Killer Kohberger Talks Idaho Murders Changing Plates at DMV

Hello. Hi. How's it going? Pretty good. I just wanted to let you know that you. got my license plate changed. What? We. already know Bryan Kohberger was serving. life in prison for murdering four. University of Idaho students, but now we. have newly obtained surveillance footage. that is adding a critical piece to this. puzzle. What investigators say he did. just 5 days after the killings. Oh, and. do you have Pennsylvania plates on the. vehicle? According to that video, Bryan Kohberger.

walked into a Washington DMV, changed. his license plates, and made small talk. about baseball and hiking, all while. investigators were searching for the. killer's car. What did this actually do. for him? Did it buy him more time, or. was he already caught? Let's talk about. it. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by. Law&Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. By the way, if you're into content. creation, if you're putting things out. on social media, you might be wondering. how do we share so many of these clips.

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instantly. This is the most powerful. tool there is to share ideas and edit. like a pro. So, go to opus.pro/sidebar. to get a free week and then 50% off. So, it was just days after four University. of Idaho students were stabbed to death. in their beds, and Bryan Kohberger. apparently walks into this Washington. DMV. like nothing had happened. Going to get your plates, thank you. Hello. Hi. How's it going? Pretty good. I definitely need to get my license.

plate changed. Okay. Yeah, he needed new. plates. He made small talk. He laughed. about. baseball, told the woman behind the. counter about his PhD program, about. hiking, about how much he liked. Washington. And 5 days after the. killings, there was no sign of what he'd. done. That DMV visit changed the plates. on his car. Remember that came up during. the course of the investigation? And for. a crucial window of time, it may have. made him harder to find. Hello. How you doing? How y'all doing.

today? Good, good. Take a look at your driver's. license real quick, if I could. But was it actually enough to help him. avoid detection, or was he already. caught and just didn't know it yet? What. we're going to do is we're going to take. you through exactly what was captured on. that surveillance footage. This is all. new and an attempt to answer this. question that everybody's been asking. Could this one trip have bought him more. time? What you're about to see, I'm not sure you're going to believe it.

Even after Kohberger was sentenced, I. got to do something, okay? I had the. privilege of sitting down with the. Goncalves family. And I wanted to talk. to them about the fight that they're. still waging. Because they pushed for a. new law out in Idaho, and it is one that. could change things for victims across. the entire country. I'm going to show. you what they told me and why this law. matters. So, November 13th, 2022, four University of. Idaho students are murdered. 5 days later, Bryan Kohberger is spotted. at this Washington DMV changing his.

license plates. He lived just over the. state line from Moscow, Idaho in. Pullman, Washington, where he was. attending Washington State University. Weeks after that, he's pulled over in. Indiana with his dad in the car driving. cross-country with those new plates. You go to December 30th, he's arrested. at his parents' house out in. Pennsylvania. That DMV visit sits right in the middle. of all that. But to understand what it. meant, you need to go back to the night. of the murders. So, November 13th, 2022,

the small college town of Moscow, Idaho. Just off campus, King Road, there's a. three-story white house, inside six. University of Idaho students, friends, roommates. By the end of that morning, four of them were dead. Madison Mogen, 21. Kaylee Goncalves, 21. Best friends since. childhood. They were found in Madison's. bed on the third floor. Xana Kernodle, 20. Her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20. They were found in Xana's bedroom on the. second floor. All four were stabbed to. death brutally with a large fixed-blade.

knife. The 911 call came in just before noon. Surviving roommate, one of two who were. unharmed, reported an unconscious. person. 911 location of your emergency? Hi, something is happening here. Something's happened in our house. We. don't know what. What is the address of the emergency? 1122. What is the rest of the address?

Oh, King Street Road. Okay. And is that a house or an. apartment? It's a house. When officers arrived, they walked into. something that no one expected. Where is she at? Yep. Where is she at? Where is she at?

Where at? Up here? Up here. Up here. You got her? And I didn't expect him yet, but I'm. pretty 13. Okay, get back. I don't know what's going on in here or.

not. I believe he's still in here. I grabbed. the knife. and like 1370. Okay, stay back there, please.

