The parents and sister of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kerberger have expressed their “sadness” following his arrest, vowing to “love and support our son and brother”.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, was arrested in the early hours of Friday and charged with the murders of four University of Idaho students while they laid in their beds.
Since the arrest the families of the victims have released statements with Kaylee Goncalves’ father saying they were “on a path to justice”.
Now, Kohberger’s family has spoken out for the first time after he was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in Idaho.
“First and foremost, we care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children. There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them,” Kohberger’s family said.
They added: “We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother.”
The family urged the public to not to “judge unknown facts” or “make erroneous assumptions” about his guilt in the statement released by Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar.
“We have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions. We respect privacy in this matter as our family and the families suffering loss can move forward through the legal process,” the statement concludes.
Students and friends Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found stabbed to death in their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho on November 13.
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He added investigators obtained samples of the suspect’s DNA directly from Kohberger after he was arrested in Pennsylvania.
Dahlinger said: “He’s the one that we believe is responsible for all four of the murders.”
Kohberger was a PHD student at Washington State University in Pullman, a 15 minute drive from Moscow. He appeared to have a deep interest in crime and was studying Criminology at university.
Kohberger is set to face extradition to Idaho in the coming days, police have said they will release more information about their case against him when he appears in court there.
