An area graduate student is detained in connection with the murders of four University of Idaho students.

A graduate student at Washington State University was detained on Friday in his native Pennsylvania in connection with the savage killings of four University of Idaho students last month in their off-campus house, a crime that shook a nearby college town. Read Idaho Full news here

According to Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson, a criminal complaint charging 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary was filed on Thursday.

Authorities traced Kohberger's ownership and focused on him. 

According to a person familiar with the investigation, genetic genealogy assisted investigators in identifying the culprit.
According to the source, DNA samples from Idaho were run through a public database to look for any family ties.
Source: Subsequent law enforcement investigation led to the identification of Kohberger after potential family links were discovered.

A different law enforcement source stated that the suspect travelled across the country in the white automobile to visit his folks.
The source stated, "Right before Christmas we were focusing on him being in or heading to Pennsylvania."
Investigators from the Moscow Police Department, the Idaho State Police Homicide Bureau, and the FBI collaborated with prosecutors to establish enough reasonable cause to obtain the order while he was being observed.
The FBI and Pennsylvania State Police executed the arrest warrant once it was issued.

The Elantra has been found, according to Moscow Police Department Chief James Fry, but detectives are still searching for the knife that was used in the crimes.
He withheld information concerning the case, such as when the suspect came to be the subject of the inquiry or whether he was acquainted with the four murdered students.

“These murders have shaken our community and no arrest will ever bring back these young students,” Fry said. Suspect studies criminal justice, according to a fellow student

Kohberger finished his first semester as a PhD student in the school's criminal justice programme earlier this month, according to a press statement from Washington State University.

In order to carry out search warrants at Kohberger's office and residence, Idaho law enforcement officers received assistance from the university's police department, according to Elizabeth Chilton, chancellor of the university's Pullman campus.

A CNN crew observed police activity at an apartment complex where graduate students live in Pullman, Washington, which is just about 9 miles from the scene of the killings.

Additionally, Chilton wrote, "We want to express our sincere condolences to the families, friends, and Vandal coworkers who were affected by these killings."
"We shall mourn these young people for a very long time."