Bryan Kohberger, who is suspected of murdering four Idaho college students in November, was reportedly more “upbeat” in the days after the slayings as he attended his criminology classes at Washington State University, a 15-minute drive from Moscow, Idaho, where the victims were killed.
The New York Times reports that B.K. Norton, one of Kohberger’s classmates, said that he attended classes in the days after the killings and “seemed more upbeat and willing to carry a conversation.” She described him as having a quiet, intense demeanor and making people uncomfortable. “He sort of creeped people out because he stared and didn’t talk much, but when he did it was very intelligent and he needed everyone to know he was smart,” Norton said.
Norton told the New York Post that the suspect was in attendance during a class discussion about the brutal quadruple murders, noting that he remained “quiet and deadpan.” The class discussion centered on how “it was crazy that they had no information, and that we hoped we were all safe.”
“I don’t believe he had any reaction,” Norton explained. “We had quite a long conversation in class about it too. I don’t believe I remember him commenting about it at all.”
Kohberger was arrested Friday near Scranton, Pa., and charged with the first-degree murders of University of Idaho coeds Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. He will appear in court on Tuesday for extradition hearings. Police are staying tight-lipped about the details leading to his arrest, but, as PJM’s Megan Fox reported, he may have been tracked down by searching for his DNA in an open-source database.
Another classmate, Ben Roberts, told The Seattle Times that Kohberger’s demeanor changed after the murders. “He was starting to show up really tired. 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.”
Related: Was Idaho Quadruple Murder Suspect Nabbed by DNA from Open Source Databank?
A former classmate at DeSales University, where the suspect completed his graduate degree, said that “they got into a disagreement with Kohberger during an introductory biology class group project. While they didn’t remember the conversation, they recalled Kohberger as ‘very intelligent’ and ‘well spoken’ but ‘seemingly detached,'” The Daily Beast reported. “He was very leveled and somewhat imposing. There wasn’t much emotion displayed by him.” He was described as having an “intense stare“ and “he took care with how he spoke.”
Kohberger also reportedly posted a survey on Reddit, which has since been removed, surveying ex-cons to “understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.” He asked participants to describe how they prepared for the crime and targeted victims and inquired, “Did you struggle with or fight the victim?”
Nick Mcloughlin, who attended Pleasant Valley High School with Kohberger, said he was “down to earth.” And while he was overweight during his junior year, he returned at the start of his senior year “thinner than a rail” and became “aggressive,” even taking boxing classes.
“He always wanted to fight somebody, he was bullying people. We started cutting him off from our friend group because he was 100 percent a different person,” Mcloughlin said.
Classmate Thomas Arntz also described the suspect as a “bully” who liked to point out the flaws in others. “He did that to me all the time,” Arntz told The Daily Beast. “He would go after my intelligence. He would basically insinuate that I’m kind of slow-witted and that I’m forgetful and [that] I lack the intelligence to be his friend.”
“He was mean-spirited, he was a bully,” said Arntz. “I never thought he would do something like that but at the same time it doesn’t really surprise me.”
A former teacher of Kohberger’s said he was “a good kid” at Pleasant Valley High School who was “never in major trouble.” He was “passionate about criminal justice.”
“He was just a regular 12th grader, had a few friends, was a good student,” she said. “I thought he would become a police officer or correctional officer.” She added that “he liked to watch movies about police, and ask me the next day if I’d seen it. It was more than a hobby for him, he was always asking questions.”
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