Officials have revealed that Bryan Kohberger, the man accused in the tragic murders of four University of Idaho students, was once investigated for a home invasion in a neighboring city. This earlier case happened more than a year before the students were killed and just 10 miles away from the site of the horrific crime.
Recently released police body camera footage sheds light on the 2021 incident in Pullman, Washington. The video shows officers responding to a report of a terrifying home invasion. It happened around 3:30 a.m. in October 2021 when a woman said she was confronted by a masked intruder armed with a knife. She recounted the terrifying encounter to police, explaining how she reacted when the person entered her bedroom.
“I heard my door open and saw someone in a ski mask holding a knife,” the woman said. “I kicked them in the stomach, screamed as loud as I could, and they flew back into my closet before running out of the room and up the stairs.” One of her roommates immediately called the police, but officers couldn’t find any suspects or evidence at the time.
Fast forward to November 13, 2022, when the small college town of Moscow, Idaho, was shaken by the brutal stabbing deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. The attack happened in their off-campus home, also in the early morning hours. A surviving housemate told investigators she saw a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” after hearing crying and a struggle.
Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University in Pullman, was arrested weeks later at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania. Prosecutors say Kohberger broke into the students’ house and used a large knife to commit the unthinkable crime. He now faces four first-degree murder charges and one count of felony burglary.
Interestingly, Kohberger was named a person of interest in the Pullman home invasion case just 13 days after the murders in Moscow. At first glance, the similarities were striking—both incidents involved a masked intruder, a knife, and occurred in the early morning hours. However, investigators eventually ruled him out in the Pullman case. The victim in Pullman described the intruder as being much shorter—between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-5—while Kohberger stands six feet tall. Additionally, Kohberger wasn’t enrolled at Washington State University at the time of the Pullman incident.
Despite the similarities, Pullman police have closed that case, and it remains unsolved. The victim in the home invasion expressed her disappointment, saying her family wished the investigation had been more thorough.
As for Kohberger, his trial for the Moscow murders is set to begin in August 2025. It’s uncertain whether his defense team will mention the Pullman case in court as part of their strategy to create reasonable doubt. For now, Kohberger remains in custody without bail and could face the death penalty if convicted. His next court date is scheduled for January 23.
