Police have released new bodycam footage showing officers pulling over Idaho student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger one month before the killings took place, in the same car placed near the crime scene.
Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in the murders of four University of Idaho students: Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, on Nov. 13.
IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS: SURVIVING ROOMMATE FIGHTING SUBPOENA FOR TESTIMONY AT PRELIMINARY HEARING
Bodycam footage taken on Oct. 14, one month before the murders, shows Washington State University officers pulling over Kohberger, who was a graduate student at the university, for running a red light.
The video, nearly 10 minutes long, shows Kohberger behind the wheel of a white 2015 Hyundai Elantra — a vehicle similar to one seen in footage near the victims' Moscow, Idaho, home around the time of the killings.
In the video, a female officer approaches Kohberger, who is alone in the car and has the driver's side window down.
“I think you know why I stopped you. You ran the red light," the officer tells Kohberger.
"What actually happened was I was stuck in the middle of the intersection," Kohberger replies.
"Yeah," the officer interjects. "I was behind you the whole time. Yeah. So, technically, you're not supposed to enter the intersection at all for that reason because if the light turns red, then you're stuck in the intersection, and then you run the red light."
Kohberger hands over his license and vehicle registration, asking the officer to explain Washington state's traffic laws, as he is from a "very rural area" of Pennsylvania.
"We actually don't have, like, crosswalks," Kohberger said in the video. "There’s a little bit more leeway, as well."
The officer provides specific details of the state's traffic laws, to which Kohberger then apologizes for "asking too many questions.
"I'm just curious about the law," he said, adding that he's not trying to "disagree" with her.
She lets Kohberger off with a warning.
"So, I'm not running a ticket or anything like that today. I understand you're from Pennsylvania," she said. "But in the future, don't proceed through the intersection."
Federal, state, and local law enforcement put out calls for the white Hyundai Elantra as a key piece of evidence in the case, leading them to arrest Kohberger in his Pennsylvania home. In the probable cause affidavit, Kohberger's Oct. 14 traffic stop is cited as proof that he was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle.
Kohberger was pulled over twice within a nine-minute time frame while driving on I-70 in Indiana on Dec. 15. Kohberger was traveling with his father at the time, and he wasn’t issued a ticket for either traffic stop.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
However, at the time of the traffic stops, law enforcement did not yet have information about a possible suspect vehicle or license plate.
Kohberger is not set to have another hearing until June 30. He has not entered a plea.