The suspect accused of murdering four students in their beds was tracked down using genealogy databases, police have revealed.
Law enforcement sources said Bryan Kohberger was tracked down by linking DNA evidence from the crime scene to genealogy database.
Kohberger, who has since been charged with the murders, was arrested on Friday December 30, six weeks after four students were stabbed to death in their Moscow, Idaho, US, rental student home.
The bodies of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20 and Ethan Chapin, 20, whose bodies were found stabbed to death in their beds.
The suspect has been charged with four counts of first degree murder and felony burglary. He was arrested in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, where he had been celebrating Christmas with his family.
He currently awaits extradition to Idaho with his hearing expected at 8pm GMT Tuesday January 3. He expected to waive his right to contest extradition.
Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar, who is representing the suspect, has said Kohberger "is eager to be exonerated of these charges and looks forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible."
Kohberger is a PHD student studying at nearby Washington State University.
He is based at the uni's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology in Pullman, Washington, according to the department's website.
Pullman is just a 15-minute drive from the home where the four students were butchered.
He graduated this year from DeSales University in Pennsylvania, which the university has confirmed. He received a bachelor's degree in 2020 and completed graduate studies in June 2022.
His keen interest in criminology has added a sinister turn to the already grim case.
On December 7, investigators asked the public for help in finding a white Hyundai Elantra sedan seen near the Moscow student home around the time of the killings.
By the next day the police department had to direct tips to a special FBI call centre because so many were coming in. By mid-December, investigators were working through nearly 12,000 tips and had identified more than 22,000 vehicles matching that make and model.
NBC News have reported that a white Hyundai Elantra was towed from the Albrightsville house where Kohberger was arrested.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry said that within an hour of Kohberger being identified as the person arrested over the killings, the Moscow Police Department's tip line was flooded with more than 400 calls.
