♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, idaho college murders. >> why did you do it? >> the suspect makes his first court appearance in the slayings that shocked the country. as we learn more about bryan kohberger from those who knew him. >> i remember seeing him and thinking, oh, man, finals must be really getting him. >> the families of the four victims hoping the arrest will somehow ease their pain. >> it definitely provided relief and comfort to know that things were progressing. >> the punishment authorities may seek, and the surprising lead that led police to the arrest. plus -- >> do you have any statements? >> on his own. congressman-elect george santos, the republican repeatedly caught in lies about his resume and heritage, ignored by his gop colleagues. his former opponent saying he doesn't belong in the house.

>> he has truly engaged a fraud and a grand deceit on the voters and citizens of this district. >> many of those voters agree. >> who's going to believe him, who's going to trust him, who's going to be comfortable working with him? instant outpouring. donations soar in demar hamlins' name as the buffalo bills safety fights for his life. your reason to go on. let it pull you. past the doubt. past the pain. and past your limits.. no matter what, we go on. biofreeze. we all need fiber for our digestive health, but less than 10% of us get enough each day. good thing metamucil gummies are an easy way to get prebiotic, plant-based fiber. with the same amount of fiber as 2 cups of broccoli. metamucil gummies the easy way to get your daily fiber.

♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. it was a crime that left a small college town on edge. grabbed the attention of the country. now, two months later, police have a suspect in the murders of four students. learning more about the days leading up to the arrest. here's abc's kayna whitworth. >> reporter: today in this strasburg, pennsylvania, courthouse, a major development in a case that has gripped the nation nearly two months. the alleged killer behind the grisly murders of four university of idaho students agreeing to be voluntarily extradited to idaho. 28-year-old bryan kohberger charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in the deaths of 21-year-old roommates madison mowingen, kalie gonzales, 20-year-old xana customer noddell and her

boyfriend ethan chapin. gonsal gonsalves' family on "gma" today -- >> seeing sunlight after you've been stuck in a house for a month. >> it's my sincere hope this marks a clear step in the right direction of effectuating justice for those folks. >> reporter: this day in court is what the families and friends of the quadruple murder have been wanting since november 13th. the morning their loved ones were discovered brutally stabbed to death in their off-campus home at the university of idaho. but law enforcement not making it public as to who did it and why, leaving the community in terror with the killer on the loose. after 19,000 tips and hundreds of interviews, finally a suspect arrested at his parents' home in a gated community in monroe county, pennsylvania. >> the fbi sat on the house for several days before a tactical team made up of pennsylvania state police troopers and fbi

agents moved in at 2:00 a.m. friday to make the arrest. >> reporter: our philadelphia station wpvi talking to a neighbor who saw the arrest but didn't want to be identified. >> they had him in handcuffs and they took him out. we didn't really see his face. the team took him out and put him in the car. that was very scary. >> reporter: in june kohberger completed his master's degree of criminal justice at desal university in pennsylvania, seen at his commencement ceremony. in may someone using the same name posted on reddit, "looking to recruit volunteers for a research project aiming at understanding how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime." the suspect has been studying for his ph.d. in criminology at washington state university. i he had worked as a teacher's assistant there until the end of last semester. police searching his apartment just over the state border in pullman, a 15-minute drive from the crime scene in moscow, idaho.

recent students of his speaking out, one saying his appearance changed around the time of the murders. >> he looked a little bit more disheveled. he had, like, some stubble coming on, his hair was a little messed up or whatever. i remember seeing him and thinking, like, "oh, man, finals must be really getting him." >> reporter: at the end of the semester, kohberger was driving 2,500 miles from washington to pennsylvania with his father in his white elantra. indiana state police confirming they pulled kohberger over twice in their state for traffic violations. they say they didn't know at the time he might be a suspect. this all began back on november 12th. a saturday night in college as friends headed to local bars and parties. kalie gonzales and madi went to the popular campus bar at the corner club around 10:00 p.m. >> it was just a party setting. so everyone was just socializing

with each other. with kaylee, she seems like her usual, bubbly self. so -- nothing suspicious. >> reporter: investigators say the two young women left the corner club around 1:30 a.m. by 1:40, 10 minutes later, kaylee and madison were seen laughing and taking pictures as they ordered from a food truck in downtown moscow. >> i can just tell by her body language that she was -- she was definitely feeling pretty good. and i wish i could have been there and given them a hug. >> reporter: at 1:56 a.m., the pair arrived home. getting a ride from what steve described as a sorority designated driver service. according to authorities, their roommate, xana, and her boyfriend, ethan chapin, were at a fraternity party earlier that same night but also returned to that off-campus home by 1:45 a.m. hours later, all four were dead. their other two roommates were already home, allegedly asleep on the lower floor of the house,

