Chilling moment Bryan Kohberger talks about his college murders with DMV worker — as he changed his license plate
Surveillance footage captured a disturbing moment involving Bryan Kohberger just days after the killings of four University of Idaho students. In the video, Kohberger calmly spoke with a Washington state Department of Motor Vehicles employee while changing the license plates on his car, less than a week after the murders.
The video shows Kohberger entering a DMV office in Pullman, Washington, at 3:13 p.m. on November 18, 2022. During the visit, he told a worker that he needed to update the plates on his vehicle. At the time, Kohberger was 28 years old and had already carried out the fatal attacks on University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20. The victims were killed while sleeping in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
Despite the severity of what had happened days earlier, Kohberger appeared relaxed and engaged in casual conversation with the DMV employee. The worker remarked that the area felt quieter and safer than San Francisco, where she was originally from, before referencing the recent Moscow murders without realizing she was speaking to the person responsible. Kohberger simply nodded and responded briefly.
The discussion soon shifted to baseball when Kohberger noticed the employee wearing a San Francisco baseball sweatshirt. He asked whether she supported the Giants. Kohberger then mentioned he was a fan of the New York Yankees and joked about hoping the Giants would not catch up to the Yankees’ 27 World Series championships.
While wearing black gloves, he completed the paperwork required to obtain new Washington state plates for his white Hyundai Elantra. He also explained that his support for the Yankees came from his family, adding that his mother was originally from Brooklyn. Kohberger briefly discussed rumors at the time that Yankees star Aaron Judge might return to California before eventually re-signing with New York.
Calling Judge an outstanding player, Kohberger said that baseball fans generally respected the slugger. Afterward, the conversation returned to the DMV business, where he selected a standard license plate rather than a specialty design.
When asked if he attended Washington State University, Kohberger said he was pursuing a PhD and emphasized that he was not an undergraduate student. He described the community as interesting and noted that it was much larger than the small university environment he had experienced previously in Pennsylvania.
The employee also asked about his future plans after graduation. Kohberger responded that his career path could take him anywhere depending on where he found work, though he said he liked Pullman and Washington state overall. The worker spoke about the region’s natural scenery, including national parks and outdoor activities like hiking and camping. Kohberger replied that he enjoyed hiking, though he had not grown up camping because his parents were often busy.
During the conversation, Kohberger mentioned he was planning to drive back to Pennsylvania soon and said the timing might be difficult because a snowstorm was expected in eastern Washington.
Prosecutors later said that in the early hours of November 13, 2022, Kohberger entered the off-campus home in Moscow where the four students lived. Authorities believe he was specifically targeting Madison Mogen and acting on what investigators described as a “psychosexual fantasy.”
Inside the house, Mogen and Goncalves were found sleeping in the same bed when they were attacked. Both women were repeatedly stabbed. Kohberger then moved downstairs, where he encountered Xana Kernodle, who attempted to fight back before she was killed. The attack ended in Kernodle’s bedroom, where her boyfriend Ethan Chapin was also fatally stabbed.
After the killings, Kohberger left the residence and eventually traveled across the country. On December 30, 2022, he was arrested at his family’s home in Chestnuthill Township, Pennsylvania.
For several years Kohberger maintained that he was innocent. However, on July 2, 2025, he pleaded guilty to four counts of murder. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors removed the possibility of the death penalty. He was ultimately sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
About Post Author
