STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Bryan Kohberger, 28, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the slayings of four University of Idaho students, on Tuesday waived his right to extradition.
After Kohberger signed away that right, Monroe County President Judge Margherita P. Worthington accepted his decision, and let him to be taken to Idaho to face charges.
- Bryan Kohberger waived extradition at a hearing Tuesday in Monroe County Court
- Kohberger is a suspect in the slaying of four University of Idaho students
- He has ties to the Lehigh Valley, having graduated from Northampton Community College and DeSales University
The accused left the courtroom flanked by six law enforcement officers.
Pennsylvania State Police and Monroe County officials began a news conference a short while later.
During the briefing, Col. Robert Evanchick, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, said, “Specific details regarding this investigation cannot be released until the suspect is extradited to Idaho and presented with the probable cause affidavit.”
State police Maj. Christopher Paris spoke about the process of the investigation and the arrest of Kohberger, saying, "Mr. Kohberger was taken into custody without incident. The scene was turned over to the FBI Evidence Response Team to process. Mr. Kohberger was then turned over to the Monroe County prison where he has remained in their custody since."
Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Michael Manacuso said he believes "one of the main reasons the defendant chose to waive extradition and hurried back to return to Idaho, was the need to know what was in those documents.
He was referring to the fact that state law forces the contents of the affidavits to be sealed until Kohberger appears in Idaho — which Paris said is one reason they didn't answer many questions Tuesday. The other reason he cited was due to the "ongoing nature" of the investigation, he said.
The Monroe County District Attorney's Office will help Idaho authorities with a complete background investigation of Kohberger, including his time in Pennsylvania before and after the Nov. 13 killings, said Mike Mancuso, the county's first assistant district attorney.
Kohberger was taken into custody early Friday by state police in Chestnuthill Township, authorities said.
More than two hours before Tuesday's extradition hearing was set to start, dozens of media outlets from across the nation already were at the courthouse. So large was the throng that police blocked off several streets.
There were 100 people, mostly media, inside the courtroom as the hearing was about to start.
There was a heavy police presence — deputy sheriffs and state troopers — with about a dozen lining the doorways on each of two floors.
Across the street from the courthouse, Dennis and Andrei Protsouk, a father and son who are both Ukrainian immigrants, own an art gallery.
“It's tragic obviously — the killing of another person,” Dennis Protsouk said. “But I wish people would pay this much attention to other significant issues in the world.”
Asked whether the media attention on the Poconos could shed a negative light, Dennis Protsoul said, "I think it shouldn't be looked upon that way."
"I mean, bad things happen everywhere in the world," he said. "You have some of the most beautiful places in the world that have terrible things going on."
Ron Hertz, a Bethlehem lawyer who used to work right across the street from the courthouse in Stroudsburg, was in town for an unrelated trial, but couldn't escape the scene.
“It's sort of fascinating” Hertz said. “This stuff can happen anywhere but you wouldn't think it would be here. I used to do real estate law in an area where his parents owned a house, so that kind of brings it home even more. “
LaBar, the public defender, said over the weekend that Kohberger should be presumed innocent and "not tried in the court of public opinion," but authorities said they believe Kohberger is responsible for all four murders.
“We believe we’ve got our man,” said Capt. Anthony Dahlinger, of the Moscow (Idaho) Police Department.
Dahlinger said police obtained samples of Kohberger’s DNA from him after he was arrested.
Kohberger's family, including his parents, said in a statement released Sunday that they “care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children. There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them.”
Family members said they will continue to let the legal process play out, and that “as a family we will love and support our son and brother.” They said they have cooperated with law enforcement to “seek the truth and promote [Kohberger's] presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions.”
Authorities in Idaho believe Kohberger broke into a home near the university campus on Nov. 13 intending to commit murder.
The bodies of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were discovered hours later.
Prosecutors have said the affidavit listing four charges of first-degree murder will remain sealed until Kohberger is returned to Idaho. He also is charged with felony burglary.
Kohberger is a doctoral student and teaching assistant in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University.
He received a bachelor's degree in 2020 at DeSales University in Center Valley and completed his graduate studies this past June, according to the university.
Kohberger was awarded a master of arts degree in criminal justice and was a student of forensic psychology Professor Katherine Ramsland, a renowned expert in serial killers who wrote dozens of books and served as a television crime commentator.
"As a Catholic, Salesian community, we are devastated by this senseless tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families during this difficult time," Carolyn Steigleman, DeSales' associate vice president of marketing and communications, said in a statement Friday.
Before attending DeSales, Kohberger received an associate's degree in psychology in 2018 at Northampton Community College.
Mariella Miller, Kat Dickey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
