Prosecutors have disclosed that a used Q-tip recovered from Bryan Kohberger’s parents’ trash and a meticulously cleaned Hyundai Elantra were pivotal in linking the former Washington State University doctoral student to the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in November 2022. At a July 2 evidentiary hearing in Boise, lead prosecutor Bill Thompson said DNA on the Q-tip matched the male profile found on a knife sheath left beside one of the victims, providing the confirmation investigators needed before arresting Kohberger at his family’s Pennsylvania home late in 2022. Investigators also cited 23 cell-phone pings near the victims’ Moscow, Idaho, rental house in the months before the killings and surveillance footage showing the Elantra speeding away minutes after the 4 a.m. attack. Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty earlier this week to four counts of first-degree murder, securing a deal that spares him the death penalty in exchange for four consecutive life sentences without parole and a waiver of appeal rights. The court set formal sentencing for July 23, while a gag order keeps most filings sealed until after that date. The evidence summary revealed additional steps Kohberger allegedly took to conceal the crime, including driving backroads to his Pullman, Washington, apartment, switching his vehicle registration from Pennsylvania to Washington, and stripping the car’s interior. Thompson said Kohberger’s residence and office were found ‘Spartan,’ with no recoverable forensic material. Families of the victims are divided over the plea agreement. Relatives of Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin welcomed the certainty of a life-without-parole sentence, whereas Kaylee Goncalves’s family objected, arguing that Kohberger should face execution. Key questions about motive and any prior connection to the victims remain unanswered and may stay sealed unless the court lifts the gag order.