In case you are wondering what the process is in Idaho for unsealing the evidence.
STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The man charged with killing four Idaho college students will have his extradition hearing in a Monroe County courtroom Tuesday.
That’s the first step in getting more answers, since the affidavit detailing what led law enforcement to Bryan Kohberger is sealed until he’s back in Idaho. He was arrested Friday in the Poconos and has connections to the Lehigh Valley, too.
Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., Kohberger is scheduled to be inside the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg.
His attorney Jason LaBar says he plans on waiving his extradition hearing to speed up the process of getting him to Idaho, adding Kohberger is eager to be exonerated.
“It was an easy decision, obviously since he doesn’t contest that he is Bryan Kohberger,” said LaBar.
Criminal defense attorney John Waldron says if he were representing Kohberger, he’d ask for a mental health evaluation as soon as possible.
“Is he competent to waive extradition? Is he mentally ill? I think a psychologist should get involved to make a determination if he can even consciously, willingly, knowingly waive extradition with his state of mind, whatever that may be,” said Waldron.
Over the weekend, Kohberger’s family issued a statement saying they’re praying for the victims’ families, while supporting their son and brother.
Steve Goncalves, the father of victim Kaylee Goncalves, says these latest developments have given them a little hope and that things are moving in the right direction.
“We’re going to definitely look this guy, look him in his eyes,” said Steve Goncalves. “He’s going to have to deal with this. He has been dealing with this for seven weeks. It’s not about to end.”
People who knew him, from the Poconos to the Lehigh Valley to the Pacific Northwest, are still in shock:
“Totally jarring, totally shocking to realize that this person had been grading my papers,” said Hayden Stinchfield, a Washington student who says Kohberger was his teacher’s assistant in criminology class.
Stinchfield said many noticed Kohberger went from a stringent grader to an easy one over the last month.
“He started grading everybody, just hundreds,” said Stinchfield. “He stopped leaving notes. He seemed preoccupied.”
A man who used to go on runs with Kohberger in high school and a woman in his Northampton Community College psychology class agree he was quiet.
A former Pleasant Valley classmate, going by his first name Cody, remembers middle school.
“He was bullied a lot for his weight, the way he dressed,” said Cody. “He was just tortured. I felt bad for him, back then at least.”
Cody says things changed in high school.
“He was just very aggressive, had an extremely short fuse,” said Cody.
As for what happens after the hearing, Waldron says, “no one would know when he would leave because of security reasons, but Idaho would come and get him as quickly as possible.”
That could lead to court documents being unsealed, opening the door to more information on a potential motive or possible connection to the victims, both of which have not yet been released.