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Murder In Moscow: More On The Extensive Search For The Murder Weapon · Beyond The Horizon

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  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome back to the program. The
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  Speaker 1: court documents that have been uploaded by the state of
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  Speaker 1: Idaho have provided us with a bit of a glimpse
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  Speaker 1: as to what's going on behind the scenes in the investigation.
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  Speaker 1: And some of those warrants that have been uploaded under
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  Speaker 1: seal are very interesting to take a look at. Now, obviously,
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  Speaker 1: there's not too much information. You can get from those
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  Speaker 1: warrants considering that they're sealed and redacted, but the warrants
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  Speaker 1: themselves tell a story. And today we have an article
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  Speaker 1: from Inside Edition talking about one of those warrants and
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  Speaker 1: the possibility that it could have something to do with
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  Speaker 1: the murder weapon. So let's dive into this article from
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  Speaker 1: Inside Edition and let's see what Chris Spargo has for us. Headline,
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  Speaker 1: Brian Koberger Investigation. Is this the murder weapon used to
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  Speaker 1: kill University of Idaho students? Over 60 search warrant applications
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  Speaker 1: filed by the Moscow Police Department have been unsealed over
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  Speaker 1: the past week and obtained by Inside Edition Digital, including
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  Speaker 1: six seeking information about the sale of a K-Bar knife. Now,
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  Speaker 1: it might turn up nothing, but it certainly got my
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  Speaker 1: interest when I was going through the documents that were
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  Speaker 1: uploaded and saw information the warrants pertaining to a K-bar knife. Now, again,
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  Speaker 1: we don't know if that is actually the murder weapon
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  Speaker 1: or where he purchased it, but it's very, very interesting,
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  Speaker 1: I'll tell you that much. New details are emerging about
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  Speaker 1: the investigation into the murder of four University of Idaho
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  Speaker 1: students prior to the arrest of the suspect, Brian Koberger.
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  Speaker 1: Over 60 search warrant applications filed by the Moscow Police
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  Speaker 1: Department have been unsealed over the past week and obtained
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  Speaker 1: by Inside Edition Digital, including six seeking information about the
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  Speaker 1: sale of the K-Bar knife. Well, I wouldn't say they
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  Speaker 1: were unsealed, but they certainly were added to the conversation.
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  Speaker 1: We don't have all of the details, the finer points
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  Speaker 1: of the warrants, as you all know, because we've been
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  Speaker 1: going through them. But it does give us a roadmap
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  Speaker 1: and a look at what the investigation is angling for.
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  Speaker 1: The judge overseeing the Kohlberger murder trial approved all six
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  Speaker 1: of those applications, writing in her order that the document
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  Speaker 1: succeeding in showing probable cause, establishing grounds for issuing search
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  Speaker 1: warrant and probable cause to believe that the property referred
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  Speaker 1: to and sought in or upon said premises consists of
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  Speaker 1: information for the crimes of homicide. Well, all of the
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  Speaker 1: warrants say that really. We've been going through them. and
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  Speaker 1: even the ones with the bank statements, that's what they say.
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  Speaker 1: And it looks like that's just boilerplate language in all
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  Speaker 1: of these documents. Evidence obtained by investigators at that time
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  Speaker 1: included a leather knife sheath found at the murder scene
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  Speaker 1: and the expert determination by Latah County Coroner Kathy Maybutt
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  Speaker 1: that the murder weapon would have been a bigger knife
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  Speaker 1: following her autopsies of the four victims. And as far
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  Speaker 1: as Kathy Mabit goes, not a big fan of this lady.
