‘Through the wringer‘: Idaho police in Kohberger case leaned on FBI training

The face of Col. Kedrick Wills, then-director of Idaho State Police, was broadcast across the country on December 30, 2022, during a news conference in which law enforcement announced the arrest of Bryan Kohberger for the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students in an off-campus home.

“These tragic murders took four young, vibrant lives from our community,” Wills said from a podium. “Nothing we do can bring them back.”

Kohberger pleaded guilty last month to murdering Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, on Nov. 13, 2022. A judge sentenced him to life in prison on July 23.

Wills, now 52, retired from law enforcement in August 2024. But he still thinks about that tense, scrutinized period between the murders and the arrest of Kohberger, and the chaos of getting resources to rural North Idaho. Within days of the homicides, Idaho State Police was called in to assist Moscow police with the investigation.

“I didn’t think in my career that I’d see something like that from Idaho,” Wills told the Idaho Statesman in a recent phone call. “One of the reasons we choose to call Idaho home is our crime rate is so low. Our law enforcement does an excellent job. But we can’t push everything, of course. We can’t stop all evil.”

FBI training

Wills remembered trying not to let the slew of national media wanting to stick microphones in his face faze him. He took comfort in knowing that he and Moscow Police Chief James Fry had both been through media training classes at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. There, they underwent intense mock news conferences that “really run you through the wringer.”

“Our leaders are trained for these kinds of cases, even though most of us will never see one in our careers with media (of) this magnitude,” Wills said.

To Wills, the central takeaway in the Kohberger case from a law enforcement perspective is how well different agencies and government officials were able to work together to solve it. While speaking with the Statesman, he repeatedly returned to emphasize that collaboration and praised those involved.

Wills commended Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson for never forgetting that the goal was not only to find the person who committed the crimes – it was to successfully prosecute for them.

He said he is still grateful for the way Gov. Brad Little ensured law enforcement needs and extra wages were met by committing $1 million in emergency funds to aid the case.

“There didn’t seem to be egos,” Wills said. There didn’t seem to be anything other than, ‘Let’s make sure that we get this resolved.’”

Wills chaffed at the narrative he saw at the time that Idaho State Police was called in for reinforcement because Moscow police weren’t experienced enough to handle such a crime.

“From my perspective, it felt like they were very, very good at what they were asked to do, and they’re very well-trained,” Wills said. “They just don’t have enough bodies for something like this. Nobody has enough bodies for something like this. So I think it was a matter of resources, not lack of knowledge or lack of ability.”

The logistics of bringing Idaho State Police to Moscow proved to be complicated. State troopers stayed in dorms offered as temporary housing by the University of Idaho. Wills said police agencies across the state stepped up to fill in the policing gaps when troopers headed to Moscow.

“Moscow is not the easiest place to get to from Idaho,” Wills said. “Because our resources are stretched thin anyways, to mobilize those resources meant there was other work that wasn’t getting done throughout the state.”

Students safety

In addition to helping process and investigate the crime scene, Wills said one of Idaho State Police’s priorities was ensuring students felt safe.

“Every person being concerned that they potentially could be a victim was the overwhelming feeling,” Wills said. “Not just students, everybody in Moscow, because Moscow is a very safe community.”

He made sure police had a visible local presence in those early weeks.

“Our troopers aren’t used to working midnight shifts on a college campus,” Wills said. “That’s not what they do, but they stepped up and did it without complaint and without hesitation.”

At the time of the murders, Wills had two children of his own in college. He said looking at the case from a parent’s perspective drove home the tragedy of the case. Despite his retirement, Wills said he still thinks about Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle and Chapin.

“They were in their carefree days at the university in an area where they felt safe and didn’t know that evil was around,” Wills said. “That hit home, directly home, to every parent who had any child at college, especially those troopers and detectives and scientists who were working intimately with the evidence.”