OAN Annyatama Bhowmik
UPDATED 12:41 PM PT – Monday, January 2, 2023
After his arrest on Friday, Bryan Kohberger’s family has finally given a statement on his alleged involvement in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students on November 13th.
Pennsylvania Chief Public Defender of Monroe County Jason A. LaBar issued a statement on behalf of Kohberger’s parents Michael and Marianne Kohberger as well as his sisters Amanda and Melissa.
“First and foremost we care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children. There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them. We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother. 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. We respect privacy in this matter as our family and the families suffering loss can move forward through the legal process,” the family said.
According to LaBar, the 28-year-old’s father took a plane from his Poconos home to Washington before taking a planned cross-country road journey back to Pennsylvania.
“Driving cross country took them about two and a half days. Mr. Kohberger indicated that Bryan was acting normal and not out of character during that drive from Washington,” LaBar said.
On Friday, local police and the FBI arrested Bryan Christopher Kohberger at his parent’s home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeast, some 2,500 miles from the Idaho campus.
Kohberger was taken into custody on a warrant charging him with four counts of murder in relation to the quadruple murders. He was also charged with burglary and breaking into the home in Moscow with the purpose of committing a felony.
Authorities attested that they were able to connect Kohberger to the crime through DNA evidence and his ownership of a white Hyundai Elantra, which was purportedly observed close to the murder scene in Moscow, Idaho, the night of the murder. However, the police have not disclosed the motive for the investigation or if they believe Kohberger knew the victims.
The families of the victims say they are hopeful that Kohberger’s arrest will bring justice.