Who Is Sy Ray? Bryan Kohberger Turns to Retired Officer to Prove Alibi

Byran Kohberger's defense team has hired a cell phone expert in an attempt to show that he couldn't have murdered four Idaho college students.

Sy Ray, founder of ZetX Corporation, is a former police officer who specializes in analyzing cell phone data in criminal cases. He has been called as a witness in numerous criminal trials in an attempt to show that a person's cell phone could have been in a particular area.

His analysis relies on the "pings" that a cell phone sends to a nearby cell phone tower, even when the user is not making a phone call.

Kohberger, 29, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in connection with the stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The bodies of the four University of Idaho students were found in an off-campus residence on November 13, 2022.

Kohberger has maintained his innocence in the case, previously standing silent during his arraignment. Judge John Judge, who is overseeing the case, entered "not guilty" pleas for each of the charges against him in response.

Newsweek sought email comment on Thursday from Ray and Kohberger's attorney.

A defense document filed in court on Wednesday states that Kohberger told his defense team he "was out driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022; as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars. He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho including Wawawai Park."

The document adds that Sy Ray will testify that cell tower records show that "Kohberger's mobile device was south of Pullman, Washington, and west of Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022; that Bryan Kohberger's mobile device did not travel east on the Moscow-Pullman Highway in the early morning hours of November 13th, and thus could not be the vehicle captured on video along the Moscow-Pullman highway near Floyd's Cannabis shop."

According to a profile on MeriTalk, a news site that specializes in new government technology contracts, Sy Ray spent 20 years in law enforcement, "where he spent time as a SWAT operator, homicide sergeant, and directing fugitive missions."

"Some of his work has been featured on several episodes of 48 Hours, 20/20, The Discovery Channel and Dateline showcasing his investigative and technological expertise. Sy spent time in Afghanistan as a field adviser for an undercover team targeting improvised explosive device (IED) cells," it adds.

He set up ZetX in 2014, and it has worked in both radio frequency and cell phone data. The company was purchased by LexisNexis in 2021.

"His accomplishments include engineering RF drone detection sensors used by the NFL at the 2015 Super Bowl, and engineering RF tracking and security technology for law enforcement and military applications," the MeriTalk profile states.

He lives with his family on a ranch in southern Arizona and co-hosts a true crime podcast called Socialite Crime Club.

Attorney Mercy Wright noted his expertise in a social media post on Thursday.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, she noted that one judge "repeatedly stated" a ruling that Ray makes a "compelling witness."

In January, 2021, Ray testified as a prosecution witness in the case of Danielle Wood, who was on trial for the May 2, 2018, murder of her ex-boyfriend, Matt LaFriniere, with whom she was locked in a child custody battle.

Ray was hired to show the movements of a phone that prosecutors say was used in the murder.

Former Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks warden Mike Fegely, who is employed by Ray, also gave evidence, according to a report in the Clark Fork Valley Press newspaper in Montana.

Wood was convicted later that month and in March 2021, she was jailed for 100 years without the possibility of parole.

Update 04/18/24, 8:57 a.m. ET: This article was updated to clarify Sy Ray's past evidence in trials and to add photos of Sy Ray and Bryan Kohberger.