left unharmed. >> i hope people understand all these kids that were a part of this were doing everything right. they were going to be the type of people that you want to be your neighbor. >> reporter: authorities maintain the murders likely happened between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. and that all six people were likely asleep at the time of the attack. their bodies not discovered for another eight hours. >> some had defensive wounds. each had been stabbed multiple times. >> reporter: earlier this month, investigators announced they had zeroed in on a white hyundai elantra, seen on video in the immediate area of the victims' house when the crimes occurred. >> they were able to track the suspect through this vehicle, this hyundai elantra. taking police from rural idaho to the pocono mountains in pennsylvania. >> reporter: this as new details emerge about how law enforcement tracked kohberger down. sources telling abc news they

used public genealogy databases like those used to catch the golden state killer. >> we can reverse-engineer anyone's identity based on who they share dna with. the vast majority of those cases are cold cases. >> reporter: cece moore is a genetic genealogist who pioneered the techniques used and says she has worked with law enforcement to solve more than 250 criminal cases. >> when you perpetrate this type of incredibly violent crime, it's virtually impossible not to leave your dna behind. it appears they did have his dna to work with. that would first have gone to the crime lab. there was no match. so at that point is when they would have taken that dna evidence and sent it out for investigative genetic genealogy analysis. >> reporter: this method of using public dna databases to help solve crimes is not without controversy. critics say it violates users' privacy. >> customers of these sites in the past have complained,

particularly after the golden state killer case gained so much prominence, about, wait a minute, you're using my dna to look for killers? i didn't sign up for that. >> why did you do it? >> how are you feeling? >> reporter: kohberger's lawyers say their client maintains his innocence, claiming he was in pullman, washington, on the night of the murders. >> he's currently charged with first-degree murder. however, idaho has the death penalty. so it will not surprise me if the district attorney supersedes the charges and maybe charges him with capital murder, which could make him eligible for the death penalty. >> reporter: law enforcement still tight-lipped on a possible motive. >> what now, bryan? >> reporter: coberg is expected to be extradited to idaho in the coming days. >> our thanks to kayna. up next, embattled

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♪ george santos is a man on his own. the embattled republican congressman-elect who admits to a loose relationship with the truth making his first appearance on the house floor as calls for his resignation intensify back in his home district. here's abc's congressional correspondent rachel scott. >> reporter: it's a new dawn on capitol hill. and as republicans take control of the house -- >> do you have any statements for your constituents?

>> reporter: one incoming freshman member's time in office is off to an incredibly rocky start. >> he is an outcast. you know, on his first day at capitol hill. >> reporter: 34-year-old george santos will be representing new york's 3rd congressional district, facing intense scrutiny for a staggering string of fabrications. about his schooling, work history, heritage, and personal finances. >> when george santos first ran for congress in 2020, he said he was making about $55,000 a year. less than two years later, he's reporting making millions of dollars, and the key question is, where did the money come from? >> reporter: the revelations raising questions about how someone who falsified his background could even get elected. >> it's going to be very difficult for george santos should he remain in the house of representatives to get any work done. you saw him in the chamber sitting alone. you saw folks who ventured up toward him only to realize it was him and back away. >> reporter: meanwhile, a number

of federal and local prosecutors now taking a closer look at the congressman elect. amid growing calls for his resignation from his district and beyond. >> we don't want to be represented by any clown in local government, in state government. but especially not in our nation's capitol. >> reporter: even some conservatives think he should face const consequences. >> i think he's got to get out of town, really. it's a question of credibility. who's going to believe him, who's going to trust him, who's going to be comfortable working with him? >> reporter: others are not convinced. >> if everybody that lied in politics took accountability, we wouldn't have anybody around. >> he's disgraced the office he sought. he's disgraced the political process. he is truly, truly engaged a fraud and a grand deceit on our voters and the citizens of our district.

