FBI tapped consumer DNA databases to place Bryan Kohberger at scene of Idaho college murders: report

The FBI relied on restricted consumer DNA databases to help identify Bryan Kohberger as a suspect in the 2022 University of Idaho killings, despite Justice Department policies limiting such access, according to newly released testimony.

Investigators initially focused on DNA found on a knife sheath at the crime scene but were unable to find a match in law enforcement databases. They then turned to consumer DNA profiles where users had consented to possible law enforcement access. However, when those searches did not yield results, the FBI reportedly pivoted to GEDmatch and MyHeritage. These two databases do not grant law enforcement automatic access, which violates Justice Department policy, The New York Times reported.

The policy states that investigators may only use DNA databases “that provide explicit notice to their service users and the public that law enforcement may use their service sites.” Despite this violation, the tactic appeared to be effective. Shortly after the FBI’s genetic genealogy team began analyzing DNA profiles, they identified Kohberger, a PhD student at Washington State University, as a potential suspect.

The use of consumer DNA databases has dramatically changed criminal investigations, as it has allowed authorities to construct family trees rather than relying on direct DNA matches. However, the FBI’s decision to use databases that do not permit law enforcement access has raised privacy concerns.

New York University law professor Erin Murphy expressed surprise at the FBI’s apparent violation of its own rules and warned of the lack of consequences.

“I think what we are teaching law enforcement is that the rules have no meaning,” Murphy told The New York Times.

Former FBI attorney Steve Kramer, however, argued that the Justice Department’s policy serves as a guideline rather than a legal restriction, noting that investigators may take additional steps in serious cases. 

“We’ll never know, thank God, what Bryan Kohberger would have done had he not been caught,” Kramer said.

Kohberger has been charged with the murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. The four victims were found stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Law enforcement spent weeks searching for a suspect before turning their focus to Kohberger.

Testimony from a closed-door court hearing revealed that investigators sent the DNA sample to Othram, a Texas-based forensic company specializing in genetic genealogy. Othram began constructing a family tree and initially followed Justice Department protocols. However, when they attempted to expand the DNA pool by approaching a potential relative for a sample, the individual declined to participate, and Othram was asked to halt its work on December 10. The FBI then took over the genealogy search.

Although the Justice Department has a policy that generally restricts access to certain consumer DNA databases, the policy has an exception that it “does not impose any legal limitations on otherwise lawful investigative” methods.