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| Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. (Instagram @xanakernodle / @maddiemogen / @kayleegoncalves) |
Every now and then a story comes along that reminds us reality has a better sense of humor than Hollywood. Bryan Kohberger's former defense expert has now landed on a position that probably wasn't in the original job description: "Yeah, the guy's guilty, give him the death penalty."
That's got to make for one awkward invoice.
Sy Ray, a former Arizona homicide investigator turned digital forensics expert, was hired by Kohberger's defense team before the admitted killer pleaded guilty to avoid facing execution for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.
Now, with Kohberger serving four consecutive life sentences without parole and trying to wriggle out of his guilty plea for yet another trip through the legal system, Ray says he'd be perfectly happy if that meant putting the death penalty back on the table.
"Bring back the death penalty," Ray told journalist Brian Entin on a recent podcast. "I am all for this."
Well, that's one way to lose repeat business.
Ray says investigators overlooked key digital evidence that, in his view, makes the case against Kohberger even stronger than what prosecutors presented. According to him, cellphone geolocation data suggests Kohberger was not merely lurking around the neighborhood, but may have actually been inside the King Road house before the murders.
"I 100% believe that the offender, who is Bryan Kohberger — there’s no alternative theory in my head at this point," Ray said. "I 100% believe he’s been in the house before."
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| Human excrement |
If true, that's a bombshell. It is also where things start getting messy.
Ray told Entin that several location "hits" landed directly on the victims' home.
"If you look at those precise measurements, there’s probably five that land directly on what would be the living room of the house," Ray said. "Like the latitude-longitude is the physical house itself, and if you put the house back on the map, and you map those, the hits are inside the house."
Entin, sounding like every listener at that moment, asked for clarification.
"I just want to make sure I understand correctly… because I haven't heard this before — so you're saying, based on the data you saw, the latitude-longitude for Bryan Kohberger’s Samsung was in the living room?"
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| The eyes are the mirrors of the soul? He may not even have one. |
Ray replied, "The AT&T-derived latitude-longitude from the AT&T’s network that it estimates a location, it lands in the house — and it's a 25-meter range, so we're talking 75 feet, so it could be anywhere in the house on any floor. It could technically be outside the house, it could [be] on the property, but it's showing in the immediate area. My personal opinion is when I look at those, and I map what's happening before and after and I'm looking at all the other evidence. I think these are accurate locations."
There is just one tiny problem. Ray's own expert report from January 2025 appears to say almost the exact opposite.
"It is my opinion that the geolocation data I have been provided as of the writing this report does not provide any evidence of association between Mr. Kohberger and any of the decedents and/or Mr. Kohberger’s or decedent’s residence," he wrote.
That's not exactly a minor footnote. That's the legal equivalent of saying the weather is sunny on page one and reporting a blizzard on page two.
Ray also now believes Madison Mogen was Kohberger's intended target.
"I believe Maddie was the target," he said, arguing that repeated cellphone "collisions" placed the two in similar locations before the murders, including at a Pullman party and an A&W restaurant near the crime scene.
He also described what he believes was a broader stalking campaign.
But once again, his earlier report tells a different story.
"I am unable to locate any period of time between June 23, 2022 and November 13, 2022 where Mr. Kohberger’s mobile device is in the same specific area as any of the deceased’s mobile devices," he wrote.
Morgan Wright, CEO of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases and host of Crime: Reconstructed, didn't exactly let that contradiction slide.
"This is the sharpest contradiction," Wright said. "The state's search warrant sought records specifically to determine whether Kohberger 'stalked' any victim or 'conducted surveillance on the King Road Residence.'"
Ray insists investigators missed critical evidence.
"They didn’t even look at it," Ray said of the stalking evidence. "It’s incredible to me."
Maybe. Or maybe that's why consistency matters when you're presenting forensic conclusions that could decide whether someone lives or dies.
Even prosecutors have been more restrained. After Kohberger pleaded guilty, Moscow Police Cpl. Brett Payne acknowledged investigators still could not identify a specific target.
"The evidence suggested that there was a reason that this particular house was chosen," Payne said. "What that reason is, we don't know. We don't know who the target was, and we're not going to speculate on that up here today. But we can tell you that, for whatever reason, Mr. Kohberger chose that residence. Perhaps it's the location, layout, we do not know."
When Fox News Digital later asked investigators whether they had identified a motive, the answer remained refreshingly honest.
"We don't."
That sort of restraint is increasingly rare in a world where everyone with a podcast and a Wi-Fi signal believes they can solve a murder before lunch.
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| The Slammer |
Ray says he even offered to brief the FBI after Kohberger pleaded guilty, claiming he had uncovered evidence investigators overlooked. According to Ray, they never responded.
Meanwhile, Kohberger is attempting to undo the guilty plea that spared him from execution by arguing he received ineffective assistance from his defense team. Ironically, if he somehow succeeded, he'd be reopening the very door that leads back to the death penalty.
Ray says that's exactly where the case should go.
"This can never be the standard investigation that we see in cases," Ray said. "This can never be acceptable."
Still, despite all the criticism, Ray says the outcome wouldn't change.
"The time is now to start this investigation over," he said.
He also believes Kohberger had multiple potential victims throughout the Moscow and Pullman area.
"I think he had multiple targets throughout the entire Moscow-Pullman area," Ray said. "Location information and pattern of life is by far the most telling."
And his final assessment leaves little room for ambiguity.
"If he ever does walk, he will kill again."
That may ultimately be the strangest twist in this already bizarre saga. The man hired to help the defense now sounds more convinced of Kohberger's guilt than many of the people who prosecuted him. The only unresolved mystery is whether Ray uncovered groundbreaking evidence, changed his mind after the fact, or somehow managed to argue both sides of the same forensic report.
In a case already overflowing with twists, that may be the oddest one yet.
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