For the first time, Idaho State Police have released photos of the brown leather Ka-Bar knife sheath, a key piece of evidence linking Bryan Kohberger to the murders of four University of Idaho students. The images are part of over 2,300 pages of materials made public by investigators.
In the early hours of November 13, 2022, Kohberger murdered Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho. He left behind a knife sheath when fleeing the scene, an oversight that ultimately led police to him.
“It was this crucial piece of evidence that led to the killer’s downfall.”
Forensic genetic genealogy linked the DNA on the sheath to Kohberger, a 30-year-old criminology PhD student. This connection allowed investigators to unmask him as the suspect responsible for the attacks.
The released photographs show a brown leather cover embossed with a USMC military seal and measuring less than 15 inches in length. Investigators believe the sheath housed the murder weapon — a Ka-Bar knife that has never been recovered.
Records indicate that in March 2022, eight months before the killings, Kohberger purchased the knife and sheath through Amazon. This transaction occurred three months before he relocated from his family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, to Pullman, Washington.
The newly released photos of the Ka-Bar knife sheath expose the critical forensic evidence that ultimately led to Bryan Kohberger’s identification and arrest for the Idaho student murders.