Bryan Kohberger, who was convicted of murdering four University of Idaho students, tried hard to hide his search history before and after the killings. But he didn’t delete any photos from his phone before he was caught.
Digital forensics expert Heather Barnhart said investigators found shocking pictures on his phone. These included shirtless selfies and photos of women who were either nude or in bikinis. “Lots of him posing half naked in the mirror while flexing,” Barnhart told The People.
Barnhart also said she didn’t know if Kohberger, 30, had shared the pictures with anyone. The phone also had photos of his 2016 white Hyundai Elantra, the car he drove the night he killed Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin on November 13, 2022.
Bryan Kohberger Acted Like ‘American Psycho’
“Very vain, like American Psycho,” Barnhart said, referring to the 2000 movie where Christian Bale plays a serial killer.
Another photo showed Kohberger giving a thumbs-up in the bathroom of his apartment at Washington State University. Barnhart said this photo was taken after he had already killed the students. She also noted that there were no pictures of the victims or any family or friends on his phone.
Bryan Kohberger Sentenced to Four Life Terms
In July, Kohberger was sentenced to four life sentences, one for each murder, plus another 10 years for burglary. He was arrested in December 2024. Police had found a knife sheath at the scene with touch DNA that linked him to the crime.
He first pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty to avoid the death penalty.
On Friday, Idaho prison officials responded to Kohberger’s claims that he is being bullied by other inmates.
“We are aware of Kohberger’s complaints about what he considers taunting,” an Idaho Department of Corrections spokesperson told People in a statement. “Incarcerated individuals commonly communicate with each other in prison.”
The spokesperson said Kohberger is “housed alone in a cell” at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, Idaho, and that “security staff maintain a safe and orderly environment for all individuals in our custody.”
Earlier this week, retired homicide detective Chris McDonough said Kohberger’s fellow inmates were “driving him crazy” and “tormenting him at night and almost all hours of the day — taunting him through the vents in his cell. They are literally getting up into the grate and yelling at him. The inmates are taking it in turns doing it. It’s relentless.”
