Bryan Kohberger argued with Washington police officer about driving rules in body cam footage
Newly-released body camera footage shows quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger arguing with a Washington police officer just weeks before the Idaho massacre.
In the footage released Thursday, Kohberger, a 28-year-old with a master’s degree in criminal justice, could be seen in his sedan trying to get out of a red light ticket.
He claimed that he was ignorant of Washington state laws prohibiting drivers from blocking intersections because he is from a rural town in Pennsylvania.
The body camera footage offers new insight into Kohberger’s character in the weeks leading up to the deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Kohberger is accused of murdering them in their sleep, and is due back in court later this month.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, could be seen in newly-released body camera footage pleading ignorance when he is pulled over for running a red light
Kohburger is due back in court later this month for the deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin , 20
In the footage released Thursday evening by Washington State University police, a female officer tells the murder suspect: ‘I think you know why I stopped you. You ran the red light.’
But Kohberger seeks to correct the officer, saying: ‘What actually happened is I was stuck in the middle of an intersection, so I was forced to go left.’
The officer then replies that she was behind Kohberger ‘the whole time,’ and explained. ‘You’re not supposed to enter the intersection at al for that reason because if the light turns red, then you’re stuck in the intersection.’
At that point, Kohberger claimed he was unfamiliar with how to drive through intersections because he grew up in a rural town in Pennsylvania.
The female officer tries to explain that under Washington state law, drivers are not allowed to enter an intersection unless there’s enough space for vehicles on either side.
After handing over his license and registration, Kohberger then asks the officer for more clarification.
‘Can you explain that to me a little bit further?’ he asks. ‘So in Pennsylvania, when you’re in an intersection you have to make the left. What would the appropriate thing for me to have done been?’
The officer replies simply: ‘You’re not supposed to block an intersection like that in Washington.’
She says doing so qualifies as running a red light, and is a ticketable offense.
‘So you’re not supposed to proceed into the intersection until you can go, ’cause a lot of people do what you just did.’
Kohberger says in the newly-released body camera footage that there are no crosswalks where he grew up in Pennsylvania
The criminology major was ultimately let off with just a warning at the traffic stop in October
He then claims he was confused because in the moments before he made the turn a vehicle opposite him turned right without their blinker on.
‘I was just slightly into the crosswalk,’ Kohberger continues.
‘Where I’m from in Pennsylvania, we actually don’t have crosswalks,’ he claims. ‘There’s a little more leeway as well.’
‘It never even occurred to me that was actually something wrong,’ he said.
So, he said he was confused about the law and tells the officer: ‘I apologize if I was asking you too many questions about the law.’
The officer then lets him go with just a warning.
Washington police also released footage on Thursday showing cops banging on his door on December 30, announcing their presence and serving a search warrant.
But Kohberger was already back in Pennsylvania, where he was taken into custody by state police and the FBI that same day.
Kohberger is accused of murdering the four University of Idaho students in their sleep
He is pictured appearing at a hearing in Latah County District Court in January
Meanwhile, newly-unsealed court documents describe what police noticed was missing from Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington.
‘We also noticed, while cleaning the apartment, it was sparsely furnished and fairly empty of belongings, including no shower curtain in the bathroom and the trash cans appeared empty,’ Washington State University Assistant Chief of Police Dawn Daniels wrote.