Police arrest suspect in murder of four Idaho university students

US police have arrested a suspect in the mysterious killings of four university students in the state of Idaho over six weeks ago, reports say.

Police named the man as Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28. He was arrested in Pennsylvania over 2,500 miles (4,020km) from the crime scene.

The students were found stabbed to death in their beds in a rental home near the campus on 13 November.

Idaho police plan to hold a news conference later on Friday.

Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were all found dead in their home in the small university city of Moscow, in northern Idaho.

In the weeks after their deaths family members of the victims have voiced frustration with the investigation's progress.

Investigators say they have so far reviewed more than 16,500 tips from the public, as well as 113 pieces of physical evidence taken from the crime scene.

They have also examined "approximately 4,000 photographs" and conducted over 250 interviews.

Earlier this month, even more tips began pouring in as they asked the public for help finding a white Hyundai Elantra car that was seen near the home on the day of the murders.

According to NBC, a car matching that vehicle's description was recovered by police during Mr Kohberger's arrest.

The arrest comes on the same day that a memorial service is being held for Goncalves and Mogen at a church in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.

A post-mortem examination found that the four students were likely asleep when they were killed. Their roommates, and other students who discovered their bodies, were cleared of any wrongdoing by police.

Last week, the chief of police in Moscow said that online sleuths spreading falsehoods about the investigation were creating issues for police.

"Tracking down rumours and quelling rumours about specific individuals or specific events that may or may not have happened is a huge distraction for investigators and oftentimes is the result of social media propagation," said Captain Roger Lanier.

According to the police, Mr Kohberger was arrested near the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania on Friday by state police and FBI agents. He was found and arrested at his parents home in Albrightsville, officials tell CBS, the BBC's US partner.

They add that he is expected to be extradited to Idaho to face homicide charges.

Online records show that he is a criminal justice and criminology graduate student at Washington State University.

The university's campus in Pullman, Washington, is only a 10-mile drive across the border to Moscow.

Moscow's population of 25,000 includes 11,000 university students. The small town is tucked in a rural region of rolling hills known as the Palouse.

In the wake of the attacks, nearly half of pupils have elected to switch to online classes for the rest of the semester, and Idaho State Police have sent in patrols to monitor the campus.