BOISE, Idaho — Though the motive behind University of Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger's violent attack remains unknown, the former police chief says "new information could come out still."
"There’s always cases that, you know, 10 years later, somebody says something," James Fry, who was the Moscow police chief at the time of the murders, told ABC News moments after Kohberger was sentenced to life behind bars on Wednesday.
After nearly three years and an exhaustive, expensive investigation, Fry admitted he wishes he knew more about the motive. Moscow police said they don't know which victim was the specific target and have not found any link between Kohberger and the victims.
Hear what Former Police Chief Fry has to say about the case:
"You’re always wanting to get the families the why," he said, but "sometimes they don’t get to have the why."
Fry sat down with ABC News for his first network interview since the nondissemination order was lifted, allowing him to open up about the yearslong investigation that's defined the department and the killer who terrorized his community.
The victims -- roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin -- were stabbed to death at the girls' off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022.
Police reports released for the first time on Wednesday reveal just how gruesome the crime scene was and noted that Goncalves and Kernodle suffered from defensive wounds.
Goncalves was stabbed 34 times and described as "unrecognizable as her facial structure was extremely damaged," a report said. Kernodle was in an "intense struggle" and had over 50 stab wounds, a report said.
That's done by someone who is "cold, filled with rage," Fry said. "Angry, very angry."
"I think it was a fight for their life," Fry said, noting Kernodle may have encountered Kohberger when she went into the kitchen after getting her food delivery.
Two roommates survived, including Dylan Mortensen, who told police she saw a man in a mask with "bushy eyebrows" in the house on the night of the murders.
Asked why Mortensen may have been spared, Fry said there are a lot of theories, including that Kohberger may have been exhausted from the stabbings or he could’ve felt he’d been in the house too long.
"I don’t know -- only he has that answer," Fry said.
On July 2, weeks before the trial was set to start, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all counts. On Wednesday, Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count.
When Fry sat down in the jury box at sentencing, he was directly across from Kohberger, marking the first time he saw him face-to-face.
"He should be ashamed of what he did," Fry said. "He destroyed lives, families, communities. Changed everybody that ever worked that case, changed my university."
"It’s not human what happened," he said.
In the end, Fry said he feels some vindication. He had promised his community and the victims’ families that this case would not go cold. During the nearly seven-week manhunt, in which the department divulged little-to-no information, that became a valid concern. Fry was receiving death threats, sleeping with a loaded shotgun near his bed and covering office windows with butcher paper to keep people from seeing inside. All while searching for, and eventually finding, the killer, who will now spend the rest of his life behind bars.
This story was originally published by ABC News.
