A digital forensics expert who previously worked for Bryan Kohberger's defense has asserted that investigators missed crucial evidence, including cell phone data that he believes indicates stalking behavior. Sy Ray, a former Arizona homicide investigator specializing in digital forensics, stated in a podcast that he believes Kohberger should receive a new trial and face the death penalty for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students.
Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, avoiding the death penalty. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences without parole. However, he recently petitioned the court to withdraw his guilty plea, seeking post-conviction relief that could lead to a new trial and potentially reinstate the death penalty.
Ray told journalist Brian Entin that he is confident Kohberger would be convicted at trial, citing what he described as more incriminating smartphone data than was previously revealed. "I 100% believe that the offender, who is Bryan Kohberger — there’s no alternative theory in my head at this point," Ray said, adding that he believes Kohberger had been inside the victims' home prior to the murders. He indicated that specific geolocation data points, with a 25-meter range, landed within the house itself.
These recent claims contrast sharply with an expert report authored by Ray himself and included in a defense filing on January 23, 2025. In that report, Ray stated, "It is my opinion that the geolocation data I have been provided as of the writing this report does not provide any evidence of association between Mr. Kohberger and any of the decedents and/or Mr. Kohberger’s or decedent’s residence."
Despite this contradiction, Ray expressed a theory in the podcast that Madison Mogen was Kohberger's primary target. He based this on repeated instances where their phones were traced to similar locations, including a party and near the crime scene. He also mentioned Kohberger's broader "pattern of life" suggesting stalking behavior before the murders, a point also absent from his earlier report.
Prosecutors had previously alleged that Kohberger visited the crime scene multiple times before the murders. However, investigators stated after Kohberger's guilty plea that they did not know who the intended target was or the specific motive. "The evidence suggested that there was a reason that this particular house was chosen," then-Moscow Police Cpl. Brett Payne said. "What that reason is, we don't know."
Ray criticized the investigation, claiming that the stalking evidence he identified was not examined. "They didn’t even look at it," he said. This assertion is again at odds with his January 2025 report, in which he wrote, "I can find no evidence of stalking behavior or surveillance at the King Road Residence."
Following Kohberger's guilty plea, Ray stated he offered to debrief the FBI about the evidence he found, but received no response. He has, however, presented his findings to numerous law enforcement agencies. Kohberger's petition for post-conviction relief argues that he received ineffective counsel from his defense team.
Ray remains convinced of Kohberger's guilt, stating, "If he ever does walk, he will kill again." He believes the investigation should be restarted with the evidence he has identified.
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