An Albrightsville man is being held in Monroe County Correctional Facility with no bail, awaiting extradition in the deaths of four Idaho college students on Nov. 13.

Pennsylvania State Police from Troop N in Hazleton took Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, into custody at 1:30 a.m. Friday at his family’s home in Indian Mountain Lakes, Chestnuthill Township. A Special Emergency Response Team assisted at the scene.

He was reported to be under FBI surveillance for two weeks.

Kohberger is being charged with first-degree murder in the death of the University of Idaho students, and one count of felony burglary. He will have an extradition hearing at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Monroe County Court.

In a news conference Friday afternoon, Idaho authorities released few details in the case against Kohberger, a security guard in the Pleasant Valley School District from 2018 until his resignation in 2021.

Chief James Fry of the Moscow Police Department said they received more than 19,000 tips in the case. One of them, a white Hyundai Elantra spotted near the murder scene, led them to Kohberger, a Ph.D. student at Washington State University. He lived in an apartment in Pullman, Washington, a short drive from the University of Idaho.

The students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20; were likely asleep when they were each stabbed multiple times in the early hours of Nov. 13, Fry said.

The case broke open after law enforcement asked the public for help finding the white sedan seen near the home around the time of the killings. The Moscow Police Department made the request Dec. 7. By the next day a special FBI call center was needed because so many tips were coming in.

Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington, were members of the university’s Greek system and close friends.

Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle lived in the three-story rental home with two other roommates. Kernodle and Chapin were dating and he was visiting the house that night.

Two victims were found on the second floor of the house, and the other two on the third floor, Fry said.

Police said there were no signs of sexual assault.

Documents sealed

The affidavit of probable cause and details of the case are sealed until Kohberger is charged in Idaho.

However, Fry said, “Our work is not done. We’re just getting started and will pursue every lead.”

He asked people to continue to call in tips.

Police have found an Elantra, but have not recovered a murder weapon, Fry said.

It was reported that DNA from the scene was a match to Kohberger.

Bill Thompson, Latah County, Idaho, prosecutor, said investigators believe Kohberger broke into the students’ home “with the intent to commit murder.”

Remediation had begun at the house where the students were killed Friday, but it was stopped by the court, Fry said.

Fry told media, “Please ask the public to come forward to report anything they know about him, what happened and why.”

He said he was not looking for one thing in particular. “Report anything and everything. We’ll decide which pieces of information to use.”

Fry said with Kohberger in custody, “We do believe the community is safe.”

The suspect

According to Times News archives, Kohberger graduated from Northampton Community College in 2018 with an associate degree in liberal arts, with a concentration in psychology; from DeSales University in 2020 with a degree in psychology and earned a Master of Arts in criminal justice from DeSales in May 2022.

During his time at DeSales, Kohberger was listed on the dean’s list and was a member of Psi Beta, a student psychology organization.

Kohberger’s sister Melissa Kohberger, who works as mental health therapist, wrote a poem about the Uvalde, Texas, shootings that was published in the Pocono Record in June.

According to published news reports, a Reddit user who identified himself as Bryan Kohberger shared a request seven months ago asking people to participate in a research project “that seeks to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.”

Ben Roberts, a graduate student in the criminology and criminal justice department at WSU, described Kohberger as confident and outgoing, but said it seemed like “he was always looking for a way to fit in.”

“It’s pretty out of left field,” he said of the news Friday. “I had honestly just pegged him as being super awkward.”

Roberts started the program in August - along with Kohberger, he said - and had several courses with him. He described Kohberger as wanting to appear academic.

“One thing he would always do, almost without fail, was find the most complicated way to explain something,” he said. “He had to make sure you knew that he knew it.”

University statements

Both Washington State University and DeSales released statements about the charges

Washington State University said its police department assisted Idaho law enforcement officials in the execution of search warrants Friday morning at Kohberger’s apartment and office, which are both located on the WSU Pullman campus.

Elizabeth Chilton, chancellor of the WSU Pullman campus and WSU provost, said. “We will long feel the loss of these young people in the Moscow-Pullman community and hope the announcement today will be a step toward healing.”

DeSales said, “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.”

The stabbing deaths shook the small town of Moscow, Idaho, a farming community of about 25,000 people - including roughly 11,000 students - tucked in the rolling hills of the northern Idaho’s Palouse region.

The case also enticed online sleuths who speculated about potential suspects and motives. In the early days of the investigation, police released relatively few details publicly.

Fears of a repeat attack prompted nearly half of the University of Idaho students to switch to online classes for the remainder of the semester, abandoning dorms and apartments in the normally bucolic town for the perceived safety of their hometowns.

Safety concerns also had the university hiring an additional security firm to escort students across campus and the Idaho State Police sending troopers to help patrol the city’s streets.

To report information about Kohberger, call 208-883-7180 or email tipline@ci.moscow.id.us.

Times News staffers Terry Ahner, Amy Miller, Tom DeSchriver and Kristine Porter contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this story.