CNN
—
The close-knit University of Idaho community has been rocked for weeks after the stabbing of four students in November, but the recent arrest of a suspect has put the campus at ease as students return to classes this week. You may be able to regain your senses.
Torrey Lawrence, the university’s president and executive vice president, told CNN on Friday, “I think I can speak for many in our community that there is a huge sense of relief, but this It’s bittersweet because it’s still a horrific tragedy.”
Brian Coberger, 28, has been charged with the murder of student Cary Goncalves, 21. Madison Morgen, 21 years old. Xana Carnodle, 20 years old. On November 13th, Ethan Chapin, 20, was found stabbed to death in his off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
The gruesome murders rocked a campus community and the city of Moscow, which had been murder-free since 2015. As weeks passed without a suspect being identified, some students began leaving campus to complete semesters remotely.
Classes will resume on Wednesday after winter break, and students still unsure about being on campus will have the option to attend remotely, but most students plan to return, Lawrence said.
“The timing was probably good for the students,” the president said, adding, “I hope we can really focus on the start of classes and the student experience we provide.”
Although some measures, such as the presence of state patrols, are no longer in place, campus security will continue to be enhanced, he said.
Still, he said, the students in the “very peaceful and safe community” they had enjoyed before being murdered experienced “a loss of innocence.”
Authorities said the lone suspect, Coberger, was pursuing a PhD in criminal justice at nearby Washington State University at the time of the incident and lived just minutes from the scene of the incident.
Investigators said in an affidavit detailing evidence against him, phone records show Coberger was near the victim’s home at least 12 times between June 2022 and now. Records also show the suspect was near the residence on the morning of the killing, court documents say.
According to the affidavit, DNA recovered from the Coberger family’s trash was linked to DNA found in a tan leather knife sheath found in the bed of one of the victims. His DNA in the trash is believed to belong to the biological father of the person whose DNA was found in the pod, the documents say.
The suspect, a white Hyundai Elantra, was also seen near the victim’s home before and after the killing, investigators said. State license records and court documents revealed.
Coberger made his first court appearance in Idaho on Thursday and did not file a plea at the hearing.
Officials said Coberger was seen cleaning his car thoroughly and wearing surgical gloves repeatedly outside his family’s home in Pennsylvania before he was arrested. .
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was briefed on observations made by investigators during the four days of surveillance before Coberger’s arrest at his parents’ home.
Law enforcement sources said Coberger “cleaned the inside and outside of the car without missing an inch.”
According to multiple law enforcement sources, the surveillance team assigned to Coberger was tasked with two tasks. One is to keep an eye on Coberger so that he can be arrested as soon as a warrant is issued, and to try to obtain an object from Coberger that produces his DNA sample. , which can then be compared to his DNA evidence found at the crime scene.
According to law enforcement sources, Coberger was repeatedly seen wearing surgical gloves outside his home in Pennsylvania.
According to sources, in one instance before Coberger’s arrest, authorities observed him leaving the family’s home around 4 a.m. and putting garbage bags in a neighborhood trash can. . At that point, the agents retrieved the trash from the Koberger household’s trash can and were observed leaving it in the neighbor’s trash can.
According to sources, the recovered items were sent to the Idaho State Laboratory.
Last Friday, a Pennsylvania State Police SWAT team broke into the Coberger family’s home and smashed the door and window, known as “Dynamic Entry.” Added source.
