Death of Dana Smithers and other rumors of student murder in Idaho (2023)

Following the stabbing death of four University of Idaho students on November 13, 2022, the amount of speculation and unfounded rumors circulating online may be unprecedented. Confusing information from the police, offering few details about the murders, has only fueled the frenzy of those seeking answers. With every news release from the Moscow Police Department, investigators seem to be playing a never-ending game of rumors, naming as suspects people they’ve already cleared — posters on TikTok, Facebook, and Reddit that have been identified and discredited people, further hurting grieving family and loved ones.

A possible Idaho affidavit and a Pennsylvania warrant have recently been released, providing new details and raising new questions — such as why 9/11 didn't stop until one of the victim's surviving roommates lived off-campus. The call came eight hours after the face-to-face collision with the alleged killer. However, a gag order prevented authorities and even the victim's family from elaborating or clarifying details, creating another information vacuum, filled with speculation and outlandish theories. Expectations are high for suspect Bryan Kohberger's preliminary hearing in June, when prosecutors will publicly present the evidence they believe is needed to persuade a judge to proceed with the murder trial.

However, on May 22, when it was revealed that KohbergerAlready chargedA grand jury in Moscow, Idaho -- the action is so secretive it practically means the public won't know any evidence against Kohberger from the start until the trial, scheduled for October.

There is another rush to fill the void of the deaths of Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Maddie Mogen, 21. Unable to verify. Here's a rundown of some of the latest theories, and whether they're true, false, or unproven.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck43bViLzdH/

False: Brian Coberg was also a suspect in the Dana Smithers murder.

Dana Smithers is a 45-year-old mother of three from PennsylvaniaDisappearedOn May 28, 2022, about 30 miles from Kohberger's home in Albrightsville, where he was arrested on December 30. She went out, leaving her phone, car keys and medication behind.

On April 28, nearly a year after Smithers disappeared, police announced they had found her badly decomposed body in a wooded area. An autopsy later confirmed the remains were hers, but could not determine the cause or manner of death.

Social media investigators and TikTokers were so convinced Kohberger was involved in her disappearance and death that they even contacted her sister, who thanked them in Januarypost on facebook"Thank you to everyone who may have been in our area recently regarding the suspect in the horrific murder in Idaho at the time of my sister Dana's disappearance," he wrote, adding that he has retweeted all of their suggestions. to investigators.

But local police later denied the possibility of a connection.

in apost on facebookRecalling many of the messages sent by the Moscow Police Department, even in its wording, the department wrote: "The Stroud Regional Police Department is aware of the many news articles currently reported in which various media outlets report on the Dana Smithers SARPD investigation of missing persons and Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger. SARPD has no evidence to link Dana Smither's disappearance to Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger."

Unconfirmed: Bryan Kohberger's parents testify to grand jury convened in Smithers' death.

According to several reports, which only cite one or more sources"close to the case" this "Familiar with the situationBryan's parents, Maryann and Michael Kohberger, testified separately before a grand jury in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.According to NewsNation reporter Brian Entin, which appears to be the first to report news of the grand jury, that Dana Smithers' sister "knew even before Coberg's arrest that an investigative grand jury in Pennsylvania was investigating her sister's case and other cases."Edin says"After Kohberger's arrest, she said a grand jury began investigating whether Kohberger had anything to do with her sister's disappearance. He said it was clear he had no connection and there were indications he was not in the area Seeing her sister for the last time. "

Like the Moscow conference convened for Kohberger, the grand jury was asked to evaluate whether evidence and witness testimony supported criminal charges.Judges can allow attorneys to share details and/or transcripts of grand jury proceedings with other law enforcement agencies, or all attorneys, jurors, and court personnel are "sworn to secrecy" and could be held in contempt of court if they disclose procedural information.Witnesses in Pennsylvania, however, have no such obligation, so one or more of them may have shared their participation and testimony with reporters.

Young Kwak via Reuters

(Video) Bryan Kohberger Parents Testify Before Grand Jury in Woman’s Death

Wrong: Victim's family calls for death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.

Only prosecutors can decide whether to seek the death penalty, although the wishes of families may influence their decision. despite the headlines saying soIdaho victim's family supports death penalty for killer, to summarize: OOnly the Goncalves family seems to have said this publicly. Rata County District Attorney Bill Thompson in Moscow has until July 21, 60 days after Kohberger pleaded not guilty, to decide whether he intends to do so.

Likely: If the convicted murderer is sentenced to death, he will be executed by firing squad.

Although recent legislation in Idaho authorizes executions by firing squads,law, which will take effect on July 1, will only be allowed if the drug used in the lethal injection is not available.

Unconfirmed: Bryan Kohberger is "Pappa Rodger".

