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A recent report has alleged that University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger attempted to contact one of the girl’s through direct messages on Instagram weeks before the four students were killed.
The allegation that Bryan Kohberger sent multiple messages to one of the students in the weeks leading up to the gruesome murder has now provided a potential link between the victim and the suspect.
In an interview with PEOPLE, an investigator in the case said that two weeks before the four Idaho students were killed in their beds, Kohberger repeatedly sent messages on Instagram to one of the female victims, who did not respond to the texts.
The persistent texting has led investigators to believe that the suspect stalked the victims before they were killed on November 13, 2022.
Authorities, who have not identified the recipient of the DMs, said that after the initial message went unanswered, the suspect sent multiple texts to engage the victim in a conversation. Reacting to the report, people have now deemed it a "premeditated stalking" case.
Officials also noted that the messages were sent around the same time that Kohberger's cell phone pinged into a location near the victim's home in the weeks before the murder.
Details of Bryan Kohberger's texts to the Idaho murder victim explored
On December 30, 2022, authorities arrested Bryan Kohberger on suspicion of stabbing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13.
While authorities have not disclosed the motive, an investigator close to the case has revealed that the suspect stalked one of the victims online in late October, two weeks before stabbing them with a fixed-blade knife.
The investigator told PEOPLE that Kohberger sent multiple texts to one of the victims that went unanswered. An anonymous source said:
"He slid into one of the girls' DMs several times but she didn't respond. Basically, it was just him saying, 'Hey, how are you?' But he did it again and again."
While authorities have not publicly discussed the relationship between Bryan Kohberger and the victims, recent reports allege that Kohberger stalked one of the victims online. It should be noted that Kohberger followed the accounts of Mogen, Gonclaves, and Kernodle.
An anonymous source told people that he did not know why the recipient of Kohberger's text did not respond but noted that the texts might have gone unnoticed by the victim.
"She may not have seen them, because they went into message requests. We're still trying to determine how aware the victims were of his existence."
While authorities have established a potential link between one of the victims and the suspect, it should be noted that they have not confirmed that the unanswered texts pushed the suspect into committing the crime. An anonymous source commented on the possibility of unanswered messages motivating the crime, saying:
"There's no indication that he was getting frustrated with her lack of response. But he was definitely persistent."
Authorities have not released any additional information on the case as Bryan Kohberger's attorneys filed requests for the gag order, compelling the Idaho judge to issue a non-dissemination order banning officials from releasing any information related to the case.
Meanwhile, Kohberger remains imprisoned as he awaits a preliminary hearing on June 26.