Slow down. Yes, sir. Just come here. It's. There's two. Just like I did all these. And then ultimately I heard walking up I. heard a scream and she ran upstairs cuz. she saw someone. That's what I'm pretty sure she said she. said, "Someone's here." And she screamed. and just ran downstairs. And I called. her name, but I jumped up and locked my. door cuz I was so scared. Um. and then in the I heard someone in the. bathroom and I heard her crying and I.

heard some guy say that you're going to. be okay, I'm going to help you. And I. kept calling her name, but she wasn't. answering. And then I opened the door for a second. and I saw this guy and he was. not insanely tall, but he was wearing. all black and like this mask which was. covering his forehead and his mouth. And. then I locked the door and I called 911. and I didn't know what to do. That was one of the surviving roommates. She saw the killer. She heard things no. one should ever have to hear. It would. take hours to process that scene, days. to piece together what happened, and. weeks before the public even knew a.

suspect existed. That investigation. zeroed in on a white Hyundai Elantra was. seen near the house the night of the. murders. And detectives they combed. through hours of surveillance. They. tracked the vehicles. They interviewed. neighbors and eventually they landed on. a name, Brian Kohberger. At the time, Kohberger was an unknown. He's 28 years. old, PhD student criminology at. Washington State University, just 10. miles from Moscow. He lived in Pullman. He drove a white Hyundai Elantra. And on.

December 30th, 2022, so more than 6. weeks after the murders, he was arrested. at his parents' home out in. Pennsylvania. As to count two, murder in the first degree. as it relates to the murder of Madison. Mogen, how do you plead guilty or not. guilty? Guilty. As to count three, as it. relates to murder in the first degree. for the murder of Kaylee Goncalves, how. do you plead guilty or not guilty? Guilty. As to count four, the first-degree murder of Xana.

Kernodle, Kernodle, pardon me, human being, how do you plead guilty or. not guilty? Guilty. As to count five, first-degree murder of. Ethan Chapin, human being, how do you. plead guilty or not guilty? Guilty. Last summer, we know Kohberger pled. guilty to all four murders. He was. sentenced to four consecutive life. sentences without the possibility of. parole. Families finally got their day. in court. But before that plea, before the arrest, there was a window of time. And in that. window, Brian Kohberger did something.

that for a moment may have changed a. lot. Brings us back to that DMV and what. we're about to show you. Happened just 5. days after the murders, November 18th, 2022. Brian Kohberger walks into the Pullman. Vehicle Vessel Licensing Office. He's. there to change his license plates. And. this footage that was obtained by. YouTuber Christie's Chaos, we're going. to let it play. Take a look. I'm here to. change my license for the vote for him. Getting a new license Hello. Hi. How's. it going? Pretty good. I definitely need.

to get my license plate changed. Okay. We should be able to help you that. That's pretty good. What do you prove to show insurance? No, I mean you have to have it in Washington. state, but you don't have to prove it. with us. I do need to know the exact. mileage that are on your car right now. Let me Let me check that. Okay, perfect. It's about 115. >> Oh, okay. So, you just have to write. that exact mileage right here with no.

tens. Uh check the box that says actual, put. today's date, and then you'll sign. print, and your street address on the. bottom line there. Okay. Uh. No. Makes me feel alive. I wish it was. working. Was that the better package? Yes. Yeah. Thanks, Alana. It would be cool. Yeah. Do they not have that one? I didn't I couldn't find it. Thank you. Oh, okay. Yeah.

shortage on Subaru parts. Hard to find. parts right now. I've known a couple people that have. like ordered the car they wanted and. then had to wait a year. New title's. coming in the mail in about 4 weeks, so. keep an eye out for that. If within 2. months you still haven't seen it, just. let us know cuz we can reissue it at no. Okay. No, no, no. We'll make sure the ones. with alcohol go on the back of the rig, and the ones without go on the front. And I will And the FC will be mailed to. you now, so if you ever sell or trade. the vehicle, you can sign.

Bye, girl. I will. So, we definitely. Yeah. Or are they in our name? I don't I don't believe that they do. because I don't So, she gives that card. to the other Oh, okay. So, yeah, you. should be good. I would just check that. a lot of the coast states do. Yeah. Yeah. So, there it is. Again, just days after. four people were stabbed to death in. their beds, he commits this crime. Brian. Kohberger's laughing, changing his. plates, acting like nothing's unusual. That's what's incredibly chilling, by.

the way. Imagine now seeing this and. being like, oh wow, I talked to this. guy. Now, the question is, what did this. actually do for him? Did it buy him. anything or was he already on borrowed. time, right? I want to break it down. So, first, there's the argument that. yes, it could have changed things. Then. there's the argument, wouldn't have. mattered. They were going to use what we. know and what we can verify. Here's the. argument for yes. November 13th, Kohberger drove from Pullman, Washington. to Moscow, Idaho in a white Hyundai. Elantra with Pennsylvania plates. That. car was seen near the King Road house. around the time of the murders. November.

