Prosecutor: Kohberger bought Ka-Bar knife before murders
Prosecutor also includs selfie Kohberger took only hours after the 2022 murders
Among the numerous court documents released Wednesday in the Bryan Kohberger case, the prosecution included details about his purchase of a Ka-Bar knife months before the Nov. 13, 2022, murders of four University of Idaho students.
They also included a photograph Kohberger took of himself hours after the murders occurred.
Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
In April 2023, law enforcement was granted a search warrant for Kohberger’s Amazon user activity for the months of March, November and December of 2022.
Police allegedly found he purchased a Ka-Bar knife with a sheath and sharpener in March 2022. His click activity also indicates he searched for a knife with a sheath after the murders, the court document states.
A Ka-Bar knife sheath with a United States Marine Corps (USMC) logo was found lying next to one of the victims when police searched the King Road house where the murders occurred. DNA found on the sheath was traced to Kohberger.
The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office also included a selfie Kohberger took hours after the murders.
The selfie shows Kohberger smiling and giving a thumbs up in what appears to be a bathroom. The prosecution says it was taken at 10:31 a.m. Nov. 13, 2022.
This evidence was introduced to support a surviving witness’s description of the man she saw enter the King Road house the morning of the murders. The male was wearing a black mask, according to the witness, but she could see his bushy eyebrows.
Kohberger’s driver’s license was also included as evidence.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
