Bryan Kohberger called his mother less than two hours after he killed four University of Idaho students.
The 30-year-old former criminology student called his mother, Maryann Kohberger, at 6:17 a.m. on November 13, 2022, soon after returning to the apartment where he lived on the Washington State University campus.
This information comes from Heather Barnhart, a digital forensics expert who examined Kohberger’s phone and computer. She spoke with PEOPLE about her findings.
Records show that Kohberger first tried to call his mother at 6:13 a.m. When she didn’t answer, he called his father at 6:14 a.m. According to Barnhart, Kohberger had his parents saved as “Mother” and “Father” in his phone and often called his mother first, then his father if she didn’t answer.
Barnhart said Kohberger would also text his father, asking why his mother hadn’t responded. His mother eventually answered, and they spoke for 36 minutes.
Not long after, Kohberger called her again at 8:03 a.m., and that call lasted 54 minutes. This means he was likely speaking to his mother while driving back to the crime scene. Prosecutors said he spent about 10 minutes at the scene around 9 a.m., and then spoke to his mother again at 9 a.m. for nine minutes.
They also talked later in the day—once for two minutes at 4:05 p.m., and then for 96 minutes at 5:53 p.m. By the end of the day, Kohberger had spent over three hours on the phone with his mother.
Barnhart said Kohberger did not text friends or anyone outside his family. Most of his phone activity involved calls or texts with his parents, sometimes starting as early as 4 a.m.
Kohberger’s phone, a Samsung Galaxy he bought in June 2022, was completely turned off from 2:54 a.m. to 4:48 a.m., likely to hide evidence while he committed the murders. Barnhart said this confirmed the phone wasn’t just dead—it had been deliberately turned off.
This made it impossible for Kohberger’s defense to claim that the phone died during the murders. Experts also noted that turning off the phone contradicted his alibi about taking photos of the night sky, which would require the phone to be on.
On July 2, 2025, Kohberger admitted in court that he killed four University of Idaho students: Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. Three weeks later, he was sentenced to four life sentences in prison.
His mother and sister were in the courtroom that day, but Kohberger ignored them as he left.