18th, he's at the DMV. He changed those. Pennsylvania plates to Washington. plates. Law enforcement didn't release a. nationwide bolo for a white Elantra. until weeks later. But investigators. were already searching for white. Elantras registered in Washington. because the crime happened out in Idaho, just across the border. Now, Kohberger's. car wasn't on that list because when. they pulled those registration records, his car still had Pennsylvania plates. He registered in Washington after the. murders. So, for a critical window of. time, that car didn't match what. investigators were looking for. As TMZ.

reported, prosecutors say this DMV. visit, quote, made it harder for cops to. track down the killer's car. It bought. him time, maybe not forever, but enough. So, now for the argument for no, doesn't. matter. Here's the reality. DMV records still exist. They show a man. with his name, his address, his vehicle. walking in on November 18th and changing. plates. The paper trail didn't disappear. just because the plates did. By. December, investigators had connected. that white Elantra to Kohberger through. other means. Washington State University. parking records placed his car on.

campus. Cell phone data placed his phone. near the King Road house multiple times. before the murders. And the plates. didn't stop any of that. And then. there's this, even after changing those. plates, he still got pulled over, twice, on the cross-country drive to. Pennsylvania with his father. Hello. How you doing? How y'all doing. today? Good, good. Take a look at your driver's. license real quick if I could. Trust. See, he's right up on that van, man.

He was right up on the back end of that. van. Pulled you over for tailgating. Is this your car? Okay. Cool. Where you headed? We're going to. actually. pass the sign there. Well, we're coming from WSU. And we're staying. early. What's WSU? Uh Washington State Yeah, I think I got. to go to the university basically Wait, the university is in It's in Pullman, Washington. It's in That is Washington area.

All this stuff. So, we're Okay, I'm I'm. having a hard time hearing you because. of the traffic. So, you're coming from. Washington State University? And you're going where? Oh. We're going to be going to. Pennsylvania. Oh, okay. So, we're a little we're slightly. punched. We've been driving for. hours. Hours, days? >> Hours. We've driven for like 5 Okay. almost today. Okay. So, what did you say about some. SWAT team thing or what? >> Yeah, there was.

The mass shooting and everything. What? Where? It's in Pullman, WA. Interesting. Well, it's horrifying. because. he's just going to the universe. Mhm. So, so y'all work at the university. there? I actually do work there. Oh. You work there.

He's a PhD student. Okay. Okay. Yeah, I hadn't heard about that. incident. Just yesterday or No. About about an hour and a half ago, they're still wrapping it up. They're investigating. I was not sure the situation was if did. shoot somebody. What's your And then you. don't know about that actually. Interesting.

Well, Okay. So, do me a favor and don't follow too. close, okay? Okay. All right. Thank you. Appreciate you. That traffic stop happened on December. 15th. The car had Washington plates, the. ones he got a month earlier. The officer. didn't know what was about to unfold, but 2 weeks later on December 30th, Bryan Kohberger was arrested at his. parents' home in Pennsylvania. So, the. DMV visit, yes, bought him time, maybe, but it didn't buy him forever. The. investigation caught up, the evidence. caught up, and in the end, those new. plates didn't stop anything. Maybe even.

as much as he wanted to. By the summer. of 2025, Kohberger had plead guilty. He. was sentenced to four consecutive life. sentences, and that case was over. Or so. it seemed. Because in the months that. followed, law enforcement agencies began. releasing thousands of crime scene. photos from the investigation. Some. showed the inside of the King Road. house. There were others that showed. evidence markers, blood stains, the. knife sheath that had been mistakenly. left behind. Remember, that was the DNA. that caught back up to him. And for the Goncalves family, watching.

those photos circulate online without. any advance warning, that's a new kind of trauma. So, I sat down with Steve and Olivia. Goncalves, okay? This is Kaylee's father. and sister, to talk about what happened next and the. new law that they helped push through in. Idaho that could change things for. victims' families forever, okay? This is. them on my NewsNation show, Jesse. Watters Primetime. Governor called you. personally, right? What did he say?

