Bryan Kohberger colleagues and professors saw a ‘predator’ in him – knew he would be ‘harassing, stalking, and sexually abusing’

A former professor of Bryan Kohberger at Washington State University (WSU), where Kohberger was enrolled as a PhD-level criminology student, issued a chilling warning before the 2022 Idaho murders, according to recently released documents from Idaho law enforcement.

According to those documents, the professor said, “Kohberger is smart enough that in four years, we will have to give him a PhD. Mark my word, I work with predators. If we give him a PhD, that’s the guy that in many years, when he is a professor, we will hear [he] is harassing, stalking, and sexually abusing.”

This foreboding prediction is just one detail revealed in the police documents now made public, describing Kohberger’s behavior during his time at WSU. Kohberger is currently serving four consecutive life sentences for the November 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students in Moscow, Idaho, near Pullman, Washington, where WSU is located.

In a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, in July 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty to murdering Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Maddie Mogen, and Ethan Chapin. With Kohberger in prison, the gag order was lifted, and the official documents were released.

Kohberger’s issues with colleagues and female students

Those documents also reveal that the process of firing Kohberger from his teaching assistant position began on December 19, 2022, just over a month after the murders, due to concerns about his professionalism and interactions with female students. 

Colleagues described Kohberger as “very intelligent but also selfish,” noting that he often misled them about shared responsibilities and was frequently late to classes. A fellow teaching assistant reported that Kohberger would sometimes have him complete work meant for Kohberger himself.

Additionally, Kohberger’s interactions with female students raised concerns. He reportedly attempted to use his authority as a teaching assistant to inappropriately engage with them, often discussing his desire for a girlfriend on multiple occasions.

Kohberger’s WSU termination

Meanwhile, Kohberger’s WSU termination letter, issued in January 2023, detailed multiple incidents, including verbal altercations with Professor John Snyder, failure to meet expectations, and insufficient progress on an improvement plan established in November 2022, leading to his termination.

Administrators also investigated allegations from female students, including claims that Kohberger followed a young woman to her car, though no evidence of misconduct was confirmed. The letter cites repeated concerns about his professional conduct, ultimately leading to his dismissal.