I don’t think Bryan Kohberger is going to take the stand, and so his side of that story is going to be limited to whatever he wrote in emails in defense of himself to his professors.
He gets the letter saying that he’s been terminated. It’s sent to his apartment at Washington State University. At this point, though, he’s already on the road with his father, so he never actually receives the physical letter. Maybe he got an email because he does discuss it with his father on this road trip across America, and he’s confident he can beat it. He knew at the time of the murders that his neck was on the chopping block at the university.
Bryan Kohberger was called into three separate meetings with deans and his advisors. At one point, they told him, “Okay, you’re doing better,” but then a week later, he gets into a fight with his professor. He had to be the smartest person in the room, had to have the last word. The professor, who was a former lawyer—a criminal lawyer in Washington State—felt there was something off about Kohberger’s character and personality. I haven’t spoken to him; he wouldn’t talk to me, but this sentiment was reinforced by women in the class. They said he treated them in a misogynistic way, and one of them even complained that he followed her to her car. That incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back with the administration at Washington State University.
Prosecutors Need to Highlight the Sociopath Kohberger
If I were the prosecutor, I’d stand up there. And I don’t know how it works in Idaho, but in New York, the prosecutor gets two bites at the apple. You do the first closing, then the defense stands up and does their closing, and then you get a rebuttal at the end because you have the burden of proof. I would say, “It’s true Bryan Kohberger did overcome obesity, and he did overcome his heroin addiction. But you know what he did not overcome? The severe night terrors and self-torture that had plagued him since the time he was 16. He said he feels like a piece of dead meat. He said, ‘When I hug my father, I feel nothing.’ This is a sociopath who is more than capable of these crimes.”
Bryan Kohberger antisocial behaviors had escalated to the point where they could no longer be ignored or unnoticed by the students in the class where he was a TA. Even those above him—who had been rooting for him, with whom he knew he had to curry favor—could no longer overlook it. He couldn’t maintain the ruse any longer, and ultimately, this internal turmoil boiled over. It seems he was enraged by the vibrance of these girls—the beauty, the vitality of this foursome living a life he could never live. Who knows whether he met one of them in the vegan restaurant, met them online, or simply stalked their Instagram page? We’ll find out whether he did for sure in court. But he was working out a lifetime of angst, anguish, and self-torture as he took that knife and plunged it into Maddie Mogen and her friends that night.
Who is the confidential witness?
You make a very convincing case. Also, I was just thinking, as you were talking, about who the confidential witness could be. It could be one of his fellow students in his class—one of the women who said he followed her to her car and made her feel uncomfortable. Things might have happened at Washington State where there were rumors, but nothing solid enough for me to feel comfortable printing. Maybe these people will testify to that.
Was that the one in whose apartment he installed a security system? She believed he did that just so he could spy on her. That’s one theory. Again, it hasn’t been substantiated. It appeared on Dateline, and the Dateline reporters are damn good, but I haven’t been able to substantiate that. Maybe they have something I don’t—wouldn’t be the first time. But I think something like that could come out at the trial, and those could be the witnesses who are willing to talk.
Well, look, I, for one, am just glad it’s finally—hopefully—coming to trial. It’s been too long, and I’m sure the families are absolutely frustrated. With every passing day, witnesses’ memories fade. Even the jurors’ memories of how awful this crime was fade, though those memories will be brought full front and center to them through pictures. But I’m sure the families want justice. They want an end to this—or at least an end to this phase.
Yes, and some of the families have made it clear that they want vengeance. Who can blame them? In many ways, one father said, “I sent my daughter off to college, and she comes home to me in a box.” How can you deny him his venting for vengeance? I certainly can’t.
Bryan Kohberger Trial moved to Boise
That’s another piece of this process. It’s already inconvenient—they’ve got to travel to Boise, allegedly to protect his rights. The defense did some survey of the locals in Moscow, Idaho, which allegedly suggested they all knew about the case and had biases. But all of that could have been addressed during jury selection and with jury instructions. I don’t think you’re going to find people in Boise who’ve never heard of the case either.
Even in the courtroom, they gave the statistics—97% of people in Moscow had heard about the case. In Boise, it was 93%. So, a 4% difference. What they’ll say is there’s a larger jury pool in Boise. In Moscow, the jury pool is approximately 20,000 people; in Boise, it’s about 300,000. So, you have more options to find someone. I wouldn’t have moved the trial, but I see why the judge had to do it. You want to do everything to ensure this trial stands up because, if he’s convicted, it’s going to be appealed. You want to give them as few reasons as possible for a successful appeal.
Yes, 100%. If there’s any good news in this—for people like you and me—it’s that the judge moving it to Boise means they’ll have a bigger courtroom, which can handle the amount of interest in this case. As members of the media, that is good news. There will be cameras inside the courtroom. It’ll be controlled—just one at the back of the courtroom, we’re told. But having access to the actual trial on camera is such a gift. It’s definitely going to drive interest in this case. And, you know, in August, post the presidential election, I think there’s going to be a lot of eyeballs on this.
Right. Jury selection will start on July 30th. This is the other thing—when he talks about the trial date, he’s giving just eight days for jury selection. I don’t know if you can select a jury that quickly, but we’ll see.
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