The man suspected of killing four students made a pit stop at an Illinois airport when he is extradited to Moscow, Idaho, where he will be charged Wednesday night.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, has been charged with the murders of Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, and is being flown to Moscow, where the students were found dead at their home off campus.
Photos show that Kohberger’s flight, which departed from Pennsylvania, landed at Willard Airport in Champaign, Illinois, at 11 a.m. Wednesday
Eyewitnesses told TMZ that the private flight Kohberger was on had stopped to refuel, with the suspect seen exiting the plane for a bathroom break.
Kohberger is expected to land in Moscow later that evening, where reporters are already awaiting his arrival as his new lawyer was recently spotted searching the crime scene to prepare his case.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, was seen disembarking his flight to Moscow, Idaho, where he is accused of killing four University of Idaho students
The flight, which departed from Pennsylvania, stopped at Willard Airport in Champaign, Illinois, where the suspect was allowed a bathroom break
The airport was evacuated during the stop, which lasted only minutes, as the police plane refueled and took off for Idaho
After getting off the plane in Illinois, Kohberger, who was wearing an all-red uniform, was seen handcuffed by agents surrounding him.
During the toilet break, the small airport went into lockdown and the premises were evacuated except for Kohberger and the agents transporting him, TMZ reports.
Sources told the outlet that the stop lasted only a few minutes before it took off for Moscow.
The small plane, a 2015 single-engine Pilatus, is owned and operated by the Pennsylvania State Police and only seats 11 people.
Media representatives have already gathered at the Pullman Moscow Airport for a picture of Kohberger arriving in Idaho to meet with investigators.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested after a SWAT team entered Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. The criminology student said he was innocent
Idaho Police said the four University of Idaho students were murdered in their sleep between 3 and 4 a.m. (Picture: victims Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin )
Media representatives are already waiting for Kohberger’s arrival at Pullman Moscow Airport
Kohberger had agreed to expedite his extradition to Moscow as he maintained his innocence and said he would fight to be exonerated.
His attorney Anne Taylor, 57, has already dispatched a team of investigators to the slain student’s home on Kings Road in Idaho to begin reconstruction of the crime scene before Kohberger’s return to the state.
Taylor and a team of four visited the home where the bloody murders took place on Tuesday, the same day Kohberger waived his extradition in court.
Taylor is famous for having previously overturned a murder conviction of Jonathan Ellington, who was accused of using his car to run over a woman in a traffic incident.
Taylor worked on the case of Jonathan Ellington, who was accused of hitting a woman with his car in a traffic incident. She now represents Kohberger
He was arrested after being pursued by the FBI for four days near his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, with authorities narrowing the suspect down on genetic genealogy
An Idaho judge has issued a gag order on Moscow police and legal teams over the case, barring anyone connected to the case from speaking out.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said: “Once he gets here he will have a first appearance with our judge.
“They will deal with issues such as ensuring that competent counsel is representing him and the case will be scheduled for hearings.”
Once Kohberger arrives in Idaho, state law allows the court to unseal the probable cause affidavit — something the victim’s families were keen to see.
Before that can happen, he must appear in court, on four counts of murder and one count of burglary.