Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the Idaho quadruple murder case, was previously investigated for a chilling home invasion in Pullman, Washington, just 10 miles from the scene of the Moscow killings. This revelation adds a haunting layer to one of the most notorious murder cases in recent memory.
The Pullman home invasion occurred in October 2021, over a year before the November 2022 slaying of four University of Idaho students. In the invasion, a masked intruder entered a young woman’s bedroom at approximately 3:30 a.m., silently wielding a knife. The victim recalled in newly released body camera footage obtained by ABC News, “I heard my door open, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife. I kicked them in the stomach and screamed loud enough to scare them off.”
Despite her quick response and her roommate’s immediate 911 call, officers found no evidence or trace of the suspect. The case remains unsolved.
Just over a year later, on November 13, 2022, Moscow, Idaho, was shattered by the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. The four students were stabbed to death in the early morning hours in their off-campus home. Survivors in the house described a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing the scene.
Initially, Kohberger was named a person of interest in the Pullman case due to eerie similarities. Both incidents involved a masked intruder armed with a knife entering homes in the dead of night. However, police later ruled him out, citing critical discrepancies. The Pullman victim described her attacker as 5’3″ to 5’5″, while Kohberger stands six feet tall. Additionally, Kohberger was not enrolled at Washington State University during the 2021 incident.
Kohberger, 28, was arrested in December 2022 at his parents’ Pennsylvania home. A criminology PhD student at Washington State University, he faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. Prosecutors allege Kohberger meticulously planned the Idaho murders, citing DNA evidence from a knife sheath left at the crime scene and cell phone data placing him near the victims’ home.
While Kohberger denies involvement, he has filed multiple challenges to evidence obtained during his arrest. His alibi, filed in 2023, claims he was on “late-night drives” at the time of the murders. His trial, set for jury selection on July 30, 2025, will be held in Ada County, Idaho, in an effort to secure an impartial jury.
Kohberger’s background in criminology and the proximity of the Pullman case to the Moscow murders continue to draw intense scrutiny. Although the Pullman home invasion case is officially closed, its chilling parallels to the Moscow tragedy linger as part of the broader mystery surrounding Kohberger’s alleged crimes.