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  Speaker 1: She came out at the very beginning, caused a lot
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  Speaker 1: of confusion, and really should have just been quiet throughout
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  Speaker 1: the whole entire ordeal. Let's remember, she's not even a
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  Speaker 1: medical doctor. These applications were also filed prior to the
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  Speaker 1: arrest of Koberger and sought information from five retailers. Amazon, Walmart,
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  Speaker 1: Blue Ridge Knives, K-Bar Knives, and eBay. There were two
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  Speaker 1: separate applications submitted to eBay. The eBay search warrant. The
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  Speaker 1: warrants instructed each retailer to provide information about the individual
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  Speaker 1: who purchased a K-Bar full-size U.S. Marine Corps fighting knife
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  Speaker 1: or a K-Bar 1217S. The K-Bar 1217S is a leather
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  Speaker 1: sheath for holding the 1217 model and is stamped with
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  Speaker 1: the words K-Bar 1217. and USMC, the abbreviation for the
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  Speaker 1: United States Marine Corps. Investigators did not find a murder
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  Speaker 1: weapon when they discovered the bodies of Kaylee Gonsalves, Madison Mogan,
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  Speaker 1: Zanna Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. And when it was all
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  Speaker 1: going down and they were looking for the murder weapon,
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  Speaker 1: I thought it was a Hail Mary to try and
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  Speaker 1: find it locally. You know, they were going to stores
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  Speaker 1: locally in Moscow trying to find out if somebody purchased
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  Speaker 1: a K-Bar knife. And while it's something the investigators have
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  Speaker 1: to do, obviously, I never thought that they would find
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  Speaker 1: pay dirt doing it that way. This day and age,
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  Speaker 1: chances are, if he bought this knife, he bought it online.
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  Speaker 1: So that's what these search warrants are. These are the
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  Speaker 1: digital warrants that we talked about in the very beginning.
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  Speaker 1: Remember when Moscow police were giving us the updates all
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  Speaker 1: the time and they were talking about the 50 plus
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  Speaker 1: warrants that were already served? Well, this was one of them.
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  Speaker 1: and they were working behind the scenes at that time
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  Speaker 1: to serve these warrants and get all of this information
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  Speaker 1: collected so they'd have their ducks in a row when
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  Speaker 1: they finally had the probable cause to go after Kohlberger.
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  Speaker 1: Corporal Brett Payne of the Moscow Police Department wrote in
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  Speaker 1: his affidavit, however, that he did find a tan leather
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  Speaker 1: knife sheath laying on the bed next to one victim.
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  Speaker 1: The sheath was later processed and had KBAR, USMC, and
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  Speaker 1: the United States Marine Corps officers Eagle Globe and anchor
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  Speaker 1: insignia stamped on the outside of it, Corporal Payne said
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  Speaker 1: in his affidavit. So again, it was this knife sheath
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  Speaker 1: that really broke the case open. And if this knife
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  Speaker 1: sheath wasn't left there, who knows if they would have
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  Speaker 1: even been on to Brian Kohlberger the way that they were.
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  Speaker 1: And without that sheath and that DNA, who the hell
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  Speaker 1: knows if they would have caught this dude or when
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  Speaker 1: they would have caught him. For eBay, the first warrant
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  Speaker 1: requests information for any individual who purchased the designated sheath
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  Speaker 1: or knife after January 1, 2022, including account information for
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  Speaker 1: the above-named individuals, entities on eBay, or affiliated websites, including
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  Speaker 1: but not limited to contact information, billing information, account opening date,
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  Speaker 1: account closing date, and any other information retained in connection
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  Speaker 1: with with the identified accounts. Order details and purchase history
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  Speaker 1: for all transactions conducted by the above-named individuals, entities on
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  Speaker 1: eBay or any eBay-affiliated storefront, web store, including IP address
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  Speaker 1: information for purchases made. Payment information for payments made or
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  Speaker 1: facilitated by eBay to or from the above-named individual entities,
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  Speaker 1: including payments through eBay or eBay-supported platforms. All customer interaction
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  Speaker 1: records between eBay and the above-named individuals, entities, and their
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  Speaker 1: representatives to include call notes, call recordings, emails, and or
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  Speaker 1: written correspondence. So it's basically the same stuff that has
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  Speaker 1: been in all of these warrants. So while it's interesting, obviously,
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  Speaker 1: that they're looking for the KBAR and that these warrants
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  Speaker 1: have been issued to eBay, it really doesn't give us
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  Speaker 1: that holy shit moment. But I certainly think we're starting
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  Speaker 1: to sniff around in the right area. eBay complied with
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  Speaker 1: that warrant, and investigators, in turn, filed the second application
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  Speaker 1: that same day, seeking information about 13 specific eBay users.
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  Speaker 1: Two of those users were listed as living in Washington,
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  Speaker 1: one in Idaho, and one in Pennsylvania. Kohlberger is a
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  Speaker 1: Pennsylvania native who had been attending Washington State University in
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  Speaker 1: Washington when cops allege that he murdered four college students
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  Speaker 1: living in Idaho. The Amazon search warrant. The Amazon search
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  Speaker 1: warrant requests the same information as the first eBay warrant,
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  Speaker 1: but the Walmart warrant sought slightly different information about individuals
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  Speaker 1: who made either of those same purchases after January 1st, 2022.
