When you look at Bryan Kohberger’s academic record, something stops you cold. On paper, it appears to be the profile of a serious, committed student, not because it’s unusual in any obvious way. an associate’s degree. psychology bachelor’s degree. master’s degree in criminal justice. Next, a criminology PhD program at a major research university in the Pacific Northwest. That is a substantial amount of education. That equates to years of self-control, reading, writing, and attendance. Nevertheless, Kohberger is accused of carrying out one of the most horrific campus killings in recent American history somewhere in the midst of all that crime education.
Kohberger began his career at Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, where he graduated with an associate’s degree in psychology. After that, he continued on to DeSales University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 2020. He received a master’s degree in criminal justice from the same university. He enrolled as a PhD candidate in the criminal justice and criminology department at Washington State University in Pullman by the fall of 2022. This campus is less than ten miles from the University of Idaho, where four students were fatally stabbed in their off-campus residence on November 13 of that same year.
The victims were Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; and Ethan Chapin, 20. They were young and, by all accounts, leading the typical college student life, complete with parties, sleepovers, shared housing, and late nights. It is said that Kohberger killed them in their beds after breaking into their house early in the morning. There were two other roommates in the house that evening, and they were unharmed.
The particular nature of what Kohberger was researching is what makes the education angle so hard to disprove. This individual did not just happen to enroll in an elective in psychology. According to reports, he worked as a teaching assistant, standing in front of a classroom and assisting younger students with coursework that covered topics like the psychology of criminals and the procedures involved in investigating and solving crimes. It’s possible that his attempts to construct the crime were influenced by the academic knowledge he was taking in. The courts will decide whether that is precisely what occurred, but prosecutors and researchers have publicly debated the issue.
There is some precedent for the larger pattern. Ted Bundy went to law school, studied psychology, and used his legal expertise to defend himself in court. The Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, had a degree in criminal justice and was a police officer before eluding investigators for decades. The BTK Killer, Dennis Rader, held positions in enforcement and compliance. The idea that knowing how crime is detected can, in some people’s minds, become a tool for avoiding detection is a troubling thread that runs through some of these cases.
When Kohberger was taken into custody by Pennsylvania State Police in Chestnuthill Township in late December 2022, he had just completed his first semester at WSU. It had been seven weeks since the killings. The case became one of the most closely watched criminal cases in years after a judge ordered his extradition to Idaho. This was due in part to the brutality, in part to the close proximity of the campuses, and in part to the suspect’s apparent identity. a graduate pupil. an assistant to a teacher. Investigators claimed he was planning a crime while writing papers about it.
What motivated him is still unclear. That question hasn’t been fully addressed by the public establishment of a motive. Academic transcripts and enrollment records reveal a man who studied why people commit horrible acts for years before, if the accusations are true, committing one himself. Psychologists and criminologists will likely continue to study that gap between behavior and knowledge for a very long time.
