Following an arrest in the case of the University of Idaho murders, some of suspect Bryan Christopher Kohberger's former classmates have come forward with information about what he was like in school.
Police announced on Friday that they arrested Kohberger in Pennsylvania. The 28-year-old, who faces first-degree murder and burglary charges, had attended Washington State University (WSU) as a graduate student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.
The distance from WSU's flagship campus in Pullman, Washington, is roughly 10 miles from where the slain students were found in Moscow, Idaho, according to The Seattle Times.
The bodies of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, were discovered on November 13. The four students, who had been stabbed to death in their beds, were located in a rental home near the campus.
Now, some of Kohberger's former classmates and neighbors are speaking out about the suspect.
One student in WSU's criminal justice graduate program, Ben Roberts, recalled that Kohberger began to regularly arrive late to class after the murders. Other than that, though, Roberts didn't notice much of a change in his fellow classmate.
"He was starting to show up really tired," he told The Seattle Times. "He'd always have a cup of coffee in his hand, and he kind of looked like he was riding the knife edge between worn out and completely exhausted."
Roberts also said he had noticed that despite being friendly, there was something "kind of off" about Kohberger.
BK Norton, another student in the same program who took several classes with Kohberger, used similar language when speaking with the newspaper.
"Bryan was incredibly smart and talked about things that impassioned him, but there had been something off about him," Norton said.
News of Kohberger's arrest also rocked WSU faculty and other community members. Professor Matthew Loveless expressed disbelief when talking to KULR 8, a Billings, Montana, news outlet.
"This is one of those areas where you say, 'I can't believe it happened here,'" he told the news station.
Loveless noted that daylight saving time happened around the time of the murders, leading many students to feel "nervous because everyone had to leave campus in the dark." He added that the Idaho residence where the four students were slain has been irrevocably altered.
"That was the place where college kids could go and have fun, and they deserve that," he said, according to KULR 8. "And now things have changed."
However, some of Kohberger's neighbors reported that they hadn't noticed anything unusual about him. Graduate student Andrew Chua lived in the same housing complex as the accused.
"If I didn't know about this issue, it's a very quiet, very nice place to live," Chua told Fox News Digital. "Now, I'm like, 'Maybe I should stay home.'"
On Tuesday, Kohberger is expected to make a court appearance in Pennsylvania before getting extradited to Idaho. He's currently being held without bond.
Newsweek reached out to several WSU criminal justice faculty members for additional comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Simone Carter is a Newsweek reporter based in Texas. Her focus is covering all things in national news. Simone joined ... Read more