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  Speaker 1: The warrant requested that all open and closed accounts, all
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  Speaker 1: records pertaining to the individual or individuals or business entities
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  Speaker 1: identified in this letter, whether held jointly or severally or
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  Speaker 1: as trustee or fiduciary, as well as custodian, executor or guardian,
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  Speaker 1: as well as any other entity in which these individuals
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  Speaker 1: or entities may have financial interest, includes all accounts in
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  Speaker 1: which these individuals had signatory authority or and or the
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  Speaker 1: right of withdrawal, these records should include signature cards, statement data,
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  Speaker 1: monthly account statements, identification of and name assigned on all
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  Speaker 1: debit cards on account, deposits and supporting documentation, including but
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  Speaker 1: not limited to evidence of cash, canceled deposited checks, front
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  Speaker 1: and back, transfers from other accounts, including full account number
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  Speaker 1: and name, and other credit information, checks and other withdrawals,
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  Speaker 1: including but not limited to canceled checks front and back,
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  Speaker 1: withdrawals and offsets, evidence of cash withdrawals, transfers from other accounts,
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  Speaker 1: including account number and name, other debit information, wire transfers
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  Speaker 1: in and out, including wire transfer instructions, and evidence of requester,
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  Speaker 1: if possible, evidence of cash transactions, and identifying information of
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  Speaker 1: individuals conducting cash transactions. Identification of sender or receipt bank,
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  Speaker 1: full account number, and account name on ACH transfers, online transfers.
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  Speaker 1: teller transfers, or other transfers. And again, all of this
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  Speaker 1: is in all of those warrants. So it's not like
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  Speaker 1: this language is just unique to this KBAR warrant. I
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  Speaker 1: just want to make that clear. Warrants to the two
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  Speaker 1: knife companies had some notable additions. The case of Blue
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  Speaker 1: Ridge Knives The warrant specifically sought information on the sale
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  Speaker 1: of any of the K-Bar KA-1217S sheaths after January 1st, 2022,
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  Speaker 1: and then information on two orders for K-Bar knives that
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  Speaker 1: the wholesaler fulfilled last year. The first, a 360-unit order
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  Speaker 1: on March 8th, and the second, an order for 480
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  Speaker 1: units fulfilled on June 24th. And we already did this
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  Speaker 1: Blue Ridge Knives warrant, and man, it was interesting. Some
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  Speaker 1: of the requests that were made in it certainly gave
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  Speaker 1: me pause, and obviously one of those requests had to
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  Speaker 1: do with the K-Bar. The warrant issued to K-Bar requested
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  Speaker 1: the same information as the one issued to Walmart. Both
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  Speaker 1: retailers were also asked to provide investigators with electronic internet records.
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  Speaker 1: For those customers who engage in online banking with your
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  Speaker 1: financial institution, the following information pertaining to that online banking account,
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  Speaker 1: usernames or other identifying information for the account, email addresses
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  Speaker 1: associated with the account to include any and all of
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  Speaker 1: the above information for any secondary or additional email addresses
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  Speaker 1: and or usernames identified by you as belonging to the
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  Speaker 1: targeted account, in this letter. Historical access logs for authentication
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  Speaker 1: to the account, including internet protocol addresses for this account,
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  Speaker 1: end date, time, and duration of each session. Credit card records, e.g.
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  Speaker 1: MasterCard and Visa, including customers' applications, signature card, credit, or
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  Speaker 1: background investigations conducted, correspondence, monthly billing, statements, individual charge invoices,
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  Speaker 1: repayment records, disclosing the date, amounts, and methods of repayment,
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  Speaker 1: checks used to make repayments, front and back. Correspondence. All
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  Speaker 1: records of correspondence communication between the customer and the financial
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  Speaker 1: institution relating to the above services or for any other purpose,
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  Speaker 1: including customer service, inquiries, or requests for assistance. Other records.
