Steve Goncalves, the father of one of the four University of Idaho students fatally stabbed allegedly by Bryan Kohberger, issued a stark warning for the suspected killer, who is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 26.
Kohberger was arrested on charges of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in the fatal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20 and Xana Kernodle, 20 inside an off-campus house.
The victims were found stabbed to death in bed on November 13 in an off-campus residence near the University of Idaho. Kohberger was arrested on December 30 at his parents' house in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania. He has not yet entered a plea and his former attorney said that his client was "eager to be exonerated."
New documents related to the murder case were released last week. Mike Baker of the New York Times obtained 166 pages related to the search of Kohberger's apartment near Washington State University
"I can't wait to see the evidence...And then I'm gonna bring it," Steve Goncalves, Kaylee's father, told ABC News on Friday. "And he's gonna realize that this...is the family that's gonna make sure he doesn't get away with it."
The new documents contain the items seized from his apartment which included several possible hair strands, a computer tower, and two stains that appeared to be blood, among other items. Newsweek previously reported on the items that were seized from Kohberger's apartment near the Washington State University campus, where he was pursuing his Ph.D. at the time of the murders in November.
The Goncalves, a family with five children, said they were not able to pin down a connection between their daughter and Kohberger, with Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee's mother, saying that she gave "long and hard" thought to whether Kaylee, 21, knew the suspected killer.
"We've talked as a family, you know, we've done a lot of research on what's out there... None of it makes sense," Kristi told ABC News. The mother described her reaction the first time she saw Kohberger at an initial court appearance, saying that she was "completely overwhelmed" and that she thought she was going to "pass out."
"My daughter saw him face-to-face and in a very different light than we saw him, sitting there [in court], looking very meek," said Kristi. Kaylee was murdered weeks before her early graduation from the University of Idaho and she was set to move to Texas for a new job, according to ABC News.
Steve Goncalves has been vocal about seeking justice in the murder case and has often criticized the way the Moscow Police Department handled the case, according to the Crime Wire. The Goncalves family launched a Facebook page to keep track of messages, tips, and information related to their daughter's murder. The page has 39,000 followers as of Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the newly released documents also included a list of items that were taken for presumptive chemical tests for blood. However, only two of the items collected tested positive for blood. They were listed as a "reddish/brown stain on uncased pillow, south side of bed," and a "mattress cover on bed in NE room on edge facing doorway."
"Multiple stains present on cover collected after one positive result, other stains not tested," the list read. Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI agent, told Newsweek last week, "If there's blood, it could be his, it could be theirs [the victims], it could be a mixture of both." Still, Coffindaffer said that the items that test positive for blood are a "big win."
Meanwhile, Kristi Goncalves said that it is important for her family to be united and strong as they attend the preliminary hearing next month, according to ABC News.
"I've never been to a preliminary trial before....I have no idea what to expect, I have no idea what we're going to hear...But I know that I've got my son, and my daughter will be there, and my sister, and my husband," she said.
Meanwhile, Steve Goncalves said that some of his family members reached out to the two roommates who survived the attack that day. He added: "It's good to make sure that everybody going through this has somebody there to help them."
Newsweek reached out to the Goncalves family through their Facebook page "The Goncalves Family Page" for comment.
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