The links between Bryan Kohberger and his college student victims, and if he knew them

After watching The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare on Netflix, people are still confused about whether Bryan Kohberger knew his victims – here are all the known links.

The new three-part documentary tells the shocking story of four University of Idaho college students who were murdered in November 2022. Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle, were fatally stabbed at their home in Moscow, and two other housemates who were in the house at the time survived.

28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, a PhD student from Washington State University, was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole, as well as another 10 years for burglary, after accepting a plea deal. But to this day, his motive behind the killings remains a mystery.

Credit: Netflix

Did Bryan Kohberger know the four college students he killed?

There is no evidence that Kohberger knew any of the victims. Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson, who led the investigation, said at a news conference: “To this date, we have never found a single connection, anything, between any of the four victims or the other two surviving roommates with him. No pictures, no texts.”

“Investigators said they spent countless hours searching for a connection between Kohberger and the residents of 1122 King Road in Moscow, but they came up empty,” he continued, as per the Idaho Statesman. “The reality also is that oftentimes those very things that you’re asking about, they’re only known to one person. It’s the person that commits those crimes. I think that’s probably what we have here.”

Credit: Netflix

The possible links between Bryan Kohberger and his victims

In reality, there is only one possible link between Bryan and the college students – the location where they lived and where he went to college.

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Kohberger was a PhD student at Washington State University in Pullman, which is around a 15-minute drive from the victims’ home in Moscow, Idaho. This means there is every possibility they ran into each other in the local area.

Surveillance footage showed Bryan Kohberger shopping in Moscow both before and after the November 2022 murders, including visiting a nearby Walmart and Albertsons, so he was active in that area. 

This means it’s very possible that Kohberger met one or more of the college housemates at a bar, shop or out in the street, but there is no evidence to prove this for certain.

Credit: Netflix

Following the murders, a rumour spread on social media that Kohberger encountered Madison Mogen at the restaurant where she worked, but law enforcement couldn’t substantiate this.

A June 2023 report in People also claimed that Kohberger followed Goncalves, Mogen and Kernodle on Instagram, but Moscow Police Cpl. Brett Payne said police never found any evidence of a social media connection.

So, the fact that Kohberger was often seen out in Moscow, the same town where the college students lived, still remains the only known link to this day.

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Featured image credit: Netflix