Father of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves says he hopes cops ‘picked the right guy’
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The father of one of the Idaho murder victims has said his arrest has brought them their “first joy” in more than seven weeks since the quadruple murders.
Steve Goncalves’ daughter, Kaylee, 21, was one of four students allegedly killed by Bryan Kohberger on November 13 in their sleep.
She was killed along with her best friend Maddie Mogen, 21, and her housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20.
Kaylee’s family expressed their “relief” after Kohberger, 28, was arrested the same day a living memorial was being held for her and Maddie.
Steve Goncalves (pictured with his daughter Kaylee) said the news that Bryan Kohberger was arrested gave them “the greatest joy” since the murders.
Kaylee’s family expressed their “relief” after Koghberg, 28, was arrested the same day a living memorial was being held for her and Maddie.
Bryan Kohberger is accused of killing Kaylee, Maddie Mogen, 21, her housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20.
His father Steve told him CBS: ‘This is the first joy we’ve had in nearly seven weeks.
‘We hope…they picked the right guy, and that gives us hope. And we haven’t had hope for a long time.
He previously revealed that there were “possible connections” between the criminal justice graduate student and his daughter.
After the arrest was made public, the Goncalves family began trying to find answers as to why Kaylee and her friends were targeted.
Steve claims that he has started to see a link, but is not ready to share it publicly at this time, adding that he is waiting to see Kohberger in court.
The family’s attorney, Shanon Grey, said ABC News: ‘Now that there’s a person and a name someone can look up specifically and see if there’s a connection somehow. So they’re just trying to figure it out.’
Steve claims that he has begun to see a link between his daughter and Kohberger, but is not ready to share it publicly at this time.
Police had previously refused to rule out targeted killings, but it remains unknown what connections Kohberger might have had to the victims, who lived just eight miles from the suspect’s campus.
The suspect was attending college in nearby Washington state, where he was studying criminology.
Steve said no one in the family knew or recognized Kohberger when police initially told them about him.
Police had previously refused to rule out targeted killings, but it remains unknown what connections Kohberger might have had to the victims, who lived just eight miles from the suspect’s campus.
The grieving father described Kohberger as a “broken soul, pitiful human being” and that he was “the little coward who finally got caught running.”
He added: ‘This guy is going to have to look me in the eye a few times, and I’m going to be looking for the truth. That’s really what I’m going to be looking for.
Investigators have yet to outline a motive in the killings of the four students, but those who knew Kohberger say he had a deep interest in the psychology of criminals.
Idaho police said the four University of Idaho students were killed in their sleep between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Pictured: Victims Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The crime took place six weeks ago, 2,500 miles from where Kohberger was arrested. His father flew to meet his son in Washington and drove with him back to his home in Pennsylvania.
Kaylee, Maddie (pictured) and Xana Kernodle, 20, were stabbed to death in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13; Xana’s boyfriend, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, was also killed in the massacre.
High school friends claim that he battled heroin addiction in his youth, but seems to have moved on.
Kohberger earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from a community college in 2018, before studying psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University.
Federal and state investigators are now reviewing his background, financial records and electronic communications as they work to identify a motive and build the case.
Investigators are also interviewing people who knew Kohberger, including those at Washington State University.
Kohberger has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of federal robbery, and Moscow Police Chief James Fry said he broke into the student house with the “intent to commit murder.”
According to Kaylee’s father, Steve, his daughter suffered ‘bigger’ injuries than her friend Maddie, who was asleep on the third floor in the same room.
Authorities searched his office on the University of Washington Pullman campus, DailyMail.com can reveal
Police seized a white Hyundai Elantra, the same model Moscow police had been searching for after being spotted near the crime scene, from outside Kohberger’s home.
He had been home for the holidays after his father flew 2,000 miles from Pennsylvania to Idaho to drive with his son.
It is not clear if Kohberger’s father, who went bankrupt in 2010, or the rest of his family knew about the murders.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that his DNA was found at the crime scene, although he has no criminal record, which would put his DNA on file.
Investigators were able to match the genetic evidence to a member of the suspect’s family using genealogy databases, CNN reported, citing a source.
Kohberger was detained in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, a small town in the heart of the Poconos Mountains, more than 2,000 miles from where the gruesome murders occurred.
Kaylee and Madison were found on the top floor of their Moscow, Idaho, home. College lovers Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found in a second-floor bedroom while survivors Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke slept on the first floor.
Kohberger may face the death penalty in the state, where his family cannot afford to hire a lawyer to fight.
Investigators are still trying to locate the murder weapon more than six weeks after the murders, which they believe was a large knife.
Kohberger’s family addressed the charges Sunday and asked people to refrain from prosecution.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry refused to rule out that the killer had an accomplice.
Details of the killings and motive for them have not yet been released, and police say a sealed arrest affidavit will be released once Kohberger is extradited to Idaho.
Friday’s arrest is the first major break in the case, with Kohberger asking if “anyone else was arrested” when he was taken into custody. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
Kohberger is currently in custody at the Monroe County Jail in Pennsylvania until a hearing on January 3.