FOG BLOG JUSTICE LOG: SUSPECT FOR THE KILLING OF 4 U OF IDAHO STUDENTS ARRESTED!

A graduate student at Washington State University was arrested Friday in his home state of Pennsylvania in last month’s killings of four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home – a brutal attack that rattled a small college town, authorities said.

A criminal complaint charging Bryan Kohberger, 28, with four counts of murder in the first degree, as well as felony burglary, was filed Thursday, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said in a news conference Friday afternoon in Idaho.

Authorities narrowed their focus to Kohberger after tracing his ownership of a white Hyundai Elantra seen in the area of the killings, according to two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation. Kohberger’s DNA has also been matched to genetic material recovered at the off-campus house where the students were stabbed to death, according to the sources.

Genetic genealogy helped investigators identify the suspect, a source with knowledge of the case said. DNA found in Idaho was taken through a public database to find potential matches for family members, the source said. Once potential family matches were found, subsequent investigative work by law enforcement led to the identification of Kohberger, according to the source.

The suspect drove across country in the white car to his parents’ house, according to another law enforcement source. “Sometime right before Christmas we were zeroing in on him being in or going to Pennsylvania,” the source told CNN.