Bryan Kohberger's Mother's Text To Him About Idaho Murders Raises Eyebrows

In a shocking development from the University of Idaho murder case, Bryan Kohberger sent chilling text messages to his mother, Maryann Kohberger, days after he slaughtered four students in November 2022. An analysis of Bryan's phone and hard drive by forensic experts uncovered a disturbing message from Maryann, in which she focused on the gory specifics of one of her son's alleged victims.

According to Jared Barnhart, who worked the forensic case with Heather Barnhart, Maryann had emailed Bryan a newspaper article about Xana Kernodle, one of the four students he would later plead guilty to murdering. The article was said to have described bruises found on Xana's body and her desperate fight during the attack. Even after hearing this, Bryan did not return his mother's text.

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Barnhart described November 17, 2022, just four days after they were killed, as an oddity in the sequence of activity on Bryan's phone. "He had more mother interaction that day than normal, which was a lot. He was on the phone with her for hours that day," Barnhart said during a NewsNation Banfield episode on September 2. That evening, members of the forensic team discovered that Bryan had received the link sent to him by Maryann, who was reportedly on the phone with him at the time.

Bryan Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 and then sentenced to four life terms in a row for the murders of Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The mother-son text exchange has raised some eyebrows, but police have not suggested that Maryann was in any way connected to the crimes. But the timing and content of the messages add a chilling grace note to an already grisly case.

This announcement highlighted the fact that criminal investigations can be complicated, especially when the criminal has close interactions with family members during the time of the crime. Digital communications can keep you very much 'in the loop'. Evidence shows digital communication can also give vital information on timelines and patterns of behaviour, sometimes highlighting contact that might not have previously been obvious. As the case is still being examined for its larger implications on criminal behavior and family dynamics, the text messages between Bryan and his mother offer a chilling insight into what life was like in the days immediately following one of Idaho's most heinous crimes.