Idaho Murder Suspect Was Trying To Conceal His DNA When He Was Arrested, Prosecutors Say

Police in Pennsylvania found the 28-year-old man suspected of killing four University of Idaho students in his parent’s kitchen, digging through trash when he was arrested, prosecutors revealed.

Monroe County First Assistant Michael Mancuso told BRC 13 that the suspect, who is not being named per Daily Wire policy, “was found awake in the kitchen area dressed in shorts and a shirt [and] wearing latex medical type gloves and apparently was taking his personal trash and putting it into … separate zip lock baggies.”

Mancuso implied that the suspect was removing the trash to conceal his DNA. Investigators had been surveilling the home for weeks prior to the suspect’s arrest, and during that time, they searched the trash cans outside.

“A trash pull that was done days before recovered DNA profiles but not from him, only from his family members,” Mancuso told the outlet.

The news follows an unsealed search warrant that listed items taken from the suspect’s parent’s home at the time of his arrest, including a flashlight, four medical-style gloves, a T-shirt, a Washington State Cougars sweatshirt, a pair of size 13 Nike shoes, as well as Under Armour black socks, shorts, and boxers. Police also collected a cheek swab from the suspect for DNA, People Magazine reported.

Of the items taken, Mancuso said two could be important during the suspect’s trial.

“I would be keen on the shoes, the size of the shoes, comparison to any show impressions that might have been recovered at the scene that sort of thing,” he told BRC 13.

He added that the cheek swab would also play a significant role in court.

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“Something that they could compare to the DNA of I believe the snap button for the sheath of the knife,” he said, referring to a knife sheath found at the off-campus residence where Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21, were found stabbed to death on November 13.

The suspect has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in relation to the killings. The suspect appeared in court and was ordered held without bail, with his next court date scheduled for June 26.

A state court in Washington in January unsealed the search warrants used to collect items from the suspect’s home and office at Washington State University’s department of criminal justice and criminology, where he was pursuing his Ph.D.

Police found nothing at the suspect’s office, the filings show, but hair samples and other evidence were collected from his apartment.

The search warrants show police were looking for blood, DNA, shoes with a particular pattern on the soles, and any information pertaining to the victims who were killed in November.

Police seized a “nitrite-type black glove,” three possible hairs, one possible animal hair strand, a computer tower, a “dark red spot,” two cuttings from an uncased pillow containing a “reddish/brown stain,” along with other items from the suspect’s apartment. While the warrant mentioned the items were removed, it did not explain the connection they may have to the murders.

It is believed that the suspected killer followed all three female victims on Instagram and may have reached out to at least one of them.