Police: Idaho murder suspect's DNA found at crime scene; roommate saw a masked man on night of attack

Bryan Kohberger in Latah County (Idaho) Jail on night of Jan. 4, 2023, after his extradition from Pennsylvania. Latah County Sheriff's Office

The DNA of the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students was found on a knife sheath at the crime scene, an investigator said in court documents unsealed Thursday.

Police also said an unharmed roommate of the slain students saw a masked man in the home on the night of the attack. 

A woman who lived at the home where the students were killed awoke to the sound of crying that night to find a masked man in black clothing who walked past her and toward a sliding glass door, an investigator said in court documents unsealed Thursday.

The unidentified housemate, who wasn't harmed in the attack, told authorities she opened her second-floor door at around 4 a.m. after hearing the crying and then stood in "frozen shock" as the man, whom she didn't recognize, walked past her, the police investigator said. She then went back into her room and locked the door.

The affidavit written by Moscow, Idaho Police Cpl. Brett Payne was made public just minutes before a court hearing began for the man accused in the Nov. 13 deaths, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger. Kohberger arrived in Idaho late Wednesday on a law enforcement jet and was handed over to local authorities after his arrest in the case last week in Pennsylvania.

Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary in the closely watched case that has grabbed the nation's attention and rocked the small college town on the Idaho-Washington border.

Kohberger's attorney in Pennsylvania, where his parents live and where he was arrested, has said he is eager to be exonerated.

FILE - Four University of Idaho students were found murdered at this home in Moscow, Idaho, on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022.  Angela Palermo/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
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