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 a

See Full Page