Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the brutal murder of four University of Idaho students, was fitted with a suicide-proof vest while incarcerated in Pennsylvania – and is “eager to be exonerated.”
Kohberger, 28, was arrested early Friday morning in a SWAT raid at his parents’ home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, and is being held without bail at the Monroe County Correctional Facility.
Law enforcement sources told Fox News that the accused killer wore the suicide vest ahead of his extradition hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
The vests are made so they cannot be rolled or torn to prevent inmates from “using the fabric to make a weapon or hanging mechanism,” the outlet said.
Kohberger, a graduate student at Washington State University, is charged with the quadruple murders of Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, at their Moscow, Idaho rental home on March 13 November.
Kohberger was living on WSU’s Pullman, Wash., campus at the time of the killings — about 10 minutes from Moscow, officials confirmed.
The accused criminal justice student was “a little shocked” by the allegations against him, his attorney told CNN on Saturday.
Kohberger intends to forgo his extradition hearing to expedite his transportation to Idaho, Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar said in a statement to the news outlet.
“Mr. Kohberger is keen to be cleared of these allegations and looks forward to resolving these matters as soon as possible,” LaBar said.
LaBar estimated that Kohberger could be transported back to Idaho in just 72 hours after Tuesday’s hearing, he told CBS News.
Once he appears before an Idaho judge, officials will unseal Kohberger’s likely affidavit, which will reveal unreleased information about the murders and the investigation that led to Kohberger’s arrest, Prosecutor Thompson told reporters at a Friday news conference, citing the Idaho State Law.
Labar later told CNN that Kohberger arrived in Pennsylvania around December 17 to celebrate the holidays with his family after completing his first semester of the Ph.D program at WSU.
“His dad actually went out and they drove home together,” LaBar said.
The drive from Pullman, Washington to Albrightsville, Pennsylvania is over 2,500 miles and takes about 37 hours according to Google Maps.
Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra, which police had been looking for for weeks as a key lead, was found at his parents’ home when authorities arrived, LaBar confirmed.
Kohberger’s father, Michael, answered the door and both he and his son were cooperative with police, the attorney said.
LaBar also told CNN that he recommended that Kohberger be psychologically evaluated prior to trial.
He remains alone in a cell “under 24-hour surveillance by the guards there to ensure his safety,” Labar said.
LaBar added that he did not want to speak to Kohberger about the case because he did not receive the probable cause affidavit and is only representing him in the extradition process.
