Bryan Kohberger Classmate Reveals Telltale Sign He Made About Idaho Murders

Bryan Kohberger was "completely silent" during a discussion of the University of Idaho murders of which he stands accused, according to a fellow Washington State University student.

Kohberger, who studied criminology as well as acting as a teaching assistant at the university, remained quiet during discussions on the killings of four University of Idaho students in Moscow, Idaho in November, a classmate of the accused told the Idaho Statesman.

The master's degree student, who is reported to have taken several classes with Kohberger, was granted anonymity by the publication. They described the 28-year-old accused as "an incredibly strong student" who "talked during class every time."

In what the outlet called a "lengthy conversation" about the killings of Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen, Kohberger's reticence to join the discussion appeared out of character, the graduate student claimed.

Another Washington State University classmate, named as criminal justice graduate student Ben Roberts, painted a picture of a typically "gregarious and outgoing" Kohberger, recalling how he would sit "front and center, and was not hiding or tucking back in the back."

Kohberger is facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary after the bodies of the four students were discovered in an off-campus residence on November 13.

Kohberger was arrested by law enforcement officers on December 30 at his family home in Pennsylvania, but then waived his extradition rights to be transported to Latah County Jail in Idaho.

He appeared in court in the state for the first time on January 5. His attorney during the extradition case, Jason LaBar, said Kohberger was "eager to be exonerated" and was "looking forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible."

Little information about the law enforcement investigation into the Ph.D. student was made public ahead of Kohberger's initial appearance in the state where the killings took place.

This included a possible motive, and whether or not Kohberger was known to the four victims.

However, the probable-cause affidavit, released on Thursday, offered insight into how the police used surveillance footage, DNA evidence and cell phone records to identify Kohberger as the alleged killer.

The affidavit described how investigators zeroed in on a white sedan spotted in surveillance footage close to the scene of the killings.

After police said in early December they were looking for a white Hyundai Elantra seen in the "immediate area of the King Street residence during the early morning hours of November 13th," a white Elantra was located at Kohberger's family home.

The affidavit also described DNA evidence obtained from a leather knife sheath at the scene of the slayings, and detailed how one of the two housemates not harmed during the killings saw a "figure clad in black clothing and a mask."

Newsweek has reached out to Kohberger's defense attorney, Anne Taylor, for comment.