Bryan Kohberger, the suspect within the brutal murder of 4 University of Idaho students, has been fitted with a suicide prevention vest while in custody in Pennsylvania — and is “desperate to be exonerated.”
Kohberger, 28, was arrested during an early morning SWAT raid early Friday morning at his parents’ home Albrightsville, Pennsylvania and is being held on the Monroe County Correctional Facility without bail.
Law enforcement sources told Fox News that the accused killer was wearing the suicide prevention vest ahead of his extradition hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
The vests are made so that they can’t be rolled or torn to forestall inmates “from using the material to create a weapon or hanging mechanism,” the outlet said.
Kohberger, a Ph.D student at Washington State University, is charged with 4 counts of murder within the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21 at their Moscow, Idaho rental home on Nov. 13.
Kohberger was living on campus at WSU in Pullman, Washington — about 10 minutes away from Moscow — on the time of the killings, officials confirmed.
The accused criminal justice student is “shocked just a little bit” on the allegations against him, his attorney told CNN on Saturday.
Kohberger intends to waive his extradition hearing to expedite his transport to Idaho, Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar said in an announcement to to the news outlet.
“Mr. Kohberger is desperate to be exonerated of those charges and appears forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible,” LaBar said.
LaBar estimated that Kohberger might be transported back to Idaho in as few as 72 hours after the Tuesday hearing, he told CBS news.
Once he appears before a judge in Idaho, officials will unseal Kohberger’s probably cause affidavit, which is able to reveal unreleased information on the murders and the investigation that led to Kohberger’s arrest, Prosecutor Thompson told reporters at a press conference Friday, citing Idaho state law.
Labar later told CNN that Kohberger arrived in Pennsylvania around December 17 to rejoice the vacations along with his family after he accomplished his first semester of the Ph.D program at WSU.
“His father actually went out they usually drove home together,” LaBar said.
The drive from Pullman, Washington to Albrightsville, Pennsylvania is over 2,500 miles and takes about 37 hours, in accordance with Google maps.
Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra, which was sought as key clue by police for weeks, was found on the his parents’ house when authorities arrived, LaBar confirmed.
Kohberger’s father, Michael, opened the door and each he and his son were cooperative with police, the attorney said.
LaBar moreover told CNN that he has advisable Kohberger be psychologically analyzed before court proceedings occur.
He stays in a cell alone “on 24-hour watch by the guards there to make sure his safety,” Labar said.
LaBar added that he didn’t wish to talk in regards to the case with Kohberger, as he has not received the probable cause affidavit and is just representing him for the extradition proceedings.