>> reporter: all amid a contentious fight for the speaker of the house. >> can you secure the votes? >> yes. >> reporter: gop leader kevin mccarthy continuing to fall short of the votes needed to be elected speaker. >> that's the main reason why we haven't heard kevin mccarthy speak about this because kevin mccarthy needs every single vote he can get in order to become the speaker of the house. you could argue by any means necessary. because he is willing to take the vote of someone that we now know has lied to voters. >> i already said i'm voting for kevin mccarthy. >> reporter: the long island republican ran on the promise of the american dream. >> as your congressman, i pledge to protect the american dream for all. >> reporter: back in september, a local paper, "the north shore leader," raised flags about his finances. >> our people in the newspaper had spoken to him. they knew he was a liar. >> reporter: democrat robert zimmerman, who challenged santos, said he tried to bring attention to the paper's reporting. >> we gave it out door to door, it was very hard to get oxygen

around it. it was an important piece of journalism they did. >> reporter: it did not gain traction and santos won by about 8 percentage points in a district biden carried in 2020. the victory lap would not last long. a bombshell report published by the "new york times" in mid-december alleged that much of his resume and background had been falsified. >> democrats in the midterms were so focused on election fraud deniers and former president trump's role in our civic life now, they may have ignored some of the most glaring things about george santos that were out there. they just never were able to stick, at least until "the new york times" put them all together in one shocking article. >> reporter: with that, the story he had concocted about his life began to unravel. on the campaign trail, santos claiming to be jewish. >> i'm a jew, trust me. >> reporter: that his grandparents had fled persecution during world war ii. >> i've seen how socialism

destroys people's lives because think grandparents survived the holoca holocaust. >> there's some reporting his grandparents were born in brazil and did not flee the holocaust the way he has portrayed. >> reporter: santos said if a radio interview that to the best of his knowledge, his grandparents weren't born in brazil. >> the fact that he would use the atrocity of the death of 6 million jews, the impact it had on millions of people, as a political gimmick -- it shows his disdain ask disrespect for the jewish community. >> reporter: on fox news, santos responding to critics who said he lied about his faith. >> my heritage is jewish, i've identified as jewish. i was raised a practicing catholic. even in the campaign i'd say, i'm >> he was representing he was a graduate of barouk college in new york, had an mba from nyu, he said he worked at goldman sachs and citigroup. and none of that was true. he later was forced to admit

that he did not graduate from college and that he did not work for the financial firms that he said he did. rather, he claimed, that he had done work with a different company that also was tangentially doing some work with these more well-known firms. >> reporter: an attorney for santos, joseph murray, initially pushed back on scrutiny of his background as defamatory, claiming it was bias smear. murray has since referred abc news to santos' press team, who have not responded to our requests for comment. >> the reality is that i remain committed to doing everything i set forward in my campaign. i'm not a fraud. i'm not a fake. >> reporter: on fox news, santos admitting he made a mistake by embellishing his resume. >> i think humans are flawed and we all make mistakes. i want -- >> the thing is -- >> -- to put it past me so i can deliver for the american people. >> reporter: facing pushback from his fellow lawmakers. >> there are calls for an ethics investigation in the house of representatives. that is something that would be decided upon by the republican majority, at this point. >> reporter: while local and

federal prosecutors are in the process of reviewing his background. >> federal prosecutors are looking into all of the public disclosures that george santos made while he was running for office. and that involves how money was spent, where money came from, and whether those disclosures are fully accurate. it's a crime if you are not fully forthcoming on financial disclosure forms if you're seeking public office. >> reporter: down in brazil, prosecutors are seeking to renew charges against santos for allegedly forging checks back when he was 19. santos had previously told the "new york post," criminal here on or in brazil or any jurisdiction in the world." while it doesn't seem as though santos will be resigning, he's been telling local gop leaders he will not be running for a second term. for some, that may not be enough. >> he's a liar and a cheat. and he doesn't belong in office. >> we're going to keep the drumbeat going strong. we're going to be out there

demanding that republican leadership in congress hold him accountable to call for his removal. >> we should have honest people in the government. and unfortunately, it's not always been the case. >> our thanks to rachel. when we come back, what thousands of americans did after seeing damar hamlin collapse on the field. and where all that generosity is going. detect this: living with hiv, i learned i can stay undetectable with fewer medicines. that's why i switched to dovato. dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. detect this: no other complete hiv pill uses fewer medicines to help keep you undetectable than dovato. detect this: most hiv pills contain 3 or 4 medicines. dovato is as effective with just 2. research shows people who take hiv treatment as prescribed

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♪ finally tonight, bills safety damar hamlin remains in critical condition and fighting for his life. in the day since the 24-year-old collapsed in a game against the bengals, donations to his gofundme page have soared. tonight topping $5 million and continuing to grow. hamlin started the drive in 2020 to help children impacted by covid-19. his family says the current donations will go towards his community initiatives and his current fight. there are good and kind people in this world. it's been said kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the mind can see.

that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.