Pennsylvania cold cases under review for possible links to Bryan Kohberger

Investigators in Pennsylvania counties where Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger attended college are digging through cold case files for potential connections to the alleged killer.

Kohberger, 28 — who was arrested in December in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students — previously studied at Northampton Community College and DeSales University, both in Pennsylvania.

“Your natural question is to start wondering, ‘Is this guy wanted?’” Northampton County District Attorney Terence Houck told KING 5 News this week.

While authorities previously confirmed that Kohberger had no previous criminal records, Houck said he ordered his staff to review their local cold cases for possible links to the suspect.

Northampton County authorities used a crime information center to comb unsolved cases for Kohberger’s height, weight, methodology and other characteristics, but they did not find any connections.

“In fact, nothing with respect to Kohberger has come about in our investigations of cold cases or unsolved cases to this point, but we always continue to investigate and pursue leads,” he said.

Houck’s efforts mirrored those of Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin, whose jurisdiction covers the DeSales University area.

“The first thing I did [after Kohberger’s arrest] was ask the director of the [Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center] to see if we had any contact with Mr. Kohberger,” Martin told KING5.

Martin’s search, however, only turned up a 911 call Kohberger placed when his car was locked behind a gate on a bike trail.

Here’s the latest coverage on the brutal killings of four college friends:

“And there was a response from him thanking the police and apologizing for the inconvenience,” he said of the incident, noting that the county does not have any unsolved murders that fit the MO of the Idaho slayings.

Kohberger was arrested on Dec. 30 at his parents’ Albrightsville home for the Nov. 13 stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. 

No motive has been released for the killings.

Previous acquaintances described him as a loner who struggled with heroin addiction in the past, and one former FBI agent attributed his alleged crimes to an “incel complex.” 

Kohberger was extradited from Pennsylvania and remains incarcerated in Latah County, Idaho. He faces four counts of homicide and one count of first-degree burglary, and is due back in court on June 26.