worked as a part-time security officer in Pleasant Valley School District, which had also employed his mother and father.

Pullman Police Department on Thursday did not immediately return a request from The Independent about whether Kohberger was actually granted the internship. An Idaho judge has issued a gag order in the case barring law enforcement from commenting on most matters relating to the murders.

The affidavit was filled with several other stunning revelations about the murders, including that a surviving roommate of the victims saw the masked killer in the home.

It also revealed that Mr Kohberger’s cellphone pinged in the vicinity of the home at least 12 times in the months before the murders - and may have returned to the scene hours after.

The DNA that linked Mr Kohberger to the killings was found on a knife sheath left next to the victims, the affidavit states.

Mr Kohberger appeared in Idaho court for the first time on Thursday, where a judge read out the charges against him and ordered he be held without bond.