Bryan Kohberger classmates and neighbor discuss the suspected University of Idaho killer’s state of mind and the changes they noted in the days before and after the murders.
‘He was awkward.’ A former neighbor and classmate of suspected University of Idaho killer, Bryan Kohberger told of the PhD student appearing always exhausted and as if he ‘never slept’.
Speaking to media in the days since Kohlberger’s arrest in relation to the brutal murder of 4 University of Idaho students as they slept at their off campus residence, Ben Roberts, a classmate of Kohberger at Washington State University, recalled the suspect’s usual quiet nature in class and how his demeanor changed after the killings.
‘He was starting to show up really tired,’ Roberts told the Seattle Times. ‘He’d always have a cup of coffee in his hand, and he kind of looked like he was riding the knife edge between worn out and completely exhausted.’
Roberts stated that Kohberger seemed to be an awkward person who aspired to be recognized for his superior intelligence by everyone. He said, ‘He had to make absolutely sure you knew he was smart, he had this intellectual capacity.’
Roberts said it has been unsettling to have a tragedy like the Idaho killings done so near his school and to have a classmate involved in it. ‘There’s something heavy about that,’ he stated.
#IdahoFour: “I did notice he was showing up to class a little late sometimes, he always had a coffee in hand, he always seemed to be just perpetually exhausted,” a classmate of Idaho stabbing suspect Bryan Kohberger speaks out. https://t.co/L8tiAhi6Gx pic.twitter.com/OKUlEQgc8p
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) January 1, 2023
‘He’s normally a very late-night person’
Kohberger’s unidentified downstairs neighbor told of the suspect’s strange late-night behaviors and claimed he didn’t appear to be capable of murder.
His neighbor in Pullman, Washington, where Kohberger was a criminology student, revealed the suspected murderer kept a low profile and appeared too weak to kill.
‘I don’t know how he could’ve killed people because he doesn’t look that tough,’ the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous told the New York Post.
The neighbor, who is a woman, told the news outlet that she always heard Kohberger up late at night since he moved into the complex in August.
‘He’s normally a very late-night person, going to the bathroom and vacuuming at 1 or 12 in the morning,’ she said.
‘I have kids, so sometimes I thought of speaking to him or complaining, but never did. It seemed like he never slept because he was always doing something all night.’
While Kohberger was never talkative with his neighbors, he occasionally greeted others in passing.
World renowned forensic psychology professor and serial killer expert Dr. Katherine Ramsland reportedly taught Bryan Kohberger at DeSales University in Pennsylvania. She told me she can’t make media statements about him at this time.
Here is our latest report: pic.twitter.com/vcjdDumtUe— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) January 1, 2023
‘You don’t think someone like that could do something like this.’
She recalled him bringing a woman home with him one night and hearing them talk through the walls of the complex.
The alleged killer also brought home a woman with him in his white car, but the two immediately parted ways when he parked, according to the neighbor.
His neighbor said she was in disbelief when she learned Kohberger was the suspected killer in the horrific November 13 murders.
‘We are all PhD students here so it takes a lot of hard work and smarts to get to this point,’ she said. ‘You don’t think someone like that could do something like this.’
Students who attended Washington State University with Kohberger were also shocked to learn that the quiet man in their classroom was the prime suspect in the brutal slaying.
BK Norton, who was in the same criminal justice graduate program with Kohberger, said her classmate appeared more animated and talkative following the murders.
I am the guy who originally had this caller on the phone on my podcast “Allegedly With T-REV” now everyone is saying this is the killer but i do not know this to be a fact yet so please let everyone know #Idaho4 #idahohomicides #IdahoStudentsSuspect #idahosuspect #BryanKohberger pic.twitter.com/koEPrhWyf5
— T-REV (@T_REV757) December 31, 2022
‘He didn’t have any reaction when Idaho murders were discussed’
‘He seemed more upbeat and willing to carry a conversation,’ she told the New York Times.
But Norton noted all his enthusiasm would go away and he would become ‘quiet and deadpan’ when the class would discuss the Idaho murder case.
‘I don’t believe he had any reaction,’ Norton told the New York Post, saying it was odd because everyone else was glued to the case and speculated on the lack of public information.
‘We had quite a long conversation in class about it too. I don’t believe I remember him commenting about it at all.’
Another student, who spoke with the Times under the condition of anonymity, backed up Norton’s claim and said Kohberger didn’t have many friends at the school because of alleged LGBTQ+ remarks he made.
Law enforcement officials believe Kohberger had been stalking the victims in the weeks leading up to the November 13 slayings.
In addition to stalking the young students weeks leading up to the murders and being careful to not leave evidence at the scene, sources say Kohberger wore gloves for weeks after the murders to not distribute DNA.
Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and is set to be extradited to Idaho following his arrest at his parents’ home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania on Friday.
Kohberger remains held without bond and is scheduled back in court Tuesday afternoon in Pennsylvania. To date no motive for the slayings is known.
