Assistant Chief Dawn Daniels of the WSU Pullman Police Department describes the largely empty apartment in a report filed after she and other officers were sent to collect evidence just hours after Kohberger's arrest in Pennsylvania on December 30.
Bryan Kohberger may have cleared out his apartment at Washington State University (WSU) two weeks before police officers secured a search warrant.
Assistant Chief Dawn Daniels of the WSU Pullman Police Department described the largely empty apartment in a report filed after she and other officers were sent to collect evidence just hours after police arrested the man suspected of killing four University of Idaho students at his family home in Pennsylvania on Dec. 30.
"We also noticed while clearing the apartment, it was sparsely furnished, and fairly empty of belongings, including no shower curtain in the bathroom and the trash cans appeared empty," Daniels wrote in the report, obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
In the end, Daniels and her team collected just 12 items as evidence, according to court filings released back in January. Six of the 12 items were possible strands of hair.
One thing not mentioned in that January report is the lock that Daniels and her team found in the apartment.
Daniels told a judge in a phone call on Dec. 30 that "a padlock, round in shape, in the living room closet" had been found at Kohberger's apartment.
"Based on my training and experience I recognized the padlock to be the shape of locks typically used on storage units," Daniels said in that call. "The lock is round in shape and the design limits the ability for it to be cut off."
Daniels said that because these locks are "typically used on storage units," she reached out to the apartment coordinator, which is when she learned that students are given a storage unit in the building.
The phone call between Daniels and the judge was in lieu of submitting a formal request for a search warrant.
Because Daniels and her team were already at the scene, the judge gave her verbal approval. Afterwards, a transcript of that call was entered into the court record.
Inside Edition Digital obtained the bodycam footage taken during the call to the judge, as well as the transcript.
Daniels' search of the storage locker ultimately turned up nothing, because it was completely empty.
"There were cobwebs going into the storage closet and the floor was dusty," wrote Daniels. "It did not appear the closet had been used recently and nothing was seized or collected from the closet."
BRYAN KOHBERGER EMERGENCY SEARCH WARRANT
The lack of evidence found at the apartment may have something to do with the fact that Kohberger left for winter break knowing that he might not be able to return to the program. Inside Edition Digital obtained a copy of a termination letter sent to Kohberger by the director of the graduate program just a few days after he arrived home in Pennsylvania.
The letter reveals that Kohberger had multiple altercations with the professor he served as a teacher's assistant to at the school.
"On September 23rd, 2022, you had an altercation with the faculty you support as a TA, Professor [John] Snyder. I met with you on October 3rd to discuss norms of professional behavior," the letter reads.
"On October 21st, Professor Snyder emailed you about the ways in which you had failed to meet your expectations as a TA thus far in the semester," it continues. "As a result, on November 2nd, Graduate Director [Dale] Willits and I met with you to discuss an improvement plan, which you agreed to and I shared with you in an email dated November 3rd."
Kohberger met with faculty including the professor with whom he allegedly had conflicts, and the graduate director on Dec. 7 to discuss his progress in regards to the improvement plan previously discussed. "While not perfect, we agreed that there was progress," the letter reads.
Then, just two days later, another incident.
"On December 9th, there was another altercation with Professor Snyder, in which it became apparent that you had not made progress regarding professionalism and about which I wrote to you on December 11th requesting a meeting," the letter reads. "We met on December 19th when I informed you of your termination as a TA for spring semester."
Kohberger did not get kicked out of the program at that time, but the loss of his job meant that he would be facing new financial burdens.
Teaching assistants in the criminology program at WSU “receive a specified stipend each month, health insurance benefits, and an in-state tuition waiver. Out-of-state tuition is waived the first year until the student establishes residency," the university notes on its website.
This means Kohberger would have to pay for the fall semester in full as well as the spring semester, which would cost an estimated $46,278 according to WSU.
One day after the search of his apartment, Kohberger received a trespass order from the police chief at WSU, Gary Jenkins.
"This admonition is to inform you that you have been trespassed from all areas of Washington State University campuses. This includes all buildings, sidewalks, breezeways, courtyards, access roads, and parking lots and any other Washington State University campus property," reads the letter obtained by Inside Edition Digital. "This admonition is effective immediately and will continue until pending student conduct charges have been resolved and you have been given permission in writing to return to campus."
Kohberger confirmed receipt of this letter by signing a copy of the order on Dec.31.
BRYAN KOHBERGER TRESPASS ORDER
A WSU Pullman police officer first identified Kohberger as a person of interest in the University of Idaho murder investigation on Nov. 29 because he drove a white Hyundai Elantra similar to the one the suspected killer drove on the night of the murders.
That officer then alerted the Moscow Police Department to this fact, but it took another month for officers to secure a search warrant.
It is unclear if officers knew about Kohberger's academic violations or the fact that he had been removed from the doctoral program almost two weeks before they conducted the search of his apartment.
Kohberger later signed off on his lawyer collecting his belongings from the apartment, and a filing by the WSU officer guarding the door reveals that she took five items.
Public defender Anne Taylor spent just 10 minutes in the apartment, walking out with: "a flat screen tv, a computer monitor, a small box with misc. papers and receipts, a laundry basket full of books, and a medium sized box."
The lack of evidence collected at the apartment could bode well for Kohberger, as could the body camera footage from an October traffic stop on the WSU campus obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
In that video, the officer notes that Kohberger's registration was set to expire on Nov. 22, which could explain why he decided to get a new license and Washington registration just days after the murders of those four University of Idaho students on Nov. 13.
BRYAN KOHBERGER PROPERTY WAIVER
Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
He is also charged with a single count of burglary.
Kohberger is currently being held without bail at the Latah County Detention Denter ahead of a preliminary hearing in June, which is expected to last a week.
His previous public defender has said that Kohberger maintains his innocence.
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