The sister of a mysteriously dead Pennsylvania woman who may be linked to University of Idaho murder suspect Brian Coberger said this week that the two cases were unrelated.
Dana Smithers’ sister, Stacey Ann Smithers, said it was clear that Coberger, 28, had nothing to do with the 45-year-old’s death. In an interview with NewsNation on Thursday.
Smithers was last seen leaving a friend’s Monroe County home on May 28, 2022. Pocono Records reported. Her body was found last month off Interstate 80 in Stroudsburg.
Earlier this week, news broke that Koberger’s parents, Michael and Marian, who are residents of the area, had been called to testify before a grand jury in the Smithers case.
Stacey Smithers previously admitted that an online detective alerted police to Koberger’s connections to the area after he was arrested in December in an Idaho case.
But she revealed this week that she had evidence that the Pennsylvania native, who was pursuing a PhD in criminology at Washington State University, was not in the area at the time of her sister’s disappearance.
The grieving relatives added that they heard that a Pennsylvania grand jury was convened to discuss her sister’s case and other unsolved crimes before Ms. Coberger’s arrest.
Smithers said a grand jury briefly released the former high school student after detaining him, but dismissed him as a potential suspect.
“[Stacey] We hope that people will continue to follow Dana’s case to find out what happened,” NewsNation’s Brian Entin concluded.
Stacey Smithers’ comments were released shortly after the Stroud Regional Police Department (SARPD). Admitted that there is no evidence that Koberger is implicated in Smithers’ disappearance or death;
As of Friday afternoon, it was unclear why the murder suspect’s parents were still being summoned to a grand jury in the case.
Coberger is currently in custody in Latter County, Idaho, awaiting trial for the tragic stabbing death of four University of Idaho students on November 13, 2022.
He was arrested on December 30 at his parents’ home in Monroe County, not far from where Smithers lived and was last seen.
Coberger remained silent and deadpan in court on Monday as his attorney pleaded not guilty on his behalf.
He faces four counts of murder and one count of first-degree robbery later this year and faces up to life in prison or the death penalty.
in a Facebook post Confirmation of identity of sister’s body announced Earlier this month, Stacey Smithers described the mother of three as a “bright light” whose “laughter … will forever be in the hearts of all of us.”
A celebration is planned to honor Smithers’ life in the near future.
