🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Bodycam footage from a December traffic stop in Indiana involving Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the University of Idaho murders, shows his father describing the 28-year-old as "punchy" to an officer.
Newly obtained body camera video shows Indiana State Police (ISP) unknowingly pulling over Kohberger and his father on December 15 during a cross-country drive. The video was shared on Twitter by Brian Entin of NewsNation.
After explaining that the father and son were driving from Washington State University, where Kohberger was a Ph.D. student in criminal justice and criminology, the dad, who is in the passenger seat, says they're "slightly punchy" because they've been driving for "hours and hours." Kohberger, who was driving, was then let off with a verbal warning to avoid following too closely behind other cars.
Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania on Friday for charges of first-degree murder and burglary charges. His arrest came a month and a half after four students at the University of Idaho were stabbed to death at their off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13. Kohberger was a student at a campus 10 miles away from the murders.
In a Wednesday statement, ISP said the trooper let the father and son go as there was no information related to a potential suspect in the November murders at the time of the traffic stop.
"At the time of this stop, there was no information available on a suspect for the crime in Idaho, to include identifying information or any specific information related to the license plate state or number of the white Hyundai Elantra which was being reported in the media to have been seen in or around where the crime occurred," the statement read.
Less than 10 minutes before ISP pulled, Kohberger and his father were pulled over by a deputy with the Hancock County Sheriff's Office for speeding.
After Kohberger finished his semester last month, he drove home to Pennsylvania with his father for the holidays. The two arrived on December 17 in the Hyundai Elantra found at his parents' home.
On Tuesday, Kohberger waived extradition from his home state to face the murder charges in Idaho. His attorney has said that he believes he's going to be exonerated from the charges.
It remains unknown as to what Kohberger's connections to the victims were and what the motive was. However, his DNA was matched to genetic material recovered at the scene of the crime and investigators were able to trace the ownership of the Elantra that had been seen in the area of the slayings, to the Ph.D. student.
Newsweek reached to ISP for comment.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more