'Dateline' claimed in a recent episode ('Killing on the King's Road') that 'investigators are now convinced' of the 'Pappa Rodger' Facebook account - a prolific posterUniversity of Idaho Murder Case - Case Discussion Facebook Group- Owned by Kohberger, but this has not been publicly confirmed. People pointed to the time when the poster left Facebook roughly coincided with Kohberger's arrest as evidence that they were the same person. Poster Says Trust Researchershe found the scabbardandother positionsAlso aroused suspicion. Although Pappa Rodger's head looks like Kohberger, it's not him: it's a realistic soldier's head, created at least 10 years ago by digital artist Yi Xu using Photoshop, V-Ray, 3ds Max, and Zbrush software.According to a 2013 blog"In this work, I tried to archive the photography effects and learn some lighting and hair skills. "The report is some pictures from the Internet," said Yi Xu.

Ted S. Warren via AP

Likely: No trial if Kohberger pleads guilty to avoid the death penalty.

Typically, defendants who plead guilty do not go to a jury trial or hear evidence. Instead, there will be a sentencing hearing where the judge and defendant will hear victim impact statements from loved ones. The idea that the public might not have access to details of the case against Kohberger has gone too far for online sleuths, but District Attorney Bill Thompson could choose to drop his appeal because Federal prosecutors did it for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. If Thompson decides to seek the death penalty, there will be a sentencing trial. A jury heard six months of testimony from Parkland, Fla., man Nicolas Cruz who confessed to killing 17 people before sentencing him to life in prison.

collective delusion? Photos of housemates and their friends 'deleted' from internet after murder

On Nov. 13, local news sites published a wide-format photo of several distraught students wearing gray blankets gathered next to police officers after they walked to the crime scene. "Jessica Reed KrauseShe wrote on her Substack, claiming he had "disappeared". The so-called photo triggeredhuge open discussion on Reddit: Many people said they remembered seeing the image (me included!). Others attribute it to the Mandela effect (widespread false memories) or confusion with afterimages of shocked/sad neighbors. (I personally think what we "remember" are pictures of another tragedy, like a school shooting.) Redditors then dig and zoom inPhoto posted on local news siteIt isdiscussEither depicts a group of (1) people sitting in blankets on the ground, (2) garbage bags, or (3) a snow mountain. In an article titled "student v garbage bag," one personCompare back and forth to The Dress.

Unconfirmed: The identities of the two women were found on latex gloves in a room at Kohberger's parents' home.

Among the handwritten items police seized from Kohberger's home were "ID inside the glove box’, but not the type of glove, where it was found, or who the IDs belonged to. There has been speculation that one or all of the cards belonged to Smithers, but that was shot down by police. Dateline reports that police said the identities belonged to two The women, whose unnamed sources told them none of them were victims of the Idaho murders — but could not verify that as police remain under a gag order.

Ted Warren/AP

Unconfirmed: Kohberger's phone dropped into the Wi-Fi in the victim's home.

On the "King Road" episode of "Dateline," NBC reporter Keith Morrison said, "Now Kohberger's phone, his electronics, they're telling the police that's 12 times that Kohberger went to Moscow and around King The road before the first murder on a trip - at least once close enough to connect to Wi-Fi at home."

However, during the show, when a Twitter user asked: "Did he connect to the WiFi at 1122 King Rd during the 12 trips he was there?"producer answer, "Yes, at least once, according to the PC's affidavit." But that's not accurate: Wi-Fi isn't mentioned in the probable cause affidavit.

Unconfirmed: Kohberger's sister suspected he was the killer and searched his car, saying he always wore latex gloves around the house.

This was also reported by Dateline, which cited an unidentified source but did not say how the source was connected to the case.

(“Dateline” did not respond to a request for comment or clarification about the specifics of their coverage of the “King Road killing.”)

Wrong: On the night of the murder, a DoorDash driver delivered drugs, not food, to victim Xana Kernodle on King Road.

In the popular House Inhabit Substack on May 23, titled "Murders in Moscow: Update 1Jessica Reed Kraus asked, "Is there a quietly rampant drug problem at the heart of this case?"

Some on social media claimed the victim and surviving roommate were drug dealers. Two people charged in the investigation into the overdose death of a 22-year-old University of Idaho student in Centralia, Washington have been the subject of wild theories on TikTokers. (Their case was dismissed in late May.)othersThe woman is believed to have been arrested Cops say it was a DoorDash driver making a delivery on King Road, but she delivered a "blanket" (TikTok's term for "drugs" — seriously). Supporting their theory, they said, was the fact that the woman's co-defendant's brother drove a Hyundai Elantra, which model car investigators say the killer drove.

Moving on, friends: Rampant rumors and reports from anonymous sources will remain the norm in Idaho stabbings -- and there may be more -- unless the gag order is lifted and/or a trial begins.

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