Bryan Kohberger is struggling to adjust to prison life and has already requested a transfer while filing a sexual harassment complaint.
On July 30, the convicted murderer submitted a handwritten note asking to be moved to a different facility after spending just one night in the J-Block at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Boise.
“Not engaging in any of the recent flooding/striking as well as being subject to minute-by-minute verbal threats/harassment and on that and other bases [sic] Unit 2 of J-Block is an environment that I wish to transfer from,” Kohberger wrote, according to a copy obtained by PEOPLE. (Flooding refers to inmates intentionally causing water to overflow in their cells as a form of disruption.)
Just five days later, on August 4, Kohberger reported sexual harassment to a prison guard after an inmate allegedly said: “I’ll b— f– you.”
He also accused another inmate of saying, “The only a– we’ll be eating is Kohberger’s.”
PEOPLE obtained the incident notification report filed by the guard who received Kohberger’s note. The report included the name of a guard Kohberger said witnessed the alleged threats. That guard later submitted an information report stating that while he “recalls vulgar language being used and directed towards Kohberger,” he could not determine which inmate made the statements.
Kohberger was initially transferred to the J-Block on July 29. The unit can house up to 128 individuals and contains a mix of general population, protective custody, and death row inmates.
Individuals in long-term restrictive housing, like Kohberger, are assigned single-person cells, transported in restraints, and allowed one hour of outdoor recreation per day. Showers are permitted every other day, compared with the hour-long showers he was allowed in jail.
Kohberger requested a transfer to B-Block, which also features single-person cells and only allows non-contact visits.
In response, a prison official told Kohberger that flooding in J-Block is “a relatively rare occurrence” and described the tier as “generally a fairly calm and quieter” section. The official advised him to “give it some time.”
After his more recent complaint, officials noted that “Kohberger feels safe to remain on tier 2 in J-Block.”
The Idaho Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment.
Kohberger is serving four life sentences after confessing to the murders of four University of Idaho students: Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. All were found stabbed to death on November 13, 2022, at their off-campus home in Moscow.
