Bryan Kohberger Stopped Police Interview After Question About Idaho Murders

The top suspect in the murder of four University of Idaho college students initially agreed to talk with police but allegedly stopped the interview after they began to ask questions about the murders.

According to a Monday report published by Law & Crime—a legal affairs website—Kohberger initially waived his right to counsel following his arrest in a rural Pennsylvania town, where he was apprehended by local law enforcement in the early hours of December 30.

Facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in connection to the November deaths of the four students in Moscow, Idaho, Kohberger initially spoke with law enforcement between five and 15 minutes at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks following his early morning arrest.

However, after he was asked a question about the murders, Kohberger apparently requested an attorney, according to the public defender representing him in Pennsylvania, who said he was "shocked" over the allegations.

"Mr. Kohberger has been accused of very serious crimes, but the American justice system cloaks him in a veil of innocence," chief public defender Jason LaBar wrote in a statement after his arrest. "He should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise—not tried in the court of public opinion."

"Mr. Kohberger is eager to be exonerated of these charges and looks forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible," he added.

According to police, Kohberger allegedly broke into a shared residence where students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were present "with the intent to commit murder" before traveling in a white Hyundai to Pennsylvania, where he was apprehended around 2 a.m. on December 30.

Kohberger was allegedly on law enforcement's radar well before leaving Idaho, police said, while they closely tracked his movements until they established probable cause to arrest him.

While little is known about Kohberger, the national press has fixated on his relationship with a former professor who specialized in the psychology of serial killers. At the time of his arrest, Kohberger was a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University.

Police relied on a mixture of DNA evidence—which they tracked back to Kohberger's family using genetic genealogy—as well as cellphone tracking data to narrow the suspect list down to him, CNN reported.

Kohberger's family has largely declined to comment on specific details around the allegations, releasing a Sunday statement saying they were waiting until all available evidence had been examined in a court of law.

"We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother," they wrote. "We have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions."

Kohberger's extradition hearing will be held Tuesday afternoon in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, at 3:30 p.m. ET, after which he is likely to return to Idaho.