Bryan Kohberger's former defense expert calls for death penalty, says investigators missed key evidence

Admitted Idaho murderer Bryan Kohberger should get a caller proceedings and look the decease penalty, according to a integer forensics adept hired by the defence who says investigators missed damning grounds against the 30-year-old erstwhile criminology PhD pupil — though his ain adept study for the lawsuit appears to contradict immoderate of the claims.

Sy Ray is simply a erstwhile Arizona homicide researcher who is present an adept connected integer forensics, geolocation and akin data. Kohberger's lawyers hired him arsenic an adept witnesser for the defence earlier Kohberger pleaded blameworthy to debar the decease punishment for the location penetration murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, besides 20.

Kohberger, present serving 4 consecutive sentences of beingness successful situation without parole, petitioned the tribunal past week to retreat his blameworthy plea and question post-conviction relief, which could nonstop the lawsuit to proceedings — and enactment the imaginable decease punishment backmost successful play.

KOHBERGER DEFENSE EXPERT WANTS HIS LAWYERS UNDER OATH AFTER KILLER CITES FINDINGS IN BID TO UNDO GUILTY PLEA

Families of Idaho execution victims record wrongful decease suit against Washington State University, alleging the schoolhouse ignored 13 reports astir Bryan Kohberger. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool | Instagram)

"Bring backmost the decease penalty," Ray told writer Brian Entin successful a caller podcast. "I americium each for this."

He said helium is assured that Kohberger would beryllium convicted and claimed that Kohberger's smartphone information is overmuch much incriminating than was revealed antecedently erstwhile constabulary and the courts unsealed thousands of pages of grounds successful the case.

"I 100% judge that the offender, who is Bryan Kohberger — there’s nary alternate mentation successful my caput astatine this point," Ray said successful the 82-minute episode, which besides included Goncalves’ parents, Kristi and Steve, and her older sister, Alivea. "I 100% judge he’s been successful the location before."

BRYAN KOHBERGER'S CHOICE OF 'A HOUSE FULL OF WOMEN' MAY HOLD THE KEY TO THE IDAHO MURDERS' BIGGEST MYSTERY

A watchman parked extracurricular 1122 King Road connected Dec. 11, 2022, 4 weeks aft 4 students were stabbed to decease inside. A twelvemonth later, the spot is scheduled for demolition. Critics judge it should stay lasting until the fishy goes to trial. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Ray has not responded to attempts to scope him oregon shared details of his caller claims with Fox News Digital.

Ray claimed that the grounds helium reviewed shows Kohberger perchance wrong the victims’ home, and astatine different places erstwhile they were contiguous anterior to the murders — thing that some contradicts his ain adept study from January 2025 and that adjacent prosecutors haven’t publically alleged.

"If you look astatine those precise measurements, there’s astir apt 5 that onshore straight connected what would beryllium the surviving country of the house," Ray told Entin. "Like the latitude-longitude is the carnal location itself, and if you enactment the location backmost connected the map, and you representation those, the hits are wrong the house."

IDAHO MURDERS: NEW BOOK ON KOHBERGER REVEALS PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN EVIDENCE, CLAIMS SHEATH COULD BE INADMISSIBLE

(Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves) (Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves)

"I conscionable privation to marque definite I recognize correctly … due to the fact that I haven't heard this earlier — truthful you're saying, based connected the information you saw, the latitude-longitude for Bryan Kohberger’s Samsung was successful the surviving room?" Entin asked.

"The AT&T-derived latitude-longitude from the AT&T’s web that it estimates a location, it lands successful the location — and it's a 25-meter range, truthful we're talking 75 feet, truthful it could beryllium anyplace successful the location connected immoderate floor," Ray said. "It could technically beryllium extracurricular the house, it could [be] connected the property, but it's showing successful the contiguous area. My idiosyncratic sentiment is erstwhile I look astatine those, and I representation what's happening earlier and aft and I'm looking astatine each the different evidence. I deliberation these are close locations."

That runs contrary to the adept study nether his sanction included successful a defence filing from Jan. 23, 2025.

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"It is my sentiment that the geolocation information I person been provided arsenic of the penning this study does not supply immoderate grounds of relation betwixt Mr. Kohberger and immoderate of the decedents and/or Mr. Kohberger’s oregon decedent’s residence," helium wrote.

Still, Ray told the podcast his mentation is that Mogen was Kohberger’s superior people owed to the fig of times helium could hint their phones to akin locations.

