Bryan Kohberger had 18 contacts saved in phone: Digital forensics experts

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(NewsNation) — Bryan Kohberger, the man who killed four Idaho college students in 2022, had 18 contacts saved in his phone, according to digital forensics experts who analyzed his devices.

Heather and Jared Barnhart, who investigated Kohberger’s phone and hard drive, told “Banfield” on Thursday that they made several “eerie” finds as they pored over the data.

They spoke out about their investigation after Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty to killing Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves in their off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho.

Bryan Kohberger had 18 saved contacts

“He had 18 personal contacts. Eighteen,” Heather Barnhart said. “Think about all the people you meet and the hundreds of random numbers.

“And they were even identified as ‘girl I ran with,’ ‘second girl I ran with.’ A contact, then in parentheses ‘hair,'” she said. “Then there was ‘Mother’ and ‘Father,’ and his sister and just a few others.”

The Barnharts said Kohberger saved his parents’ contacts in his phone as “Mother” and “Father” and referred to them by those names in texts.

“It’s eerie. It stands out from any other case I’ve worked,” Jared Barnhart said.

Bryan Kohberger calls to ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’

It was revealed Wednesday that Kohberger called his mother less than two hours after committing the murders.

He phoned her repeatedly and spent more than three hours talking with her the day of the crime, according to phone records.

The Barnharts noted that Kohberger immediately called his father when he was unable to reach his mother, and constantly called and texted them beginning at 5 a.m.

They said phone records showed he rarely communicated with anyone other than his parents.

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Bryan Kohberger cut WiFi before murders

Jared Barnhart told “Banfield” that two days before the murders, Kohberger switched his phone off WiFi and that it was reconnected soon after the crime.

After admitting he committed the killings as part of a plea deal, Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison and is being housed in solitary confinement in a maximum security facility outside Boise, Idaho.

He has reportedly complained about being tormented in prison, and the facility has since spoken out and said he is safe despite inmates’ taunts.

Kohberger’s motive for killing Mogen, Chapin, Kernodle and Goncalves is unknown.

Idaho College Killings

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