WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.919 Plica restrictions. What's up everyone, and welcome back to the program. 2 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:09.560 The Idaho Statesman has a peace out today that's detailing 3 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:13.199 Brian Coberger's life and talking to some of the people 4 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:16.600 that he grew up around. And it is a pretty 5 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:18.879 in depth piece. So we're going to dive into it 6 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:22.679 and tackle it in two parts. So let's dive in, 7 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:26.079 like I said. This article is from The Idaho Statesman, 8 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:32.280 the headline Brian Coberger lived here Pennsylvania Friends neighbors recall 9 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:38.280 Moscow homicide suspect. This article was authored by Kevin Fixler. 10 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:43.920 A dense gray cloud settled above Monroe County in the 11 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:47.520 first days of February, blocking the sun's attempt to break through. 12 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:50.439 More than a month since the US shifted its gaze 13 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:54.320 to this rural region, A shame has fallen over its residence, 14 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:58.640 the result of an incomprehensible crime on the other side 15 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:04.319 of the country. Situated below the forested hillsides in Broadsheadsville 16 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:08.200 lies the Pleasant Valley School District's two story brick campus, 17 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:12.719 where Brian Coohberger went to school and later worked. Two 18 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:15.879 weeks after Martin Luther King Junior Day, a quote from 19 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:20.239 the holidays. Inspiration still featured on the district's public message board. 20 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:24.760 Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. 21 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:28.079 So the people who live in the town where Brian 22 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:31.920 Colberger grew up, they're feeling it right, And I'm sure 23 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:34.480 that there's been a bunch of reporters to descend on 24 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.280 their town to try and get some information about who 25 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:42.879 Brian Colberger is or was. In December, Coburger was taken 26 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:46.719 into custody in the cover of night. Instantly, a quaint 27 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:50.400 community used to the calm of its remote geography became 28 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:55.519 a new epicenter in the widening investigation into November's University 29 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:59.560 of Idaho homicides. The twenty eight year old alleged killer 30 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:03.319 from the area's bundle of townships and was staying with 31 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:06.920 his parents when law enforcement burst in and ended a 32 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:10.199 seven week man hunt. Now we still haven't seen the 33 00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:14.000 search warrant from Brian Coberger's parents' house, and I'm very 34 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:16.919 interested to see what they might have taken from this house. 35 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.439 What did Brian Coburger have on him, what did he 36 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:24.240 bring with them from Washington to his parents' house in Pennsylvania, 37 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:27.479 and if any of those items hold any relevance to 38 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:31.439 what happened, because you would think that when they enacted 39 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:34.159 that search warrant that they took a bunch of stuff, right, 40 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:37.599 And we haven't heard anything about what that search warrant 41 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:43.039 might contain. It's still under seal. One tormented community grew 42 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:46.879 to three as new surface that Coburger, a Washington State 43 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:51.680 University graduate student, was arrested in eastern Pennsylvania, some twenty 44 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:56.159 five hundred miles from the crime scene. Four college campuses 45 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:59.719 were entangled in the tragedy, But unlike the sister cities 46 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:05.039 of Osco, Idaho, and Pullman, Washington, grieving together, Coberger's hometown 47 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:09.439 was made to ache in isolation. For the community here, 48 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:13.919 it's devastating, said John Gress, the principle of Pleasant Valley 49 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:18.719 High School, when Coburger graduated in twenty thirteen. Out of 50 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:22.840 all the schools, out of all the areas. Why, it's disappointing. 51 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:25.360 And I don't know if we'll ever find out why. 52 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:29.159 I highly doubt we will. Brian Colberger doesn't really strike 53 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.280 me as the kind of guy that's going to go 54 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:34.319 into detail about what he did. I mean, what does 55 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:38.759 he have to gain at this point besides maybe accepting 56 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.919 some kind of plea deal so he doesn't get the 57 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:44.439 death penalty. Besides that, though, I don't see what would 58 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:47.360 motivate a guy like Brian Kohberger to give up the 59 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:51.120 details about what happened, especially when we keep hearing that 60 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:54.319 he still plans to be exonerated. That doesn't sound like 61 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:56.759 a man who's ready to accept the plea deal and 62 00:03:56.919 --> 00:04:02.000 cop to these murders. Neighbors to the red roofed four 63 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:05.719 bedroom home on an acre in nearby Effort, Pennsylvania, where 64 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:09.919 Coburger was raised, were just as astounded. For years, their 65 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.280 children took the same route to school from the same 66 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:16.199 corner bus stop as him. They remembered the