Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger arrives at court in handcuffs for extradition hearing: Accused killer says he’s ‘eager to prove his innocence’ as his family insists cops got the wrong man
- Bryan Kohberger has arrived at court in Pennsylvania for an extradition hearing
- He is due to be sent back to Idaho to face four first degree murder charges
- His lawyer says he is innocent, ‘eager’ to prove it and is ‘polite and calm’ in jail
- Police say they matched his DNA to DNA found at the bloody crime scene
Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger has arrived at court in Pennsylvania for an extradition hearing that will send him back to the state where he is accused of murdering four college students in cold blood.
Kohberger, 28, denies the murders and is ‘eager’ to be sent back to Idaho to be ‘exonerated’, his attorney told ABC News this morning ahead of the hearing.
The PhD student was arrested at his parents house in Pennsylvania on Friday but his family insist police got the wrong man, despite investigators’ claim that his DNA matches a sample found at the scene.
Kohberger will go before a judge today at 3.30pm. He arrived at the court hours earlier amid a swarm of Pennsylvania State Troopers and media.
Kohberger was seen entering the court in a red prison jumpsuit. He was handcuffed, but his feet were not shackled.
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Bryan Kohberger arrives at Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, for an extradition hearing on Tuesday. He is accused of murdering the four Idaho students found stabbed to death on November 13
There will not be a live feed to the hearing, but a select number of photographers are allowed inside along with journalists.
Police say they are confident he is the right man after matching his DNA to a sample found at the scene on November 13.
Much of the case remains a mystery; prosecutors are yet to provide a motive for Kohberger, and it remains unclear if he knew any of the victims.
Those details are expected to emerge in the probable cause affidavit, a charging document that remains sealed but that will become public once Kohberger is back in Idaho.
Kohberger’s family insists he is innocent.
‘They don’t believe it to be Bryan. They can’t believe this.
‘This is certainly completely out of character, the allegations, and really they’re just trying to be supportive with the understanding these four families have suffered loss, so they’re sympathetic towards that, and that’s why it should remain really private and they don’t want to try this case in the court of public opinion,’ LaBar told NBC News.
LaBar said Kohberger has been ‘easy to talk to’ and is confident he will be exonerated.
‘He believes he’s going to be exonerated. That’s what he believes. Those were his words. He’s been very easy to talk to. Actually, he’s in a calm demeanor.’
Monroe County Sheriff Deputies escort Bryan Kohberger into the courthouse on Tuesday morning
The accused killer appeared to enter the court through a side door. His hearing is not until 3.30pm
Kohberger was handcuffed but did not appear to be shackled as he arrived at the courthouse
LaBar also told ABC News that he is ‘calm’ and ‘polite’ behind bars, where corrections officers have been ‘very accommodating’ of his vegan diet.
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He added that Kohberger ‘understands the seriousness’ of the charges and that the death penalty is on the table.
He is said to have told his attorney: ‘This will be a long process.’
LaBar has ordered a psychiatric evaluation after learning of how Kohberger has behaved behind bars.
KHQ reports that he’d been sitting ‘in a ball on the floor’, barely speaking to guards.
LaBar is a public defender in Pennsylvania who was assigned the case following Kohberger’s arrest.
He is not expected to represent him in Idaho, and said no other private attorneys had come forward to offer their services to him or his family.
‘They’re not hiring an attorney.
‘Given the situation, given the charges, no attorneys have reached out to them, and they’re not anticipating hiring an attorney,’ he said.
He has been in contact with Idaho’s Public Defense Commission to help the family find a new attorney.
The victims’ families are eagerly awaiting Kohberger’s extradition, and for the probable cause affidavit to become public.
Kohberger’s attorney says he denies the killings and is ‘eager’ to get back to Idaho to be ‘exonerated’. Victims Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle are pictured
Pennsylvania State Troopers surround the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg on Tuesday morning ahead of Bryan Kohberger’s appearance
There is an enormous police presence at the small courthouse where Kohberger will appear this afternoon
The suspect was attending college in nearby Washington State, where he pursued criminology
The crime took place six weeks ago, 2,500 miles from where Kohberger was arrested. His father flew to meet his son in Washington and drove with him back to their Pennsylvania home
Police were on the hunt for Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra, which officials began tracking around Christmas time as the suspect drove across the country
Kaylee Goncalves’ father Steve appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday morning along with his attorney.
He said Kohberger’s arrest came as a ‘relief’ after weeks of uncertainty.
‘It felt like a cloud was lifted. It’s like seeing sunlight after being stuck in a house for a month.
‘It provided relief and comfort to know things were progressing, and that all this torture and waiting had a purpose and a meaning,’ he said.
Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, on Friday
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