Kohberger Claimed Killer 'Must Have Been Pretty Good'

Bryan Kohberger developed a reputation for being sexist and creepy while attending a criminal justice program in the months before he killed four University of Idaho students in 2022, fellow grad students told investigators, per the AP. His behavior was so problematic that one Washington State University faculty member told co-workers that if he ever became a professor, he would likely stalk or sexually abuse his future students, according to newly released documents. "He is smart enough that in four years we will have to give him a PhD," the woman told her colleagues, urging them to cut Kohberger's funding to remove him from the program, according to the report from Idaho State Police Detective Ryan O'Harra.

Summaries of the interviews with WSU students and instructors were included among more than 550 pages of investigation documents released by Idaho State Police last week in response to public record requests. The WSU faculty member told investigators that Kohberger would sometimes go into an office where several female grad students worked, physically blocking the door. She believed Kohberger was stalking people. She told police that someone had reportedly broken into a female graduate student's apartment in September or October, stealing perfume and underwear.

An unnamed PhD student who was in the same program as Kohberger told police that he enjoyed conflict, was disparaging toward women and that he especially liked to talk about sexual burglary—his field of study. Some people in the department thought he was a possible future rapist and speculated that he might be an "incel," she told the officer. About three weeks after the murders, Kohberger told the PhD student that whoever had committed the crimes "must have been pretty good," according to a report. According to People, Kohberger was the only student in the class to support the death penalty, and once said the "victim's family should have a say as to whether or not the death penalty is imposed"—an opportunity not given to the families of his four victims.