Newly unsealed court records provide a forensic look into Bryan Kohberger's meticulous planning in the months leading up to and following the murders of four University of Idaho students, shedding new light on his methods and efforts to evade capture.
The records reveal that Kohberger, then a criminology PhD student, purchased a KA-BAR Full Size US Marine Corps Fighting Knife and a sharpener online in March 2022, months before the November 13, 2022, killings. He used a digital Amazon gift card to make the $109.55 purchase, an attempt to distance himself from the transaction. The knife and sharpener were shipped to his parents' home in Pennsylvania. Kohberger reportedly tracked the order's progress daily between March 22 and March 27, 2022.
Later that day, he used the remaining balance on the gift card to purchase vegan dietary supplements. The knife, which was used to stab Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, has never been recovered. Kohberger left the knife's sheath behind at the crime scene, providing crucial DNA evidence.
Following the murders, Kohberger took steps to alter his financial behavior. Between January and November 2022, he primarily used his PSECU debit card for purchases, including shopping trips in Moscow, Idaho, three days before the killings. However, he ceased using this card after November 10, 2022.
In August 2022, a month after moving to Washington state for university, Kohberger opened a new WTB bank account with an initial deposit of $50, followed by a $2,000 deposit four days later. This account remained largely inactive until the day of the murders. On November 13, 2022, approximately six hours after the killings, Kohberger made his first ATM withdrawal from this account. He subsequently made seven more cash withdrawals before his arrest on December 30, 2022.
Investigators have also noted other changes in Kohberger's behavior after the murders, including consistently wearing gloves and changing his car's license plates from Pennsylvania to Washington state. Despite these efforts, Kohberger was apprehended at his parents' home. He pleaded guilty in July 2025 as part of a plea deal that spared him the death penalty in exchange for a life sentence without parole. No connection has ever been established between Kohberger and any of the victims or their surviving roommates, and the exact timing and motive for the killings remain unknown.
Kohberger also later browsed pages related to deleting account activity on November 15, 2022, three days after the murders, and viewed pages associated with Ka-Bar style knives and sheaths on Amazon on November 23 and December 6, 2022.