Why did Bryan Kohberger kill four University of Idaho students on November 13, 2022?
The motive for the murders remains unknown, nearly three years after Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death in the middle of the night by a complete stranger.
While Kohberger may be unwilling to share that information with the public or the families of his victims, one of his Washington State University classmates did tell police why she believes the former criminology student killed four innocent people.
In an interview with Idaho State Police obtained by PEOPLE, the woman stated that Kohberger “committed these homicides because he wanted to know what it felt like to commit these crimes in relation to his studies and, ultimately, if he could get away with the crimes, further supporting his belief that he was smarter than others.”
In the same interview with police, the classmate stated that “committing these crimes and [Kohberger’s] need to control others is consistent with his personality.”
He’s “calculated” as well as a “narcissist,” she said. She continued that his “question about if someone else was also arrested after his own arrest was an attempt by him to throw people off and not that he had a friend or acquaintance.”
She admitted that it crossed her mind that Kohberger could have committed the murders, and other classmates stated in police interviews that they recall discussing the murders with the killer prior to his arrest.
Because they were in the same program, that classmate claimed she saw Kohberger every day and told police that “all the times she had interacted with Kohberger, he had never displayed empathy toward another person.”
In the end, she told police that she found no redeeming qualities or excuses for Kohberger’s actions.
Detective Sergeant Michael Van Leuven wrote in his interview summary that “she wanted to think he was just socially inept, but after knowing him, she believes Kohberger always thinks he is the smartest person in the room and has expressed resentment or jealousy at their successes.”
