(NewsNation) — Bryan Kohberger’s mother texted him relating to the murder of four University of Idaho students before his arrest, according to newly released evidence.
Digital forensic experts Heather and Jared Barnhart joined “Banfield” on Tuesday to discuss the revelation, as well as other documents regarding the deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle on Nov. 13, 2022.
Bryan Kohberger receives link to murder
“He was on the phone with her for hours (on Nov. 17, 2022), but that night … he received a link from his mom,” Jared told NewsNation.
It was a news article, according to Jared, “basically describing how Xana had bruises on her body and how she had put up such a fight,” to which Kohberger did not text back.
“Looking at the timeline a little bit, you can tell that they’re actually speaking on the phone. What that tells us, and we can assume, is that they were talking about the Idaho murders on that night, and then the next morning, there’s just kind of nothing,” he added.
Jared said Kohberger may have been deleting text messages with his mother.
“But there’s also this complicating factor that they’re on the phone all the time, and so the context could just be a voice call that we don’t have the words for,” he said.
Idaho State Police also released images of Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington, and his office at Washington State University, where he worked as a teaching assistant.
Bryan Kohberger issued performance plan by professors
NewsNation learned that Washington State University, where Kohberger was pursuing a doctorate in criminology, issued him a performance improvement plan, which was visible on his phone and laptop.
“He wrote not one but two letters of grievance, explaining … why he needed the teaching assistant role, what it meant to him,” Heather told “Banfield.”
“And then in a second one, was saying why the professors were wrong. So why they were wrong: He is a good student, he has a good GPA, he can be both a good student and a TA, and deserves that role.”
The article link was sent to Kohberger by his mother the same day he was working on his grievance letters, Jared told Banfield.