Bryan Kohberger, the convicted killer of four University of Idaho students, is being held in solitary confinement after his fellow inmates carried out a campaign of harassment against him to make him “miserable.”
Kohberger, 30, a former criminology PhD student, was sentenced last month to four consecutive life terms without parole for the November 2022 stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Highlights
- Bryan Kohberger is held in solitary confinement after inmates launched a premeditated harassment campaign to make his prison life difficult.
- Kohberger received four consecutive life sentences without parole, avoiding the death penalty by pleading guilty.
- Inmates use air ducts and door banging to torment Kohberger, disrupting his sleep and mental state.
- Prison officials say guards will document but not intervene since Kohberger faces no physical harm and is isolated.
- Experts warn Kohberger's verbal abuse complaints may worsen his situation and possibly lead to suicidal thoughts.
He avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty, which prosecutors said they had intended to seek had the case gone to trial.
Bryan Kohberger is being held in solitary confinement after harassment from fellow inmates
Image credits: Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images
Following sentencing, Kohberger was transferred to the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna. The facility is Idaho’s only supermax prison.
He is housed in J Block, a long-term restrictive housing unit containing 32 other prisoners considered the “worst of the worst” outside death row, former California Police Department homicide detective Chris McDonough told NewsNation on Tuesday.
Prison officials confirmed he is in solitary confinement, confined to his cell 23 hours a day, with one hour for outdoor recreation while restrained.
Kohberger, who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, can only take a shower once every other day. His fellow inmate had reportedly said that Kohberger took lengthy showers and washed his hands “dozens of times a day.”
McDonough, who is the director of the Cold Case Foundation, said inmates knew Kohberger was coming and coordinated a harassment campaign before his arrival.
“They were waiting for him,” McDonough said. “They’re utilizing the vent system. They’re kicking the doors. They’re taunting him. And they’re basically torturing him through using psychology. And my goodness, he’s complaining.”
“They got together and said, ‘Okay, well, you know, how do we harass this guy?’” McDonough added. “And apparently, they set this up long before he got there … the guards were unaware of it until it started happening.”
"The inmates were apparently waiting for him. And when he got there, they are now making his life absolutely miserable," McDonough said.
Image credits: Idaho Department of Correction
The taunts reportedly occur day and night, with inmates shouting through the air ducts into his cell, disrupting his sleep and preventing him from thinking.
Prison officials said they are aware of his complaints but maintain that “incarcerated individuals commonly communicate with each other in prison” and that staff ensure a safe, orderly environment.
Because Kohberger is not in physical danger, guards are unlikely to intervene beyond documenting the incidents.
“They’re under obligation to basically protect him, right? But in this particular situation, he’s in an isolation situation. Those around him can’t get to him physically,” McDonough said.
Former prison minister Keith Rovere told Fox News Digital that Kohberger’s complaints could worsen his situation.
“He’s lucky it’s only verbal abuse right now, but what’s going to make it a lot worse for him is that he’s complaining,” Rovere said.
“You can’t do that in prison. You stay silent and keep your mouth shut. Complaining to the guards is ratting. Now they know they’re getting under your skin so they’re only going to ramp it up even more.”
The inmates use air ducts to taunt Kohberger day and night, disrupting his sleep
Image credits: Idaho Department of Correction
Rovere said if Kohberger is affected so much by verbal abuse, he could be contemplating suicide.
“I have no doubt he’s contemplating suicide already because he’s not even a month in, and he’s losing control,” he said.
“Most serial killers tend to be control freaks. Throw autism on top of that and the chaos that the inmates are causing him is making him lose his mind. And it’s only going to get worse.”
Digital forensics expert Heather Barnhart recently revealed that Kohberger made two lengthy phone calls to his mother in the hours immediately following the murders of the four University of Idaho students on November 13, 2022.
According to phone records examined by Barnhart’s team, Kohberger called his mother at 6:17 a.m., speaking with her for 36 minutes after returning to his residence at Washington State University, People magazine reported.
Then, at 8:03 a.m., while driving back to the crime scene, he called her again, this time for 54 minutes, ending the conversation shortly before prosecutors say he spent about 10 minutes near the victims’ home.
These calls, combined with other phone calls throughout the day, showed that he spoke to his mother for over three hours that day.
Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 after he used what investigators believe was a Ka-Bar knife to commit the murders. Prosecutors said Kohberger bought a knife on Amazon.
He initially pleaded the Fifth Amendment when asked about the murders, but took a plea deal earlier last month.