Madison Mogen, 21, was connected of 4 University of Idaho students killed successful a location penetration onslaught astatine their off-campus rental successful November 2022. (Jessie Frost Photography)

"I judge Maddie was the target," helium said, adding that repeated "collisions" betwixt their phones placed them successful astir the aforesaid country astatine the aforesaid time, including astatine a Pullman enactment the archetypal week of schoolhouse and astatine the A&W store adjacent the King Road transgression scene.

He besides flagged what helium described arsenic Kohberger’s broader "pattern of life," pointing to grounds of stalking earlier the murders.

That besides contradicts his report.

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"I americium incapable to find immoderate play of clip betwixt June 23, 2022 and November 13, 2022 wherever Mr. Kohberger’s mobile instrumentality is successful the aforesaid circumstantial country arsenic immoderate of the deceased’s mobile devices," helium wrote.

The discrepancy raised reddish flags for immoderate experts who person been pursuing the case, including Morgan Wright, the CEO and laminitis of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases and the big of "Crime: Reconstructed."

Bryan Christopher Kohberger is seen successful a booking photograph aft his apprehension connected Dec. 30, 2022, successful Pennsylvania. (Monroe County Correctional Facility via Getty Images)

That signifier of beingness was besides breached connected the nighttime of the murders, erstwhile Ray said helium believes the program to people Mogen went awry and resulted successful him fleeing south, wherever he’d ne'er driven before.

While prosecutors alleged that Kohberger had visited the transgression country a twelve times earlier the murders and astatine slightest erstwhile the greeting after, they person not pointed to "collisions" with immoderate of the victims the mode Ray described successful the podcast. In a quality briefing aft Kohberger's blameworthy plea, the case's pb investigators said they didn't cognize who the people was.

"The grounds suggested that determination was a crushed that this peculiar location was chosen," said then-Moscow Police Cpl. Brett Payne. "What that crushed is, we don't know. We don't cognize who the people was, and we're not going to speculate connected that up present today. But we tin archer you that, for immoderate reason, Mr. Kohberger chose that residence. Perhaps it's the location, layout, we bash not know."

And erstwhile they were asked by Fox News Digital if they had a motive, pb investigators replied, "We don't."

Cpl. Brett Payne of the Moscow Police Department, left, and Lt. Darren Gilbertson of the Idaho State Police, right, talk to the media during a property league astatine the Ada County Courthouse aft the sentencing of Bryan Kohberger, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)

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On Entin's podcast, Ray alleged that they missed the evidence.

"They didn’t adjacent look astatine it," Ray said of the stalking evidence. "It’s unthinkable to me."

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However, successful Ray's report, helium wrote that helium "can find nary grounds of stalking behaviour oregon surveillance astatine the King Road Residence," Wright noted.

"This is the sharpest contradiction," Wright told Fox News Digital. "The state's hunt warrant sought records specifically to find whether Kohberger 'stalked' immoderate unfortunate oregon 'conducted surveillance connected the King Road Residence.'"

After Kohberger’s blameworthy plea, Ray said helium offered to bash a debrief with the FBI to amusement the grounds helium said helium recovered and they missed. He said helium got nary response, but added that helium has presented earlier hundreds of instrumentality enforcement agencies astir the state going backmost to November, helium said.

Exterior presumption of Idaho State Correctional Complex successful Kuna, Idaho, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Notorious killer, Bryan Kohberber is being housed astatine this installation aft being sentenced successful the stabbing murders of 4 University of Idaho students successful 2022. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Last week, Kohberger filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming helium had ineffective counsel from his defence team.

Ray besides speculated that Kohberger’s post-conviction petition was portion of a broader ineligible strategy by his pb defence lawyer Anne Taylor contempt the plea agreement’s waiver of astir entreaty rights.

Kohberger pleaded blameworthy to debar the decease penalty.

"This tin ne'er beryllium the modular probe that we spot successful cases," Ray said. "This tin ne'er beryllium acceptable."

Bryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of sidesplitting 4 University of Idaho students successful November 2022, sits with Anne Taylor, left, 1 of his attorneys, during a proceeding successful Latah County District Court, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, successful Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool)

However, helium said that he’s assured Kohberger would beryllium convicted anyhow astatine proceedings — if investigators introduced the grounds helium recovered portion moving with Taylor.

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"The clip is present to commencement this probe over," Ray said.

Kohberger had followed different radical successful the Moscow-Pullman area, helium said — a brace of assemblage towns connected the borderline of Washington and Idaho.

"I deliberation helium had aggregate targets passim the full Moscow-Pullman area," Ray said. "Location accusation and signifier of beingness is by acold the astir telling."

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Ray said helium has nary uncertainty that Kohberger committed the murders.

"If helium ever does walk, helium volition termination again," helium said.