Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger called his mom on way home from slaying and again on his way to visit crime scene: report

Bryan Kohberger called his mother twice in the hours after he butchered four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home — including on his way to revisit the scene of the murders, according to a report.

Kohberger, 30, phoned his mom, Maryann Kohberger, at 6:17 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, when arriving at his Washington State University campus home after the quadruple homicide, PEOPLE magazine reported, citing information from case investigator Heather Barnhart. 

The convicted killer called his mother first at 6:13 a.m., then immediately called his father when she did not answer, Barnhart told the outlet.

She eventually picked up the phone and the two talked for 36 minutes, the outlet said.

Kohberger commonly reached out to his father as soon as his mother would not respond to him, the investigator explained.

“And he would go back and forth texting: ‘Father, why did mother not respond? Why is she not answering the phone?” Barnhart told the outlet.

Then, at 8:03 a.m. that day, Kohberger called his mother again and the two spoke for 54 minutes, Barnhart said.

The timing of the call suggests he was chatting with his mom on his drive back to the crime scene at the Moscow home. Kohberger spent roughly 10 minutes there at around 9 a.m., Latah Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson revealed at his plea hearing.

Just minutes after their conversation, Kohberger reached out to her again at 9 a.m. and the call lasted 10 minutes, when he was likely close or nearing the scene, the outlet said.

The mother-son duo had another brief two-minute call at 4:05 p.m. and a final 96-minute marathon call at 5:53 p.m., the outlet reported.

In total, the two spoke on the phone for roughly three hours the day of the murders, Barnhart, who was tasked with examining Kohberger’s phone and hard drive, said.

The former criminology PhD student sometimes called his mother as early as 4 a.m., according to phone records. He made all the calls from a Samsung Galaxy Phone purchased in June, the outlet said.

Kohberger completely powered off his phone during the slayings, between 2:54 a.m. and 4:48 a.m., likely to protect himself.

The discovery was a “pretty awesome” and incredibly revealing moment for investigators, Barnhart recalled.

“When he powered it off, it was from a human pressing a button, and the battery was at 100 percent charged,” Barnhart said.

This means his defense was unable to claim his phone had simply died during the time of the killings.

Kohberger also had no text records with any friends outside of his family, she said.

Kohberger last month unexpectedly copped to the Nov. 13, 2022, murders of Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin at their off-campus house in Moscow — earning him life in prison.

The controversial deal he struck with prosecutors allowed him to avoid the death penalty and dodge a trial where victims’ loved ones might have gotten a look into the motivation for the heinous stabbings — the lack of which drew ire from some victims’ families.

The cold-blooded quadruple murderer had no words for his mom, Maryann, and sister, Amanda, as he was hauled out of the courtroom in cuffs during his sentencing.

He is currently being held at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna.