WSU/Instagram (Kaylee Goncalves) Bryan Kohberger (l) and the Idaho victims (r).
Bryan Kohberger may have followed the three female victims in the Idaho murders on Instagram, People Magazine is reporting through a source. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho college students at their home in Moscow on November 13, 2022.
According to People, citing an unnamed “investigator familiar with the case,” Kohberger is accused of sending a series of messages to one of the victims on Instagram, but the account he used has been deleted.
Authorities have not confirmed those details, and People Magazine did not name the Instagram account. Fox News reported that an Instagram account using the handle @crim.kohberger has now been deleted.
There are other Instagram pages using Kohberger’s name, but some of those are still active and were created after the murders, according to Fox News, which reported it wasn’t clear whether any of those belonged to Kohberger.
On Reddit, people debated the veracity of the People Magazine report, with many saying verifying Kohberger’s Instagram accounts, if any, is complicated by what appear to be fake accounts created after his arrest.
A probable cause affidavit in the case did not outline a motive but accused Kohberger of stabbing the four University of Idaho students to death. The victims, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, were all stabbed to death in their off-campus rental home in Moscow Idaho, in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, according to previous Moscow police press releases on the case.
Kohberger is charged with their murders, but his lawyer told Law and Crime’s Sidebar podcast that Kohberger believes he will be exonerated.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Instagram Page the Source Believes Kohberger Used ‘Slid Into One of the Girls’ DMs,’ People Reports
According to People Magazine, an account police think was Kohberger’s “sent a greeting to one of the female victims,” but didn’t get a reply. The account then sent her more messages, People reported, again citing the anonymous investigator. That victim was not named.
“He slid into one of the girls’ DMs several times but she didn’t respond,” a source told People Magazine. “Basically, it was just him saying, ‘Hey, how are you?’ But he did it again and again.”
People Magazine also reported that the now-deleted Instagram account “followed the accounts of Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle, but there was no public interaction.” According to People, investigators aren’t sure whether the victims were even aware of Kohberger’s existence or the messages.
People Magazine also reported that Kohberger visited the Mad Greek restaurant where victims Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle worked.
Casey Arntz, who knew Kohberger in high school, said in TikTok videos that she doesn’t think any of the Instagram accounts in his name are real, with the possible exception of an Instagram page following two of the victims.
Goncalves’ Parents’ Attorney Says ‘No One’ Knew Kohberger Before the Arrest
InstagramKaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen called a man named Jack multiple times.
Shanon Gray, the attorney for Goncalves’ parents, told Fox News that “no one” knew about Kohberger before the murders.
“Any information any of the families gather regarding connections to any of the victims will be turned over to the Moscow Police Department,” he told Fox News Digital.
A search warrant return indicates that authorities confiscated a black glove, hair strands, and red spots/reddish brown stains, among other items, from Kohberger’s apartment, according to ABC7.
Some online writings of Kohberger’s have been confirmed by media outlets. The New York Times reported that Kohberger, when he was a teenager, posted comments on an online forum, including, “I have had VS [visual snow] since September 21st of 2009. Since then I have changed, mainly from the anxiety and sense of derealization and hopelessness.”
There is also a theory that Kohberger might have been behind a Facebook page named Pappa Rodger that commented in an online sleuthing group about the case, but this has not been verified.
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