“He was the type to stare”: Witnesses say Bryan Kohberger visited Idaho University before student murders

A recent report on PEOPLE interviewed three Idaho University students who allegedly saw Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger lingering on campus in the weeks leading up to the gruesome murder of four university students.

The witnesses told the outlet that they saw Bryan Kohberger hanging around at the Idaho University and said that, “He was the type to stare.”

A sophomore identified as Chelsea said that she saw Kohberger sitting by himself drinking water at a food court at the university earlier in the semester. Chelsea, who found Kohberger's stare disconcerting, alleged that he often stared at people and refused to avert his eyes even after they caught him staring.

“He was the type to stare. He wouldn’t look away if you caught him staring. Like he wanted you to notice that he was looking at you. He didn’t smile, didn’t nod, didn’t say anything. Just stared. I told my friend to not be suspicious but to look at him because the eye contact was making me uncomfortable.”

Chelsea added that her group often chose to eat outside the cafeteria to avoid the suspect.

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Bryan Kohberger's sightings at the Idaho University concerned students who found his presence odd

Bryan Kohberger, a student from Washington State University, was arrested and charged for stabbing Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, to death at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13.

Witnesses who allegedly spotted Kohberger several times at the Idaho University weeks before the killings told PEOPLE that they found it odd that a student from a different university located eight miles from their own would often hang around the Idaho campus.

Another student, under anonymity, told PEOPLE that after allegedly seeing the suspect several times at Idaho University, they assumed that he was a student on campus.

“It’s not a huge school; it’s like a small town. So you start seeing the same faces again and again. They become familiar like you know that you’ve seen them in class or around campus.”

The unidentified student also reiterated Chelsea’s description of Kohberger's alleged affinity for staring at people.

“I saw him more than once. He was just really quiet and really intense, staring. He made me uncomfortable."

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Multiple sightings of Bryan Kohberger at the university that he did not attend have spurred concerns across the community, including the parent of a student who said that people should stay cautious of strangers hanging around schools. Mar Sampson, whose daughter was a student last semester at the Idaho University, told PEOPLE:

"Whether or not [Kohberger] is guilty of killing those kids, there's something wrong if a grown man who isn't a student can just wander around campus. Everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings, and should feel free to speak up if someone makes them uncomfortable."

Meanwhile, authorities have said that the data from Bryan Kohberger’s cell phone showed that his phone was pinged near the crime scene in the weeks leading up to the killings and after. Meanwhile, a judge has issued a gag order preventing officials from releasing further information in the case.

Kohberger currently remains imprisoned as he awaits a preliminary hearing on June 26.