Bryan Kohberger loved the violent movie “American Psycho” and was fascinated with real-life killer lawyer Alex Murdaugh, his cellmate said in a chilling interview with police.
The failed criminology student — currently serving life in prison for the 2022 slayings of four University of Idaho undergrads — also had “creepy” eyes and loved to psychoanalyze the people around him, his cellmate told Idaho State Police. “Kohberger analyzed everything. He wanted to know why people had preferences on anything. He ‘psychoanalyzes everything,’” the cellmate — whose name was redacted from the record — told cops.
Kohberger refused to discuss his case with his cellmate, but he did reveal that his favorite flick was 2000’s “American Psycho,” a black comedy in which Christian Bale plays a charismatic-yet-psychopathic investment banker with a penchant for murder.
And the Pennyslvania native revealed he was a big baseball fan — with the New York Yankees being his favorite team.
He was also obsessed with the CourtTV channel and had a particular interest in the trial of Alex Murdaugh — an attorney found guilty for the 2021 murder of his wife and grown son.
He was also apparemtly a fan of true crime grande dame Nancy Grace — with a forensic expert revealing that screengrabs from her show “Crime Stories” were found on his phone.
Kohberger’s favorite true crime story was his own: He was glued to the TV every time his case came up in the news — unless the segment mentioned his friends and family, the cellmate said.
Kohberger enjoyed watching the news about his case unless it began talking about his family or friends, at which point he’d change the channel immediately,” the interview notes read.
The cellmate also described Kohberger as a clean freak who burned through three bars of soap per week with hourlong showers and constant hand washing that left his skin red.
He frequently requested clean sheets and fresh clothes, the cellmate said.
Yet despite his weird habits and “creepy” eyes, Kohberger was “very smart, easy to get along with,” though he never spoke about his own case, the cellmate said.
Thus, even his cellmate was apparently in the dark as to why Kohberger broke into a Moscow, Idaho home and used a knife to butcher four University of Idaho undergrads. The victims — Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapman, 20 — had no apparent connection to Kohberger, who had driven to the scene from his apartment near Washington State University, where he was working on a PhD.
Kohberger will never have to explain the motives for his crime, thanks to a controversial plea deal that left him with a life sentence without the possibility of parole but spared him the death penalty.
Others have backed up the cellmate’s account.
Someone who interacted with Kohberger at WSU and met him a handful of times – a bbq, a holiday party – called him “socially awkward”.
He also suggested that police speak to some other people involved in the university about complaints made regarding Kohberger’s “rudeness and unprofessional behavior toward other students and college professors.”
Nine complaints were made about him.
Following up on the complaints, cops spoke with a woman who worked at WSU and was regularly around Kohberger in her day-to-day life. At first he struck her as a “lonely” guy but relatively normal, saying he would chat with her about hiking in his home state of Pennsylvania.
However, he quickly went from normal guy to “creepy” in a matter of weeks. This woman told cops the wannabe criminologist would “simply stand at her desk and stare at her or her co-worker – at one stage blocking the co-worker in her desk area.”
Even worse, she said Kohberger would follow the women to their cars, forcing them to pre-arrange an escort so they weren’t alone with him.
The complaints against him were for “rude and belittling behavior toward women”. He was made to take a mandatory training class about “behavior expectations.” But the soon-to-be cold blooded killer “sat at the back with his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling” during the class.
