University of Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger met with Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins late last summer while he was seeking one of two research assistant positions offered through Washington State University, where he was studying criminology.
“It was a great pleasure to meet with you today and share my thoughts and excitement regarding the research assistantship for public safety,” Kohberger wrote after meeting with Jenkins on April 12, according to the New York Times.
Jenkins replied that it was “Great to meet and talk to you as well,” according to the emails obtained by the Times.
Kohberger was finishing his master’s degree work in Pennsylvania in the spring last year and preparing to move to Pullman, where he intended to pursue a Ph.D. at Washington State. He made that move in the summer.
Jenkins, who had led the Pullman department for 12 years, took a post as chief of police of the Washington State University police department in August last year, according to his LinkedIn page. Before moving to Washington, he was with the Claremont, California, Police Department for nearly 33 years and was a graduate of the FBI National Academy in 2002.
It’s not clear if the position is the same one referenced in Kohberger’s arrest affidavit, which said that he’d applied for an internship at a Washington state police department, writing in the application that he wanted to assist “rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations,” as CrimeOnline previously reported.
It’s also not clear if he got the job. The police department didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“The purpose of these positions is to support each agency through data management and analysis, and to position them for success when they seek external funding,” the job description posted by the school reads, according to The Insider.
Kohberger is accused of stabbing to death Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves in the early hours of November 13 in the off-campus rental house where the three women lived with at least two other roommates. Chapin was spending the night with Kernodle, his girlfriend. After a nearly two-month investigation, authorities arrested Kohberger at his parents home in Pennsylvania, where he’d gone for the December holidays.
He is being held without bond following his extradition to Idaho.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: FILE – Bryan Kohberger, left, looks toward his attorney, public defender Anne Taylor, right, during a hearing in Latah County District Court on January 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool, File)]
