Bryan Kohberger realized investigators were closing in on him when they appealed for information about a white Hyundai Elantra like his – then began a slew of panicked internet searches.
Gripping details of what the Idaho murderer then began searching late into the evening on on December 29 2022 have just been revealed.
Kohberger first searched for the phrases ‘wiretap’ and ‘psychopaths paranoid,’ data from his phone showed.
He then read a news story about how police in Moscow, Idaho, were searching for a car whose description matched his.
Clearly spooked, Kohberger’s next internet activity saw him visit the Moscow Police Department’s website to see what the latest news on the murders was.
‘Immediately’ after that he looked up an auto detailing shop, Fox News reported.
And just 10 minutes later, Kohberger was shopping for a new car online.
In the early hours of December 30 2022 – just a few hours after making those internet searches – Kohberger was arrested at his parents home in Pennsylvania.
Bryan Kohberger (pictured during his sentencing in July) made panicked internet searches when he realized police were closing in on him following the University of Idaho murders
Kohberger was a student at Washington State University at the time, which is located 10 miles from where he slayed four University of Idaho students – Ethan Chapin , 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21. (Pictured: Goncalves, left, with Mogen)
Forensic investigators have said Kohberger’s online history showed him ‘scrambling’ to try to get rid of his car after cops identified it, before searching ‘wiretap’ and ‘psychopaths’. (Pictured: Kohberger with his father being pulled over during a traffic stop in Indiana)
Last month he was jailed for life without parole for killing Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogan, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, at a student house in Moscow in November 2022.
Jared Barnhart, who owns forensics firm Cellbrite, told Fox News: ‘”Literally the pressure of, ‘Oh, look, they’re really talking about my car,’ caused…within 15 minutes of behavior, him trying to clean it and get rid of it. Just not normal.
‘I think the vehicle was a huge stress point for him, because he had registered it to park there,’ Barnhart said.
‘He had a PDF download of like a list of Hyundai Elantras for the university, and you can see this long list of cars.’
‘If you weren’t the bad guy, you wouldn’t care, but he was scrambling, and he thought the police were on him. And they were. They were at that point.’
Police said they found a Ka-Bar knife sheath at the crime scene which had the killer’s DNA on it.
They used modern genealogy testing to identify Kohberger – but detectives have said that they would have found him by tracing leads linked to his vehicle.
Police said the Hyundai was spotted on several surveillance cameras entering and leaving the crime scene.
On July 2, 2025, Kohberger, 30, formally admitted killing the four Idaho students as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors.
(L-R) Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were stabbed to death on November 13, 2022. Police arrested Bryan Kohberger seven weeks later
Forensic investigators have said Kohberger’s online history showed him ‘scrambling’ to try to get rid of his car after cops identified it, before searching ‘wiretap’ and ‘psychopaths’. (Pictured: Kohberger being pulled over in his car three months before the murders)
That saw him spared execution. But he can never apply for parole and will die behind bars.
Kohberger declined the chance to speak during his sentencing hearing.
No motive has ever been revealed – but there is speculation that he may have become obsessed with one of the female students he killed.
Kohberger’s sentencing saw him finally plead guilty to the killings, almost three years after carrying out a bloodbath that shocked the world.
He made the bombshell admission at Ada County Court in Boise, Idaho, while sitting meters away from the heartbroken families who have waited years for justice.
Several relatives of the victims broke down in tears in the courtroom – as did Prosecutor Bill Thompson when he read out the victims’ names.
The Goncalves and Kernodle families have said the plea pact means they will never have justice for their children who he brutally stabbed to death in one of the most horrific events ever to unfold on a college campus.
Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive sentences of life without parole, plus another 10 years.
