According to a recent court filing by the legal team of Bryan Kohberger, a suspect accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, cellphone tower data proves that he was not present at the scene of the crime when the murders occurred. The four victims were stabbed to death in the early hours of November 13, 2022, at their off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. DNA evidence led investigators to Kohberger, who was living in Pullman, Washington, around 9.5 miles away from the crime scene. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder.
Kohberger’s legal team has previously argued that their client was driving alone at the time of the killings, and they now plan to call an expert witness to testify to prove this using cellphone data. Cell tower data expert Sy Ray is expected to provide testimony that shows Kohberger’s location miles away from Moscow at the time of the murders. The defense claims that Kohberger’s activity, as evidenced by cellphone data and photographs he took of the night sky, supports their argument that he was not at the crime scene.
Investigators had previously sought cellphone data connected to devices in the area at the time of the killings, but Kohberger’s phone did not show up in the search as he had turned it off. However, a subsequent search warrant provided his phone data for the 24 hours before and after the incident, revealing that he had left his home two hours before the killings and then turned off his phone until after the crime had occurred. Further analysis of the data showed that Kohberger had been near the students’ home multiple times in the months leading up to the murders.
The legal team’s filing also argues that further exculpatory evidence, supporting Kohberger’s alibi, has either not been preserved or has been withheld. They claim that his nighttime drives increased as his running and hiking activities decreased at the start of the school year. The defense asserts that the evidence, including cell tower data and photographs, proves their client’s innocence in the case. They plan to present this information in court through the testimony of their expert witness, Sy Ray.
The deaths of the four University of Idaho students have deeply impacted the community of Moscow, which has a population of 25,000 residents and an 11,000-strong student population. The grand jury indictment against Bryan Kohberger last May implicated him in the murders, and he was subsequently arrested in Pennsylvania in December 2022. The ongoing legal proceedings, including the defense’s efforts to prove Kohberger’s alibi using cellphone data, will continue as the case moves forward.