He just said, you know, he was really. happy to be able to start enacting this. change, and you know, it was it was long. overdue, not personally for this case, but just for victims' rights in general. in Idaho and, you know, other states. Steve, just to be clear, what exactly. does this law limit from the public. record? How does it work? As I understand it, this is mainly. Olivia's. bill that she's been working on and I've. been on I've been on the sidelines for. this one. But it protects uh.

crime scene. the gory body, you know, it protects. that. It basically says it's still going. to be used in the court of law and all. that. It's just not something that gets. released to the general public uh. Freedom of Information Act. There's. certain things that are just not. evidence and um that's kind of what. we're we're taking, I mean. If a family wants to request the photos. for whatever reason, they still could, but is there some limitations to that? All right, so it goes with the familial.

hierarchy. So, it's surviving spouse, adult children, parents, siblings, grandparents, and it has to go in that. order. They can't jump the line. Um but. there's no limitations on um you know, getting access to those records. I would. love for this to be adopted in any state. that doesn't currently have protections. over decedents' bodies. Some states do, but most do not. Um and I would say to. the legislators of those states, if it. can pass in conservative Idaho.

unanimously, it can pass in your home. state, too. And I would also say. it. on a case like this, it's better to be. proactive than reactive. And it's better. to try to reduce the harm before the. harm has happened. It's always it's always difficult and I. I. I think it's always going to be, but. it's worth it when maybe I can avoid. this happening to the next family. So, the Goncalves family turned their pain. into purpose. And while nothing can.

bring back the victims, this new law. will protect other families from going. through what they did. Right before the judge handed down. Kohberger's sentence, the families of. Madison, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan, they stood up to tell him. exactly what they thought. You're a joke. Complete joke. But we took this disaster. and we did what we could.

We put everything online. We took our. kids, we took our images, we took. everything that they did, their videos, their photos, the girls' pranks, Ethan singing. We put it out there, we shared it with. the world. And the world united. And all they ended up, when they talked. about this case, is they talked about Kaylee Jade, Maddy. May, Xana, and Ethan. Everything what these people meant to.

us, a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, we shared that with our community. Then we shared it with our state. We shared it with the country, and. eventually we shared it with the world. The world's watching because of the. kids, not because of you. Nobody cares about you. You're not worth the time, the effort to. be remembered. Anytime you will be nothing but two. initials forgotten to the wind. No.

visitors, nothing more than initials on. an otherwise unmarked tombstone. From this moment, we've all started. on a small wheel. From this moment, we will forget you. We want to I'll leave in closing one. last thing. You picked the wrong family. And we're laughing at you on your trip.

to the pen that will be today. or tomorrow. I'll close with. God bless all the men and women that. worked on this case. and all the hard work that you guys did. You guys allowed us to grieve and. allowed us to get through this. The amount of work that you guys put. together and the way that you guys put. it together was beautiful. There was hard times. to be expected.

But thank you all. and God bless. I don't know what my. limits are here, but I'm really struggling, dude. I am struggling cuz I want to I want to. just. be out in the woods with you just so I. can teach you about loss and pain. I'm. not I believe I love God. I wouldn't. take your life. That's up to him. But I guarantee you you are weak. God, I would just. give a moment, man, 5 minutes out in the. woods.

Oh, man. Woo. You're going to go to hell. I know people believe in other stuff. You're You're evil. There's no place for. you in heaven. You took our children. You are going to suffer, man. I'm shaking cuz I want to reach out to. you, but I just I hope you feel my. energy, okay? Go to hell. The time has now come to end Mr. Kohberger's 15 minutes of fame.

It's time that he be consigned to the. ignominy and isolation of perpetual. incarceration. All right, Mr. Kohberger, you have an. opportunity to make a statement if you. wish to. I take it you are declining. I respectfully decline. Okay. And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so. much for joining us, and as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcast. You can also check us. out on NBC's Peacock as well. We got. Sidebar episodes up there, too. If you.

want to follow me, X, Instagram, on. NewsNation show, Jesse Weber LIVE, Monday through Friday, 11:00 p.m. Eastern. See you next time, everybody.