quiet, heavyset 67 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:19.879 boy who was picked on over his weight. He sat 68 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:23.399 up front and mostly kept to himself. And we've heard 69 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:26.560 this time and time again that Brian Coburger, while he 70 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:30.240 was overweight as a young man, was bullied. And then 71 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:32.680 we've also heard on the flip side of that that 72 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:36.800 Brian Cohberger engaged in some of that bullying himself later 73 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.560 on down the road. And you know, the saying, right, 74 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.800 hurt people, hurt people, And you see it all the 75 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:45.000 time with people who were bullied, they get a little 76 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.519 bit bigger, and then maybe they want to start bullying 77 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:50.160 other people, because hell, if it happened to me, it 78 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:52.920 should happen to you too. You know, if there's one 79 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.279 thing I hate, it's a bully. Bullies are the biggest 80 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:59.519 bitches in the whole entire world. And you know what's 81 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:03.399 funny about the vast majority of bullies. The second you 82 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:05.680 punch them in the face, that's the end of it. 83 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:08.240 They stop bullying you, and they go and find a 84 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:12.959 different target. Today, Coburger is charged with first degree murder 85 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:17.240 in the stabbing deaths of four college students, Madison Mogan, 86 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:23.959 Kaye Gonsalvis, Xanakernodle, and Ethan Shapin, and Coberger's old neighborhood 87 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:27.040 is left to try to make sense of a senseless act. 88 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:31.040 No bells ever went off, said Barbara Toker, fifty eight, 89 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:35.319 a nearby homeowner and mother of one of Coberger's classmates, 90 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:38.560 adding that her daughter told her she never noticed any 91 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:41.680 possible warning signs. It makes me sick in my stomach. 92 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:45.279 You never know, You just never know. Well, when Brian 93 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:48.360 Coberger was younger, he might have had some issues, right, 94 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:51.319 and those issues since they weren't dealt with when he 95 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:55.399 was a young man. They all continue to build, and then, eventually, 96 00:05:55.720 --> 00:06:00.240 according to the government anyway, Brian Coberger snapped and on 97 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:05.120 a murder spree. Natory Green twenty seven, grew up four 98 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:07.959 homes from the house where Coburger lived, and they both 99 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:12.600 graduated from high school in twenty thirteen. She recognized the 100 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:16.639 unusual nature of such national attention on the small community, 101 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:20.720 where the school district remains one of the country's largest employers. 102 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.240 You see it on the news. It's surreal, Green told 103 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.839 The Idaho Statesman from her driveway. Since moving back with 104 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:31.920 her family after college, Green said she's heard about the 105 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:36.319 passing of several Pleasant Valley classmates, rattling off the list 106 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:41.959 of causes drugs, car accident, drugs, military, drugs again, and 107 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:43.839 I think all of us can do the same right, 108 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:46.279 any of us that live in a big city anyway, 109 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:51.319 or in a place that's racked by drugs. I know personally, 110 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:53.920 I've lost so many people that I care about, people 111 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:58.199 who are close to me, to the perversion of these 112 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:01.560 drugs that have so many of our communities in a 113 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:06.319 choke hold. Drug abuse is a problem in the area 114 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:08.920 the region has one of the highest rates of overdose 115 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:11.360 deaths in one of the worst hit states for the 116 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:15.920 US opioid epidemic. Coberger had his own lengthy battle with 117 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.399 drug addiction. Several former friends told The Statesman, well, I'm 118 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.399 sure he did have a problem when he was younger, 119 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:25.439 but I doubt he still had that itch. How are 120 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:27.519 you going to get your master's degree if you're a 121 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:32.000 heroin addict? Probably pretty difficult right now. I know that 122 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:35.879 there are functioning drug addicts out there, and certainly functioning alcoholics, 123 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:39.480 but heroin and getting your master's degree and going for 124 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:43.319 your PhD. I don't see how Brian Coohberger could have 125 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.519 done that. So my guess is he kicked that heroin addiction. 