Former FBI Official Explains How Agents Tracked, Surveilled Bryan Kohberger

A former FBI official offered praise for the bureau's surveillance capabilities as he explained how Bryan Kohberger was tracked in connection to the Moscow, Idaho, murders.

Kohberger, a 28-year-old Ph.D. student and Washington State University teaching assistant, was arrested early on Friday morning and charged with the killings of four University of Idaho students in mid-November that rocked the college town of Moscow. Police believe that Kohberger broke into the students' shared living space "with the intent to commit murder" before traveling cross-country to visit his parents in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, where he was ultimately arrested.

Appearing on CNN on Saturday, Andrew McCabe, who served as a deputy director for the FBI from 2016 to 2018, explained how agents were able to delicately surveil the suspect over the past several weeks. As he explained, Kohberger was on the "radar" of investigators before he left Idaho for Pennsylvania, allowing agents to track him from the beginning.

"It's an incredibly complicated, well-choreographed ballet, if I may, of surveillance efforts that would cross multiple FBI field divisions," McCabe said. "Would involve multiple surveillance teams who were following him in certain areas and handing him off to new teams."

McCabe also explained that, once in Pennsylvania, the surveillance efforts surrounding Kohberger needed further care and finesse, so as not to stand out to residents, a common issue agents face in rural areas such as this one.

"That surveillance ends up in Pennsylvania, what we know as a very rural area," he added. "It can be very challenging to surveil someone in those circumstances because any kind of vehicles or people that aren't normally from that area, really stand out to the local population and, of course, to the subject. So, great job by the FBI surveillance teams here to be able to maintain an eye on this subject while the investigators and prosecutors were working back in Idaho. They get their probable cause, and get in front of a judge and get an arrest warrant."

Chief public defender Jason LaBar, the attorney representing Kohberger, said that his client plans to waive his extradition hearing on Tuesday, so that he can be returned to Idaho swiftly to challenge the charges against him.

"Mr. Kohberger is eager to be exonerated of these charges and looks forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible," LaBar said in a statement. "Mr. Kohberger has been accused of very serious crimes, but the American justice system cloaks him in a veil of innocence. He should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise— not tried in the court of public opinion."

Moscow Police Department Captain Anthony Dahlinger said on Saturday that officials are certain Kohberger was responsible for the killings of students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. It has not yet been disclosed if Kohberger was acquainted with any of them or what his potential motives might have been.

"The FBI has committed its full support to our partners with the Moscow Police Department in an effort to solve this horrific case and bring some resolution for the victims' families," FBI Salt Lake City's Special Agent in Charge Dennis Rice said in response to an inquiry from Newsweek.

"Though nothing can bring Madison, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan back, we remain dedicated to working with our state and local partners throughout this investigation."

Updated, 1/1/2023, 6:00 p.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from the FBI.