Suspect arrested in brutal murder of four University of Idaho students

More than a month after four US university students were brutally stabbed to death in their beds police have arrested a 28-year-old man.

A 25-year-old suspect was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection to the slayings of four University of Idaho students. Instagram

A 28-year-old suspect is in custody in connection with the slaying of four University of Idaho students.

Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested by police and the FBI around 3am on Friday morning (7pm, Friday AEDT) in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

News outlets have named the man as Bryan Christopher Kohberger. He appeared in court on Friday morning, and is reportedly a college student but did not attend the University of Idaho, reported the New York Post.

Kohberger, who briefly appeared in court Friday morning, appears to have been pursuing a doctorate in criminal justice at Washington State University in Pullman, less than 10 miles from Moscow, where the killings took place.

Following the pre-dawn police raid, a car matching the description of the white Hyundai Elantra authorities have said they were looking for in connection to the murders was also seized.

Kohberger’s DNA has also been matched to samples recovered at the scene of the crimes, according to CNN.

News of the arrest comes almost seven weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were found stabbed to death in their beds at their home in Moscow, Idaho – 500km inland from Seattle – on November 13.

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University of Idaho murder victims (and two housemates that survived) – Left to right – Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves (with Madison Mogen on shoulders), Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke. Picture: Instagram

Bryan Christopher Kohberger was taken into custody by police and the FBI around 3am Friday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, according to reports. Picture: Monroe County Correctional Facility

Two other roommates were also home at the time of the killings, but were left unharmed.

Local police have been joined by the FBI and State Police in a huge investigation to find the killer and had combed through some 20,000 tips and collected thousands of pieces of evidence in relation to the grisly murders.

Law enforcement sources described the bloody crime scene as “the worst they’ve seen” and photos showed blood oozing down the side of the building.

Moscow Police and the University of Idaho are set to hold a press conference at 1pm Friday (8am, Saturday AEDT) to announce more details, and did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the arrest.

Murder victims Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Picture: Instagram

The vicious slayings — which saw each of the victims disturbed in their sleep then stabbed multiple times in their chest area — have dominated headlines for several weeks, with experts and amateurs alike speculating on possible motives and suspects.

Best friends Ms Goncalves and Ms Mogen, who met in the sixth grade, were last seen on surveillance footage at Moscow’s Corner Club just hours before the stabbings. They subsequently stopped at a food truck before returning to their rented home before 2am. Ms Kernodle and Mr Chapin had been at a party at the nearby Sigma Chi fraternity house and had arrived home shortly before.

University of Idaho murder victims – Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle. Picture: Instagram

Police say the four students were murdered sometime between 3 and 4am but they were not discovered by roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke until much later that morning. Mr Mortensen and Ms Funke had become worried when they could not contact their friends and called police, who made the grim discovery.

Amid criticism for a supposed lack of progress, Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry previously told press any information was useful to his department and urged people to come forward.

“Whether you believe it is significant or not, your information might be one of the puzzle pieces that help solve these murders,” he said.

As of this week, police were also continuing their search for a white 2011-13 Hyundai Elantra that was believed to have been in the area at the time of the murders. According to investigators, the occupant of the correct car may have “critical information” related to the case, but as of Friday morning, there was no confirmation whether the suspect in custody was connected to the vehicle.

Kaylee Goncalves (left), of Rathdrum, Idaho, and Madison Mogen (right), of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, were good friends despite being in separate sororities. Picture: Maddie Morgan/Instagram

University of Idaho murder victim – Xana Kernodle. Picture: Instagram

Despite the slow process of the investigation, Ms Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, told the Spokesman-Review newspaper he was hopeful justice would be served.

“From the very beginning, I’ve known people don’t get away with these things these days. There’s too many things that you can get caught up on, like DNA and videos everywhere,” the grieving dad said.

The murders, which took place in mid November, shook the campus in the small city of 25,000 along the border of Washington state.

Mr Chapin was a freshman majoring in recreation, sport and tourism management originally from Mount Vernon, Washington, according to the university. Ms Kernodle had been a junior marketing major and was a Post Falls, Idaho, native.

Ms Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies from Rathdrum, Idaho, and Ms Mogen was a senior majoring in marketing from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

A chilling photo posted on Instagram hours before the murders showed the four roommates together, smiling, with Ms Mogen on Ms Goncalves’ shoulders.

“One lucky girl to be surrounded by these people every day,” Ms Goncalves wrote.

This story appeared in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.