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  Speaker 1: All applications, forms, and other written documents completed by the
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  Speaker 1: customer records of certified checks, wire transfers, or collections, letter credit, bonds,
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  Speaker 1: and securities purchased through your financial institution, saving bond transaction,
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  Speaker 1: and investment accounts, such records that disclose the date and
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  Speaker 1: amount of the transaction, method, cash or check, and source
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  Speaker 1: of the payment, instruments and statements of transactions, all correspondence
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  Speaker 1: with the above individual or entities, and or with third parties,
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  Speaker 1: regarding the above individual or entities, all memoranda, notes, files,
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  Speaker 1: or records relating to meetings or conversations concerning the above
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  Speaker 1: individual or entities. And as you can see, this is
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  Speaker 1: all the same language that we've been going through in
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  Speaker 1: those warrants. And it's crucial for us to follow along
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  Speaker 1: in this manner if we're going to have any idea
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  Speaker 1: of what's going on. In addition to the 1217 model
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  Speaker 1: and sheath, Investigators also asked KBAR for information on individuals
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  Speaker 1: who purchased five other models of the company's knives, as
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  Speaker 1: well as any shipments the company made to Blue Ridge Knives.
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  Speaker 1: And again, it might turn out to be nothing, but
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  Speaker 1: my guess here is that there's a little something cooking
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  Speaker 1: as far as Blue Ridge Knives and KBAR goes. Court
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  Speaker 1: documents show that all six applications were submitted to the court,
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  Speaker 1: approved by the judge, distributed to the retailers, and returned
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  Speaker 1: to the investigators before Koberger had been arrested by the authorities.
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  Speaker 1: That's called building the case. That's how you use all
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  Speaker 1: of the circumstantial evidence to build into an actual conviction.
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  Speaker 1: What remains unknown is the information investigators obtained as a
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  Speaker 1: result of these warrants. There are over 50 additional applications
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  Speaker 1: that have been unsealed and most fall into one of
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  Speaker 1: two categories. The first involves financial information from banks and
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  Speaker 1: credit card companies about Kohlberger. The second involves the online
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  Speaker 1: activity of Kohlberger as well as his four victims and
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  Speaker 1: ranges from email and social media accounts to dating sites
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  Speaker 1: and message boards. Prosecutors filed paperwork at the same time
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  Speaker 1: the judge approved these applications seeking a 90-day protection period.
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  Speaker 1: So they've been very guarded about the information And again,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of that has to do with the gag
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  Speaker 1: order and the nature of this case overall, the publicity
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  Speaker 1: surrounding it, and just the general bedlam that comes with
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  Speaker 1: something like this. Once approved by the court, the applications
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  Speaker 1: were placed under seal. Prosecutors then attempted to extend this period,
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  Speaker 1: a request the court denied for the approximately 60 filings
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  Speaker 1: that have been unsealed over the past week. And that's interesting.
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  Speaker 1: The prosecution is really trying to be heavy-handed here, and
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  Speaker 1: not show any transparency whatsoever. And that's how they've been
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  Speaker 1: from the beginning, and with the gag order, they have
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  Speaker 1: all the cover they need not to be transparent. Case
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  Speaker 1: records show that the judge did agree to keep at
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  Speaker 1: least nine of the filings under seal after hearing from prosecutors.
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  Speaker 1: The search warrant released by authorities in Pennsylvania earlier this
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  Speaker 1: month does note that a knife was taken after a
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  Speaker 1: search of Koberger's childhood home, but the make and model
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  Speaker 1: were not specified in... in the evidence list. Kohlberger is
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  Speaker 1: currently being held at the Latah County Detention Center after
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  Speaker 1: being denied bail following a January court appearance. His preliminary
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  Speaker 1: hearing is scheduled for June and is expected to last
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  Speaker 1: a week. At the conclusion of that hearing, the judge
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  Speaker 1: will determine if there is enough evidence for the case
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  Speaker 1: to proceed to trial, and Kohlberger will enter his plea
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  Speaker 1: to four counts of first-degree murder and a single count
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  Speaker 1: of burglary. The public defender assigned to represent the former
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  Speaker 1: PhD candidate after his arrest in Pennsylvania said that Koberger
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  Speaker 1: had informed him that he expected to be exonerated of
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  Speaker 1: the charges at trial. Well, just another look at the
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  Speaker 1: warrant process here and the unsealed documents. I think that
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  Speaker 1: the more information we can have about this process, the
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  Speaker 1: better served we're all going to be. So we'll continue
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  Speaker 1: to keep on going through those warrants and going through
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  Speaker 1: the court filings so that we can continue to try
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  Speaker 1: and find our way through all of this muck to
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  Speaker 1: some clarity. All right, folks, that's going to do it
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  Speaker 1: for this one. All of the information that goes with
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  Speaker 1: the episode can be found in the description box.