Idaho students’ families react to Pennsylvania arrest of murder suspect Bryan Kohberger

close Video

Steve Goncalves following suspect’s arrest: It feels like a little bit of weight has been relieved

Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves, reacts to the arrest of a suspect in the Idaho murder investigation on ‘The Five.’

The families of four Idaho college students killed in a shocking home invasion stabbing attack last month praised police and thanked the supportive public Friday after investigators revealed a suspect had been arrested on the other side of the country.

Pennsylvania police arrested 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger early Friday. He is a graduate student at Washington State University, which is just 10 miles from the University of Idaho, where Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, also 20, were stabbed to death in their sleep in the early hours of Nov. 13.

“We are relieved this chapter is over because it provides a form of closure,” Chapin’s family told Fox News Digital in a statement. “However, it doesn’t alter the outcome or alleviate the pain. We miss Ethan, and our family is forever changed.”

The family thanked law enforcement at all levels, along with the university and Sigma Chi, Chapin’s fraternity.

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO MURDERS TIMELINE: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SLAUGHTER OF FOUR STUDENTS

The victims of the Nov. 13 University of Idaho massacre. 
(Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves)

“Today, we marvel at the continued stories about Ethan and the lives he touched in his short 20 years,” the statement concluded. “If we all lived and loved as Ethan did, the world would be a better place.”

Chapin, who was Kernodle’s boyfriend, was spending the night at the rental home, where the three young women lived with two other housemates who were not targeted in the attack.

Sheldon Kernodle, Xana’s cousin, reiterated investigators’ calls for additional tips Friday afternoon.

This photo provided by the Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Facility shows Bryan Kohberger. Arrest paperwork filed by Pennsylvania State Police in Monroe County Court Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, said Kohberger, 28, was being held for extradition in a criminal homicide investigation in the killings of four University of Idaho students based on an active arrest warrant for first-degree murder issued by the Moscow Police Department and Latah County Prosecutor’s Office.
(Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Facility via AP)

IDAHO MURDERS: SUSPECT BRYAN CHRISTOPHER KOHBERGER ARRESTED IN KILLINGS OF 4 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

“Our work isn’t done yet,” he tweeted. “If you have any information that could help law enforcement and/or prosecutors regarding BRYAN KOHBERGER please email/call the tip lines.”

Tips can be submitted by phone to 208-883-7180 or emailed to tipline@ci.moscow.id.us. Digital media can be shared with investigators at fbi.gov/moscowidaho. Police are asking anyone who knew or came across Kohberger to get in touch as they continue to search for a motive.

Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, told Fox News Friday that the arrest brought the “first sense of joy in seven weeks.”

Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, along with the women’s two other roommates in Kaylee Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the slayings.
(@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

His daughter had already moved out of the rental home before the slayings but returned to visit Mogen, her best friend.

IDAHO MURDER SUSPECT: WHO IS BRYAN CHRISTOPHER KOHBERGER

Kaylee Goncalves’ dog was also in the home at the time of the murders but was not harmed.
(TikTok/ Kayleegoncalves0)

In addition to being a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, Chapin majored in recreation, sport and tourism management, the University of Idaho said. He lived in the frat house about 200 yards from the crime scene.

Kernodle and Mogen were both part of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and were marketing majors. Goncalves, a general studies major who would have graduated this month, belonged to Alpha Phi and had plans to move to Austin, Texas, to pursue her career.

University of Idaho victims Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle.
(Instagram @xanakernodle)

As Fox News Digital has previously reported, Sigma Chi has established a memorial scholarship, and Kernodle’s family partnered with the university to endow a scholarship in her honor.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle appeared to be in a relationship based on their social media presences.
(Instagram/@xanakernodle)

Police, who had been searching for a white Hyundai Elantra in the case, said they recovered one upon Kohberger’s arrest. That indicates he drove more than 2,500 miles after the slayings, further than Brian Laundrie after he fled Wyoming for Florida after killing former fiancée Gabby Petito.

All four Idaho students were stabbed to death, according to Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt, likely attacked in their sleep. 

Fox News’ Matt Finn contributed to this report.

Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to michael.ruiz@fox.com and on Twitter: @mikerreports