Police Chief Gary Jenkins still remembers the day Bryan Kohberger interviewed for an internship with the Pullman Police Department in Washington state.

Jenkins had no idea that the graduate student in front of him would go on to kill four Idaho students that same year.

For nearly three years, law enforcement officers, attorneys and others involved in the Kohberger case have been unable to speak publicly about the case by a gag order. That changed Thursday, when 4th Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler lifted that non-dissemination order.

Jenkins was the Pullman police chief when Kohberger applied to work there, a few months before Jenkins left the agency to head the police force at Washington State University, where Kohberger was working to earn a Ph.D. in criminology and criminal justice.

Kohberger, 30, admitted earlier this month to four counts of first-degree murder and fatally stabbing to death four University of Idaho students: Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

In an interview with the Idaho Statesman on Thursday, Jenkins recalled his experience of the case that began when Kohberger broke into the victims’ Moscow home in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022.

Jenkins said he conducted Zoom interviews with four candidates for the police internship in April 2022. Kohberger, then 27, wrote in his application that he had an “interest in assisting rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations,” the arrest affidavit stated.

“I was looking for someone who was really interested in conducting relevant and actionable research for us, rather than just theoretical research,” Jenkins told the Statesman by phone.

The chief said whoever got the job would need to be able to get police officers to open up and talk about their work. Kohberger’s demeanor ruled him out from getting the position.

“I just felt that he would have a difficult time developing that trust with my staff,” Jenkins said. “He seemed a little bit awkward in talking. He wasn’t very conversational, and I just thought he would not be a good fit and would have difficulty working with my staff.”

Jenkins wouldn’t think about Kohberger for another eight months.

Gary Jenkins was the Pullman Police Department chief from 2010 to 2022. Pullman Police Department

Campus student identified as murder suspect

In December 2022, Jenkins was well aware of the quadruple murder in Moscow, just a 15-minute drive east from Pullman.

Moscow Police Chief James Fry sent Jenkins a message on Dec. 19, 2022, requesting that he come to the Moscow station the following day. Jenkins assumed it would be another briefing, so he was surprised to be led into a room with about 20 to 30 people, including members of the FBI and Idaho State Police, he said.

They informed him that they had identified a suspect using DNA found at the scene. That suspect, his colleagues told him, was a student at WSU named Bryan Kohberger.

“It took me a minute, and then I said, ‘You know that name is very familiar. I think I’ve talked to Bryan Kohberger before,’” Jenkins recalled.

Jenkins later learned that Kohberger drove a car that his officers had already flagged as part of their investigation searching for the described vehicle. Twice, campus officers had noted that a car on campus belonging to Kohberger was very similar to one caught on camera the night of the homicides. Law enforcement had alerted nearby agencies that they were searching for a white Hyundai Elantra made between 2011 and 2013.

Jenkins’ officers noted that Kohberger’s car fit all of the criteria except for the year — it was a 2015. Thinking the car wasn’t a perfect match, the officers did not pass the information on at the time, Jenkins told the Statesman.

Bryan Kohberger was a student at Washington State University at the time of the murders. Kyle Green AP/Pool

After FBI identified Kohberger through his DNA, Jenkins helped Moscow police obtain a warrant to search Kohberger’s university office and apartment in graduate student housing. They timed the search to about the same time as Kohberger’s arrest in Pennsylvania.

Jenkins said nothing taken into evidence at the apartment ended up being of value to the case. But Kohberger’s home still left an impression on the police chief.

“It was fairly sparse,” Jenkins noted. “If someone were to look at it, they would have the thought that maybe he wasn’t planning to come back.”

While the search warrants were the last time Jenkins played a role in the case, Jenkins was still able to see the effect that the crime had on campus.

“It was definitely shocking,” Jenkins said. “We did work closely with our Dean of Students Office and psychological services here on campus to provide support to students who were legitimately afraid. A number of students ended up finishing out the semester at home.”

Jenkins said his force stepped up their patrols and communicated regularly with the student body in an attempt to make them feel protected. The university also secured $3 million through a federal technology improvement program grant to expand security cameras and door access controls on campus.

“I hope, and I think that these crimes are not going to define Moscow or this area,” Jenkins said. “The way the community has come together, and the support throughout the community, I’m hoping that’s really what will be the lasting impact of what has happened.”

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