PULLMAN, Wash. — Parents and students are descending on the campus of Washington State University as classes are set to start next week. A new semester that comes as the university remains in the national spotlight as one of their students is now charged with four counts of murder.
Across Pullman, news of an arrest brought relief, though a conviction could bring closure.
“I think that we’re all of us hoping he’ll just confess so that this nightmare can end,” said Melanie Hodges, a Pullman business owner.
After a grueling seven-week investigation, Brian Kohberger, 28, is the man now charged with killing four University of Idaho students on November 13. Kohberger was a PHD student at Washington State University, which is a 10-minute drive across state lines to the crime scene in Moscow, Idaho.
Classes at the University of Idaho are slated to start Monday, though school officials are allowing for remote learning.
“I think nobody had any idea really of how close we were to the suspect,” said Washington State University senior Solen Aref.
Aref said students are torn – hopeful because of the arrest while at the same time heartbroken over the loss of life.
“I think a lot of people do feel relief right now just knowing that we have some more answers, even if it’s not all the right answers right now that we were hoping for and I think that most people are just looking forward to hopefully getting a fresh start with the semester – putting this kind of behind us for now so that we can focus on getting back to normal,” Aref said.
Investigators arrested Kohberger at his parent’s home in Pennsylvania. Court documents show investigators connected him to the four victims by cellphone records and say his DNA was found at the crime scene. But to date, law enforcement haven't revealed a murder weapon – no metaphoric smoking gun. Defense attorneys see an opening.
“Without having someone who saw him at the house, a confession or some other evidence, there is room for reasonable doubt," said Pete Schulte, a criminal defense attorney and former police investigator.
"The investigation is by far not over. It’s going to continue. Hopefully they are going to be able to find more evidence, but if this is all they have a good defense attorney is going to have a good chance of getting him acquitted,” Schulte continued.