126 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:49.439 But in that part of the country, like they're saying here, 127 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:52.120 it's real bad. I mean, there was a point in 128 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.000 time where people would say that the mating call of 129 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:58.279 a place like West Virginia is the shaking of a 130 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:01.279 pill bottle filled with opiates. So that just gives you 131 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:03.399 a little bit of an idea of how bad this 132 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:07.800 issue is in this area in general. Although a number 133 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:12.120 of deaths and incidents concerned past schoolmates, Coberger's situation is 134 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:16.560 entirely different. Green said, it's actually very sad and there's 135 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:19.399 a lot to take into mind and factor, she said, 136 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:21.879 we don't know why, and it's sad to hear on 137 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:26.160 both sides. Of course, it's definitely a horrible situation for 138 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.759 the community, and people who might have known Brian Colberger 139 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:34.360 in the past have to be taken aback, especially if 140 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:36.840 there were no warning signs when he was younger. Right, sure, 141 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:38.879 he had the drug addiction, but it's not like he 142 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:42.279 was out here skinning cats and killing dogs in the 143 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:45.639 local backwoods, at least that we know about. So there 144 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:49.159 certainly weren't any of those telltale red flags that we 145 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:53.120 always hear about with serial killers or people who are 146 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:57.320 going to engage in this kind of behavior, and we've 147 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:01.120 heard that from numerous people. Now, there were no big, 148 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:04.720 gigantic red flags besides Brian Koberger being a bit of 149 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:07.759 a bully at some point, and then of course we 150 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.679 started to hear the reports of him creeping girls out 151 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:13.039 that he was taking out on dates. So you see 152 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:16.080 that whole thing starting to evolve, right, moves on from 153 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:21.360 being a bully to being a creeper. Desire to be 154 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:25.879 the alpha for Coberger's former circle of friends during high school. 155 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:30.919 The allegations were immediately jarring and difficult to comprehend, even 156 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:34.639 for those familiar with this unpleasant side. It's hard to 157 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:37.759 put into words, Thomas arnts twenty seven, told The Statesman 158 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:41.320 in a phone interview. I just it was the initial 159 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.919 shock of hearing what he had been accused of. My 160 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:47.399 first thought was where is he now? Are my parents safe? 161 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:51.320 Because you couldn't process it all at once, and remember 162 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:54.600 this is one of his friends from childhood. Imagine thinking 163 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:57.360 that you have a friend that goes on an alleged 164 00:09:57.399 --> 00:10:00.080 murderous rampage, or an old friend, and the first thing 165 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:04.480 you think is are my parents safe? That's pretty wild. 166 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:10.039 Arnt remembered Coburger as similar to himself when they met 167 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:14.919 in their early teens, awkward and fairly reserved. During hangouts 168 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:19.159 after school on the weekends, they bonded over video games 169 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:22.639 and wandering the wooded neighborhood. Arnt said he came to 170 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:26.879 appreciate Coburger's sense of humor, wit and ability to observe. 171 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:30.960 But Art said he hadn't spoken to Coburger in about 172 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:34.200 eight years, having chosen to cut ties because he said, 173 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:39.360 his friend's personality grew grating over time. Coburger would frequently 174 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.919 play mind games with him, Arnt said, including once when 175 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:45.960 he was upset after the death of his aunt. He 176 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:48.480 made clear to Coburger that he wasn't in the mood, 177 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:52.120 but his friend refused to relent. With what aren't called 178 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:56.960 psychological mistreatment, that became more commonplace, and you see that 179 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:00.559 fits the pattern of Brian Colberger's later life. He went 180 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:04.080 on to become, you know, basically a criminologist, and his 181 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:07.960 core study with psychology, so he was honing his craft 182 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.120 back in the day while he was bullying his buddy. 183 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:17.519 He always wanted to be dominant physically and intellectually, said Arnce, 184 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:20.440 who was a year behind Coburger in school. He had 185 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:22.399 to show that he was smarter and bigger than you 186 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:25.360 and try to put me down and make me feel 187 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:29.120 insecure about myself. So much of that was a torment, 188 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:31.879 and I didn't want to be around him anymore. So 189 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:34.200 I think a lot of that was probably projection from 190 00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:37.799 Brian Colberger as well. Right, he was being bullied, and 191 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.120 then later on he turned that rage, that anger against 192 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:46.720 his friend instead. By high school, Colberger told friends of 193 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:50.000 his interest in law enforcement. His sophomore year high school 194 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:53.559 yearbook features Coburger dressed in a uniform and in the 195 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.480 midst of a push up during the law enforcement class 196 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:00.879 at the county's half day technical school. Hoped to become 197 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:04.000 an army ranger, The caption read, but his interest was 198 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:08.519 primarily law enforcement. Arn't stead And that's a common theme 199 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:11.120 we've heard over and over and over with Brian Coberger 200 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:14.679 at this point. His fixation with police