The man accused of the horrific slayings of four University of Idaho students was back working as a teaching assistant at Washington State University as if nothing had happened after the killings took place.
According to WSU’s online directory, Bryan Kohberger, 28, worked as a teaching assistant for the university’s criminal justice and criminology program. He was also a PhD student in the department.
Multiple students in the program told Fox Seattle that Kohberger did not appear different following the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho, a 15-minute drive from WSU.
Kohberger was arrested at his family’s home close to the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania on Friday following a more than month-long investigation.
Bryan Kohlberger, 28, the suspect in the University of Idaho murders, was a teaching assistant at nearby Washington State University
The university where he worked was only a little over eight miles from the murder scene
Ben Roberts, a criminology student, told the Fox affiliate that Kohberger as ‘confident’ and ‘outgoing’ but still appeared as if ‘he was always looking for a way to fit in.’
Speaking about the horrific allegations against Kohberger, Roberts said, ‘It’s pretty out of left field. I had honestly just pegged him as being super awkward.’
Roberts began studying at WSU in August at the same time as Kohberger.
‘One thing he would always do, almost without fail, was find the most complicated way to explain something,’ he said.
Other students told the station said that Kohberger was ‘professional,’ ‘nice,’ ‘mature,’ and ‘awkward.’
BK Norton, a student in the WSU Criminal Justice and Criminology Department, said Friday that they didn’t know Kohberger well, but didn’t like him.
‘We interacted in class, but personally I was not a fan of Bryan because of comments he had made about LGBTQ+ individuals,’ they said in an email to The Associated Press.
‘He was a little off, but I always thought it was because he was awkward and wanted to fit in.’
Moscow Police Chief James Fry said on Friday that officers had searched Kohlberger’s office
On Friday, Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed that the suspect was a resident of Washington State University at the time of his arrest.
Fry said that officials at the school’s Pullam campus where he worked were cooperative in allowing investigators to execute a search warrant at his office and his on-campus apartment.
The WSU Pullman campus and WSU provost Elizabeth Chilton said in a statement, ‘On behalf of the WSU Pullman community, I want to offer my sincere thanks to all of the law enforcement agencies that have been working tirelessly to solve this crime.’
Chilton continued, ‘This horrific act has shaken everyone in the Palouse region.’
The Moscow Police Department continues to encourage anyone to come forward with information, as they’re ‘still putting pieces together.’
Victims Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Maddie Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and 20-year-old Ethan Chapin were killed on November 13
The police chief could not reveal much about the case as of Saturday, as Idaho state law prohibits officers from releasing information until the criminology student has made his first court appearance in Idaho.
He did, however, say it was ‘disappointing’ to learn that the alleged murderer was studying criminology, as this is ‘not something we want in our profession.’
‘We hold ourselves to a higher standard, we hold ourselves to an ethical standard,’ he told Fox News. ‘But we can’t pick and choose what people study.’
Bryan Kohberger’s lawyer said Saturday that his client ‘looks forward to resolving these matters’
Kohberger’s lawyer said Saturday that his client ‘looks forward to resolving these matters.’
‘Mr. Kohberger is eager to be exonerated of these charges and looks forward to resolving these matters as promptly as possible,’ Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar, who only representing the suspect until his extradition, told CNN.
He added that the suspect will agree to waive his extradition hearing, which was set for Tuesday, to be sent to Idaho.
Previously, fellow students who attended high school with Kohberger said that he would become aggressive when referred to as overweight.
![Schyler Jacobson, shown here, said in an interview, 'I would text [Kohlberger] and be like ¿Hey, you wanna go for a run?' We¿d go for six/seven mile runs at night so when I saw who it was I was just like in complete shock, it was so close to home'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/01/00/66085957-11588969-image-a-11_1672531740445.jpg)
Schyler Jacobson, shown here, said in an interview, ‘I would text [Kohlberger] and be like ‘Hey, you wanna go for a run?’ We’d go for six/seven mile runs at night so when I saw who it was I was just like in complete shock, it was so close to home’
In an interview with NBC Philadelphia, Kohberger’s one-time friend Schlyer Jacobson said that the pair were close around 10 years ago and that during their runs, they had ‘all of these positive conversations.’
Jacobson described the murder suspect as being ‘uplifting’ and often talked about wanting to get in shape. He said that there was nothing concerning about Kohberger’s behavior.
In a separate interview Jacobson spoke about their friendship telling WBRE, ‘I would text him and be like ‘Hey, you wanna go for a run?’ We’d go for six/seven mile runs at night so when I saw who it was I was just like in complete shock, it was so close to home.’
Ramsland has written books including, How to Catch a Killer, The Mind of a Murderer and The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation
Prior to studying and teaching at WSU, wrapped up his criminology studies at DeSales University, in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, in June.
While there, Kohlberger studied under one of the country’s most renowned forensic scientists, Dr. Katherine Ramsland.
The Daily Beast reports that one of the courses taught by Ramsland is Psychology of Death Investigations.
Ramsland has written books including, How to Catch a Killer, The Mind of a Murderer and The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation.
The Michigan-native is a professor of criminal justice and forensic psychology at DeSales. Her published works focus on murder, the supernatural and other aspects of true crime.
A classmate of Kohberger’s described him as being ‘well spoken’ and ‘very intelligent’ but also ‘seemingly detached.’
The murders of the four students in Idaho is the type of gruesome situation that Ramsland is extremely familiar with.
Ramsland spoke about the dark subjects she writes about in a 2009 interview saying, ‘It’s clear that everything I do that truly engages me has this dark, edgy quality. Vampires, ghosts, corpses, serial killers, death investigations, cemeteries—they all take me into the shadows where most people fear to tread.’
In a separate 2018 interview, Ramsland said that she has consulted on several TV shows about forensic science. She said that when shows say that they have scientific consultants, it means they have paid a scientist to give them some ideas.
Ramsland has consulted on the shows NCIS, Bones and The Alienist, as well as written a biography of famed horror novelist Anne Rice.
The author said in the same interview, ‘I also have a pet peeve with the way forensic psychologists are often portrayed as psychoanalysts [on TV.] This just isn’t true for those who consult for police departments. In addition, psychologists are not detectives and ought not to be portrayed as such.’
She offered her advice on how people could avoid becoming statistics saying, ‘Be vigilant. Don’t accept media stereotypes, which make you more vulnerable. Don’t think like a victim. It sends signals to predators of your vulnerability.’
