Convicted killer Bryan Kohberger collected creepy mementos from women in his past life before he moved across the country to Idaho and slaughtered four students in the dead of the night.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told the Idaho Statesman that, at the time of his arrest, the 30-year-old criminology PhD student was in possession of ‘ID-type cards’ belonging to two women he knew years before the murders.
At least one of the women was the killer’s former colleague at the Pleasant Valley School District in Pennsylvania.
Thompson revealed the chilling new details about the case one week after Kohberger was sentenced to a lifetime behind bars for the 2022 murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
The prosecutor – whose decision to strike a plea deal with the mass killer divided the victims’ families – did not reveal the identities of the women whose IDs were taken.
It is also not clear how Kohberger obtained the IDs – or what he planned to do with them.
But he said the discovery Kohberger had collected their IDs came as a surprise to both women. Neither of the women had been ‘harmed or threatened,’ he added.
Kohberger attended Pleasant Valley School District schools growing up, graduating from the high school in 2013.
Bryan Kohberger seen in a new mugshot after he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders
Left to right: Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke
He then worked part time as a security officer for the district from 2016 through 2021, while pursuing his studies in psychology and criminology.
Kohberger’s parents also worked for the district, Michael as a maintenance worker and MaryAnn a special needs paraprofessional.
The IDs were found hidden inside a glove inside a box during a search executed at Kohberger’s family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylania, following his December 30, 2022, arrest.
The revelation shines further light on Kohberger’s disturbing interactions with women and potential history of thefts in the years leading up to the murders.
In the early hours of November 13, 2022 – just months after moving from Pennsylvania to Washington that summer – Kohberger broke into the off-campus student home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, and stabbed the four victims to death.
After spending more than two years fighting the charges, Kohberger finally confessed to his crimes and pleaded guilty in Ada County Courthouse on July 2 in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table.
During an emotional sentencing hearing on July 23, Judge Steven Hippler handed Kohberger four life sentences with no possibility of parole for each count of first-degree murder and an additional 10 years for burglary.
Under the terms of the deal, Kohberger has waived his right to ever appeal.
Thompson spoke out following the sentencing and after a gag order that muzzled officials since the start of the case was finally lifted.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson revealed Kohberger was in possession of ‘ID-type cards’ belonging to two women he knew years before the murders
As well as sharing new information about evidence in the case, Thompson revealed for the first time which of Kohberger’s family members would have testified against him at trial.
Prosecutors previously revealed plans to call some of Kohberger’s immediate family members – his parents and two older sisters Amanda and Melissa – as witnesses for the state.
Kohberger’s defense had pushed back, claiming his family ‘loves him and supports him’ and had no desire to help the prosecution’s case.
Which family members and why remained a mystery, with the details kept under seal.
Thompson told the Idaho Statesman the plan had been to call Kohberger’s sister Amanda and either his mother or father if the case went to trial.
He did not divulge the exact reasoning for this.
But, as the trial date loomed, the state decided against calling any of the Kohberger family because they weren’t the ‘best witnesses’ and they had not shared anything ‘substantively incriminating’ during police interviews.
‘As we continued to review them as potential witnesses, we decided that they just simply weren’t the best witness to show what was going on,’ he said.
Bryan Kohberger in yearbook photos in his sophomore year (left) and senior year (right) at Pleasant Valley High School
‘The parents were understandably protective of their son, and the sister really didn’t seem to have anything specific that she could contribute.’
Kohberger’s family have said very little publicly since his arrest for the murders that shocked the nation.
MaryAnn is believed to have kept in close contact with her son throughout his time behind bars, according to records released by Moscow Police.
Both parents Michael and MaryAnn attended their son’s change of plea hearing, looking stricken and emotional as he confessed to the murders.
MaryAnn and Amanda were then present at his sentencing, without Michael.
The two women sobbed as the victims’ families delivered gut-wrenching impact statements, confronting the man who slaughtered their loved ones and sharing their harrowing grief. Kohberger callously watched with no flicker of emotion or remorse.
Kohberger’s other sister Melissa, meanwhile, has not attended any of his court hearings since his extradition hearing from Pennsylvania in January 2023.
Despite his guilty plea, many unanswered questions remain, including Kohberger’s motive, who his intended target was and why he chose his victims.
Kohberger refused to shed any light on the murders or provide any answers at his sentencing.
Maryann and Amanda Kohberger outside Ada County Courthouse ahead of the sentencing of Bryan Kohberger
Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen inside the courtroom after delivering an emotional victim impact statement
When it was his chance to speak, he said: ‘I respectfully decline.’
However, new information is starting to be made public since Moscow Police released a trove of 314 records from the investigation that ultimately led to Kohberger’s arrest.
Among the revelations are reports from the victims’ friends and surviving roommates that there had been a string of disturbing incidents at 1122 King Road in the lead-up to the murders.
Goncalves had told friends she had seen a man watching her in the trees around the home and the roommates had come home to find the front door open one day.
It is not clear if these incidents are related to Kohberger but cell phone evidence does indicate he was surveilling the home months before the murders.
Kohberger is now being held in solitary confinement inside the Idaho Maximum Security Institution where he will see out his dying days.
