Idaho murder victims' roommate deluged with internet threats over misinformation: report

On Tuesday, BuzzFeed News reported that a new detail released by Idaho police about the brutal stabbings of four University of Idaho students has led to a font of misinformation on social media about the victims' surviving roommate — and a torrent of harassment and threats on social media.

"In addition to surveillance footage of Bryan Kohberger’s car and cellphone records placing him at the scene on Nov. 13, police revealed a stunning detail: A surviving roommate of the victims came face-to-face with the alleged killer," reported Drusilla Moorhouse. There is no evidence that he saw her — only that the man, dressed in black with a mask covering his mouth and nose, walked past her while she stood in a 'frozen shock phase.' He was close enough that she could see his 'bushy eyebrows' and describe his build. She saw him walk toward the home’s back sliding glass door and then locked herself in her room. A latent shoe print discovered later by police confirmed her account. Police determined that the killer had left the house by 4:25 a.m. — but a 911 call summoning police to the house was not placed until noon."

That account, combined with the time gap, has reportedly led some people on social media to conclude, falsely, that the roommate was fully aware that her roommates had been murdered and did nothing for hours — even though police have made clear there is no indication she had any idea what had happened during that time.

"People on social media pounced. Hundreds, if not thousands, of TikTokers, YouTubers, redditors, and Facebook and Twitter users responded with shocking vitriol, calling her behavior 'suspicious' and accusing her of somehow being complicit in her roommates’ deaths because she did not immediately check on them or call for help," said the report. This comes after she and one other roommate who escaped the killings were also targeted as "suspects" by people following the case on the internet, despite no evidence against them. Another person baselessly accused of committing the murders was a University of Idaho professor.

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Worse still, according to the report, outright fake evidence is going around to support the idea the roommate was aware of the murders. "'Enhanced' audio purporting to be from a neighbor’s security camera is spreading like wildfire on social media platforms," said the report. "It’s a terrifying listen — but it is fake. It’s based on original audio of a domestic violence incident, which a user posted as an example of what an outside camera can pick up."

Kohberger was arrested weeks after the killings, and after he and his father drove across the country to Pennsylvania to their family home. Police witnessed him repeatedly wearing surgical gloves, and ascertained that he cleaned out both the inside and outside of the car.