University of Idaho president thanks community for support after arrest in campus murders

The president of the University of Idaho said Friday’s news that a suspect had been arrested in connection with the brutal deaths of four students last month “was a welcome one.”

Speaking to reporters, Scott Green thanked the community for the support that “helped sustain us during this most trying time” following the Nov. 13 slayings of Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; and Madison Mogen, 21.

“Kindness is contagious and it provided the light and reclaimed ground lost to evil and darkness,” he said during a Friday afternoon news conference in the town of Moscow. 

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO MURDERS TIMELINE: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SLAUGHTER OF FOUR STUDENTS

During the press conference, authorities confirmed the arrest of Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, who was taken into custody by local police and the FBI at 3 a.m. in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. He is being held for first-degree murder pending extradition to Idaho.  

He is expected in court Tuesday. 

Kohberger is a graduate student at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, just a few minutes drive from where the four students were stabbed to death. Fox News Digital has reached out to both universities. 

Elizabeth Chilton, chancellor of the WSU Pullman campus and WSU provost, said the “horrific act has shaken everyone in the Palouse region.”

“We also want to extend our deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and Vandal colleagues who were impacted by these murders,” Chilton said. “We will long feel the loss of these young people in the Moscow-Pullman community and hope the announcement today will be a step toward healing.”

In the weeks after the killings, Kohberger had completed his first semester as a PhD student in WSU’s criminal justice program earlier this month, she said. 

Moscow Police Chief James Fry revealed few details about Kohberger’s alleged involvement in the crime and declined to disclose a potential motive. He said investigators received about 19,000 tips and conducted more than 300 interviews. 

The four students were each stabbed multiple times in the torso and were likely ambushed in their sleep with a large fix-bladed knife between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, according to the coroner and police. 

Two surviving female roommates, who lived on the basement level, appeared to have slept through the gruesome attack.

Fry said law enforcement will continue it’s larger presence on campus as the new semester is slated to begin. He also asked tipsters to continue to contact investigators as authorities continue to build their case.  

“These murders have shaken our community and no arrest will ever bring back these young students,” he said. “However, we do believe justice will be found through the criminal process.”