shows how we 201 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:16.600 wanted to be a cop since he was a kid, 202 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:19.879 and how we had this fascination with how the whole 203 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:24.960 criminal process worked. The program helped students eventually become a 204 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:31.440 police officer, firefighter, or emt, said Donna Jaswiak, Coburger's guidance 205 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:34.799 counselor through most of high school. His parents, who also 206 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:37.879 worked for the school district, were active in attending meetings 207 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:40.720 to help steer their son. She said, I have a 208 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:44.919 lot of empathy for Brian Coberger's parents here. They don't 209 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:48.600 come off to me as scummy like Brian Laundry's parents 210 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:52.759 came off I mean, talk about scumballs, But these folks here, 211 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:56.200 the Coburgers, I have empathy for his mom and dad. 212 00:12:57.320 --> 00:13:00.159 From everything that we heard, they were doting parents. They 213 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:03.440 were very proud of their son, and then this jerk 214 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:08.840 off allegedly goes off and murders four people. I recall 215 00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:12.240 no problems. He was a regular kid, and thankfully his 216 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:16.559 parents were involved in his education. Yaosweact told The Statesman 217 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:19.919 in a phone interview, adding that she remembered Coburger as 218 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:23.159 a good student. I don't recall anything that was out 219 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:27.559 of the ordinary. Gress. The high school principal, until retiring 220 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:31.600 in twenty seventeen, told The Statesman he was an administrator 221 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:34.039 who made efforts to get to know students. In his 222 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:37.600 two decades in the position and forty one years in 223 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:41.360 the school district, he only vaguely recalled Coburger, he said, 224 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:45.639 in part because Coburger was enrolled half the day at 225 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:49.600 the off campus technical school and wasn't involved in any 226 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:54.039 after school activities offered by the district. And look, I'm 227 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:56.039 not a parent, right, I say that all the time, 228 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:59.159 and I'm the last person to ever give anyone advice 229 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:02.559 about how to their kid. But one thing I will 230 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:05.720 tell you is that some kind of activity while they're 231 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:09.559 younger is huge. Some kind of team activity. I don't 232 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:13.480 care if it's a sport whatever, but team building is big, 233 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:15.679 and you have to learn how to win, and you 234 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:18.559 have to learn how to lose. And almost every single 235 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:21.320 time we hear about one of these type of killings 236 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.480 or these type of killers, they were never engaged in 237 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:28.600 anything like that. They're all anti social. They've never really 238 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.480 even been introduced to what it's like to working in 239 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.960 a team. So I find it to be a crucial 240 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.960 step when a child is young to have them involved 241 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:43.960 in something. What many people do remember of Coburger from 242 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:47.360 his high school years was his considerable weight loss. The 243 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:51.600 dramatic change occurred between his junior and senior years. Aren't 244 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:55.919 and two other former friends said Coburger started kickboxing every 245 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:59.039 day after school and running in the evenings with the neighbor. 246 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:03.159 Aren't said he also became hyper focused on what he ate, 247 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:06.360 his friends recalled, to the point where he developed an 248 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:11.440 eating disorder that required hospitalization. Jack Bayliss twenty eight, another 249 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:14.519 of Coburger's inner circle at the time, told The Statesman, 250 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:18.200 imagine being such a militant vegan that you end up 251 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:22.200 in the hospital because of it. I mean, take it easy, buddy, Okay, relax, 252 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:25.200 have a couple of pieces of broccoli and calm down. 253 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:30.120 Arns estimated that Coburger weighed more than three hundred pounds 254 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.639 and the amount he lost was as much as half 255 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:35.960 his body mass, and it was so rapid that Coburger 256 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:38.840 had tummy tuck surgery because he was left with so 257 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:43.279 much excess skin. Arns and Bayliss said Coberger's high school 258 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.759 yearbook photos from his sophomore through senior years, reviewed by 259 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:51.600 The Statesman, showed his physical transformation. During the same period, 260 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:57.120 Arnst said Coberger's personality also shifted and he became more aggressive. 