The question on everyone’s mind at Evidence Room — has Bryan Kohberger killed before?

After all of the evidence released regarding the murders of four University of Idaho students, we’ve found ourselves asking, ‘How could someone do that? Could he have just snapped?’

Scott Roder, founder of the Evidence Room and crime scene reconstruction expert, believes otherwise, and eyewitness statements from people who knew Kohberger back that belief up.

Kohberger liked to discuss ‘criminal decision making and burglary-type crimes,’ says a former classmate. Bryan was known for his strange demeanor, selfishness, and manipulative tendencies in his classes and personal life. Bryan would often mislead classmates when it came to their shared work and would manipulate them into completing work meant for him.

He seemed obsessed with the criminal mind, and usually brought conversations back to the topic. It was also said that following the murders, Kohberger started talking ‘much more than usual’ and his conversations felt like those of ‘someone who needed to vent.’

Kohberger’s strange behavior wasn’t just documented in the classroom — statements from a woman who encountered Kohberger on a dating app before the murders stated that Kohberger mentioned a Ka-Bar knife (like the one used in the murders) when he asked her what the ‘worst way to die would be’

A colleague of Kohberger told police that he used his authority as a TA to inappropriately interact with female students, often talking down to them.

‘The same witness told investigators that he noticed injuries on Kohberger’s face and hands on at least two separate occasions in October and November 2022, just weeks prior to the Idaho student homicides.

One injury was described as “a large scratch on Kohberger’s face” that “looked like the scratches from fingernails.” The witness also said he saw wounds to Kohberger’s knuckles and, when asked about them, Kohberger claimed he’d been in a car accident. While Kohberger had several encounters with local police due to traffic infractions, there’s no known record of a collision.’

What could have caused those injuries? Could Kohberger have gone out and practiced before the night of the murders? Is it possible that he has committed similar crimes in the past?

Roder states that ‘Investigators should review unsolved murders and missing persons cases in any areas he may have traveled from around age 15 until his arrest. Even if evidence is unlikely, it’s worth tracing the escalation that leads someone to commit something as cold-blooded as the Idaho Four murders.’

Speculation surrounding the case, and statements from classmates suggest that Kohberger has a deep-seated hatred for women and an intense need for power that he wasn’t getting in his day-to-day life. This combination is a time-bomb — there are a number of serial killers known to have harbored an extreme hatred towards women, often translating into brutal violence and murder targeting female victims. Some examples of this are below.

• Ted Bundy: Bundy murdered at least 30 women in the 1970s. Despite his charming appearance, Bundy seemed to resent women, viewing them as objects to control.
• Gary Ridgway (the Green River Killer):Ridgway murdered at least 49 women and girls, with a suspected 70–90 additional victims. Ridgway stated, “I hated women,” and targeted sex workers and teenage runaways.
• Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire Ripper): This British serial killer committed a series of gruesome murders targeting women, initially thought to be directed only at prostitutes. Sutcliffe also killed women who were not prostitutes, revealing a broader hatred towards women, according to the BBC. 

As of now, speculation is all we have regarding Bryan’s motives, as well as past offenses. However, new evidence and reports are coming to light weekly, and with the gag order on the case lifted, more answers will come to light in the weeks to come. Stay tuned to the Evidence Room for updates.