New court documents reveal a surviving housemate of four University of Idaho students killed in 2022 told detectives she saw a bushy-eyed intruder leave, and they weren't empty handed.
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Witness to Idaho college murders saw intruder with bushy eyebrows carry out vacuum
A surviving housemate of four University of Idaho students killed in a home invasion knife attack told detectives she saw a bushy-eyed intruder walking out the back door with a "vacuum-type object in his hand," after looking her in the eyes, according to newly unveiled court documents.
The revelation came in
Judge Steven Hippler's denial of 30-year-old suspect
Bryan Kohberger's motion for a Franks hearing — a rare legal proceeding in which the defendant has a chance to attack the warrants in court before trial.
His defense had attacked the witness's credibility, arguing that she admitted to being in a dreamlike state after witnessing the traumatic attack. The judge said the argument could be "fodder" for cross-examination at trial but had no bearing on the probable cause used to justify the suspect's arrest.
Although the judge said she was likely drunk during the murders, he explained that her statements to investigators on three separate occasions included a "notably similar" description of the suspect each time. She said he was a tall White male, lean and taller than she was.
Each time, she said she heard an unknown male voice telling someone else in the house he was "here to help" and that he walked out the rear sliding door without saying anything to her. Kohberger's defense had argued police unfairly paraphrased her comments in the original probable cause affidavit, but the judge rejected that notion.
While she left out the vacuum detail when speaking with an officer, she later mentioned it in two separate discussions with detectives.
However, she also admitted that her memory was "fuzzy and cloudy," according to the documents.
"Everything was kind of blurry," she told investigators. "Like I don't fully remember it, I would say."
Other evidence, however, corroborated her timeline and the suspect's description, Hippler found, and leaving her confusion out of the affidavit did not impact probable cause.
What they're saying:
"If he was exceptionally careful, and wore booties, etc., it could explain lack of other forensics," said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector who has been closely following the case. "Especially if it was a wet vac."
A search warrant return related to Kohberger's apartment in Pullman, Washington, where he was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology, shows police took the dust container from a Bissell PowerForce vacuum from a closet near the front door, where they also found a black glove and receipts.
An online search shows Bissell's PowerForce lineup consists of canister, or upright, vacuums, most of which appear bulky but a few of which are described as compact and lightweight. Details about the seized vacuum's contents were not included with the filing.
"He was probably trying to clean up hair and fiber," said John Kelly, a criminal profiler and psychoanalyst who has interviewed multiple serial killers. Kelly has previously said he believes a suspect such as Kohberger would have used his graduate-degree experience in criminology to attempt to clean up and stage a crime scene.
Police arrived at Kohberger's Washington apartment shortly after he was arrested at his parents' house in Pennsylvania during the winter break from classes. They found no shower curtains inside, and the trash cans had been emptied.
What they did collect were hair samples and bedding with blood on it. Detectives noted that they believed Kohberger had pre-planned the attack and may have reviewed other knife murders before the quadruple slaying. Police also searched his office but collected no physical evidence there.