261 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:01.240 Arnt provided similar details in an interview with the FBI. 262 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:04.720 He said, and we've heard from Arnce previously, right, we've 263 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:07.960 heard a little bit of the details about Brian Colberger 264 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:12.679 growing up and his friend circle and how he drifted 265 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:16.279 away from them due to his behavior. But it's always 266 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:19.240 good to get more context, right, and it's always good 267 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:22.399 to get a deeper look at what some of these 268 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.840 friends have to say. It almost seemed to me he 269 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:28.519 had a desire to be the alpha. Arns said, for 270 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:31.120 no reason, he tried to grapple me and put me 271 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:33.759 in headlocks when I didn't want to. He tried to 272 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.799 portray it as just boys being boys, but that's not 273 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.200 the way I ever took it. I get that I 274 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:42.399 wouldn't want somebody grabbing me and putting me in a 275 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.639 headlock if I didn't want to be in that position, 276 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:47.759 And I'm sure Arn's here wasn't exactly what you would 277 00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:52.480 call a fighter. Years later, after Arns enlisted in the 278 00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:56.480 US Army and was deployed overseas, Coburger sent him a 279 00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:01.200 Facebook message offering his congratulations, he said, and apologizing for 280 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:04.240 how he treated him when they were younger. Arnt said 281 00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:08.160 he didn't respond, so Arrence wasn't having it right. Brian 282 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:11.519 Coberger reaches out to him after their adults and what 283 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:14.279 happened to him as a child was so traumatic according 284 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:16.440 to mister Arnce that he wants nothing to do with 285 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:20.160 Brian Colberger as an adult. So you can only imagine 286 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:23.599 what Brian Coolberger's behavior was like to make mister Arnes 287 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:28.039 feel like this all these years in the future. All right, folks, 288 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:29.759 So that's going to do it for part one here. 289 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.400 We're going to pick up with part two in the 290 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:35.839 next episode. All of the information that goes with this 291 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:40.200 episode can be found in the description box. It's up, everyone, 292 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:44.519 and welcome back to the program. In this episode, we're 293 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:46.960 going to pick up where we left off with that 294 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:51.559 Idaho Statesmen article in the last episode, so let's just 295 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:57.839 dive right back in. It's almost unbelievable. During the work week, 296 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:01.319 regular slide into occupy one of the ten seats at 297 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:04.480 the bar at Lin's Motel on State Route one point 298 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:08.319 fifteen in effort, almost as soon as the doors unlatch 299 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:11.440 at four pm. One of the first in on a 300 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:14.960 Wednesday is a school bus eight. Just off work. She 301 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:18.240 grumbled about losing a lunchtime bout with a stubborn piece 302 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.960 of rye bread that knocked out two of her fillings, 303 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:24.039 one on each side of her mouth. She's ready for 304 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:28.279 her usual seagrum seven in sprite and make it a double. Yeah. 305 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:30.839 If I lost a couple of fillings over some rye bread, 306 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:36.559 I'm probably gonna hammer a double myself. Adorned with time 307 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:40.279 worn red carpeting and wood paneled walls, the local watering 308 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:42.640 hole is one of the few left in the area 309 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:46.839 and patrons are all on a first name basis. A 310 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:50.799 metal sign behind the bar declared the establishment a fallout 311 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:54.319 shelter with a folded piece of paper beneath it, carrying 312 00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:58.880 a scrawled message that draws recurring laps from customers. Do 313 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:03.160 your drugs elsewhere. The bar doesn't see a lot of 314 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.480 new faces when it gets one, especially if they're visiting 315 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:10.359 from Idaho. It garners the interest of the staff and 316 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:15.039 the everyday clientele. They were all following the quadruple homicide 317 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:19.000 case too before it probably landed on their doorstep with 318 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:22.920 Coburger's arrest late last year at his parents' house just 319 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:26.640 up the road along the oak lined byways. I was 320 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:29.680 watching the news and saw that they caught him, bartender 321 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:34.000 Amy Miltner explained, And it's in all Brightsville. What that's 322 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.119 a mile from my home, And you have to think 323 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:39.480 that's crazy for these people from these small towns. A 324 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:42.720 lot of us are from big cities, and there's tragedy 325 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:45.240 on a daily basis in most of the big cities, 326 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.200 not only in America but around the world. In these 327 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:51.799 small little towns and counties, very rarely are one of 328 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:55.039 their own put into the light that Brian Coberger was 329 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:58.079 put into overhearing word of an out of town er 330 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:00.400 from Idaho. An army veteran see he did at the 331 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:03.119 corner of the bar with a pencil thin mustache and 332 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:06.000 a firm grip on a bottle of cors Light chimes 333 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:09.920 in not from Moscow, I hope, he said. Well, welcome 334 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:13.319 to the Poconos. Next Door to Linz is a roadside 335 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:17.720 pizzeria formerly called New York Pizza Girl. Colberger worked there 336 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:22.680 in twenty thirteen and twenty fourteen. Rich Pascua, a Pleasant 337 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:26.200 Valley High School graduate a few years older than the suspect, 338 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:29.400 told Fox News and The New York Times last month. 339 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:34.119 Pascua did not return Statesman's request for an interview. And 340 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:36.079 there's a lot of people out there that just don't 341 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:37.599 want to deal with it. They don't want to deal 342 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:40.200 with the media. They don't want people hounding them, and 343 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:43.079 they're better off just keeping their yap shut because they 344 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:47.240 don't want to deal with all of the extra attention. Pasquah, 345 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:50.160 thirty one, who today works as a drug rehab clinic 346 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:53.839 in the area, said he and Coburger would use heroin together. 347 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:56.759 You know, when you're an addict, you usually have somebody 348 00:20:56.839 --> 00:20:59.559 you run with, right your road dog, somebody you get 349 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:03.279 high with, somebody you commit your crimes with you know, petty, theft, whatever, 350 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:06.200 and that's your person that you rely on while you're 351 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:09.359 out here in them streets. And Brian Coberger and this 352 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:12.680 Pasqua guy that seems to be what their relationship was. 353 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:16.839 He didn't have many friends, so he would do anything 354 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:19.720 to fit in the squad. Told Fox News he was 355 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:22.759 a big heroin addict and so was I. I work 356 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:25.839 in treatment and everything, but back then I was using. 357 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:28.680 And so that's how I know for a fact he 358 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:31.680 was using. I got high with him a couple of times. 359 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:36.480 Charles Conklin, sixty one, owns the building the pizzeria occupied, 360 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:39.680 as well as the neighboring fish hatchery that includes a 361 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:42.880 stock blake where people paid a fish for a variety 362 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:46.359 of trout and bass. In the summer of twenty eleven, 363 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:50.039 Coburger briefly worked there a few months as well, cleaning 364 00:21:50.039 --> 00:21:54.079 people's catch. Conklin recalled, and Coburger wrote on a school 365 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:59.279 district job application obtained by The Statesman. So Brian Coberger 366 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:01.680 had various jobs, like most of us, worked out at 367 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:05.279 pizza place, worked at the fish hatchery, et cetera, et cetera. 368 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:09.720 And while he was somebody who wasn't popular. It certainly 369 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:12.640 doesn't seem like there were any red flags that people 370 00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:18.160 were missing. He wasn't there long, however, Conkland told The Statesman, 371 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:21.640 because Coburger didn't show himself to be very personable with 372 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:26.160 customers and also wasn't improving at fileting the fish, he 373 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.559 let him go. You've got to do a good job 374 00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:30.839 on your cuts. You have to be friendly to people, 375 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:33.680 at least try to make some eye contact. Conkland said, 376 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.960 it just wasn't his thing. Within an hour of Coburger's 377 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:40.920 arrest in December, Conkland said he got a call from 378 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:44.400 a former longtime employee who reminded him of the high 379 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.599 school kid they fired more than a decade ago. The 380 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:52.079 revelation floored him. There aren't words to describe how disturbing 381 00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:55.519 it was, Conkland said, We're a small area, small community, 382 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:59.319 so for things like that to happen shocking, totally shocking. 383 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:02.119 I know, this is shocking for anyone, and for him 384 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:05.279 to be from this area and actually worked here, it's 385 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:08.519 almost unbelievable. And I'm sure a lot of people feel 386 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:11.960 like that. You come from a little, small community and 387 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:15.160 you have somebody from that community who commits a heinous 388 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:18.319 crime like this, or we should say, allegedly commits a 389 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:22.400 hein's crime like this, and definitely sends shock waves throughout 390 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:25.119 the whole community, people who worked with them, people who 391 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:27.799 hung out with them. It's almost like a punch to 392 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:32.200 the gut when you hear something like that. Post recovery 393 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:36.559 road reaches shocking turn. Several years after they last spoke, 394 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.119 Baylis said he and Coburger reconnected. Bayliss said the two 395 00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:43.960 would exchange Facebook messages and Coburger would call him to 396 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.400 talk every week or so. Coburger told him he no 397 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:51.240 longer used drugs. When the subject came up at some point, 398 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:54.319 he said, don't ever bring it up again. We're past that, 399 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:58.839 Bayliss told The Statesman. In May twenty eighteen, Coburger told 400 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:02.319 Bayliss in message on Facebook that he hadn't used drugs 401 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:05.480