Idaho student murders: Suspect Bryan Kohberger allegedly posted he had ‘crazy thoughts’ online
Rachel Schilke
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University of Idaho quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Kohberger allegedly wrote on an online forum years ago that he was having “crazy thoughts” and “delusions of grandeur.”
Kohberger, 28, allegedly made 118 posts between Nov. 6, 2009, and Feb. 20, 2012, on a site dedicated to a condition called visual snow syndrome, which causes someone to see static, the New York Times reported on Friday.
“I have had VS [visual snow] since september 21st of 2009. Since then I have changed, mainly from the anxiety and sense of derealization and hopelessness,” the suspect, under the username “exarr,” wrote in January 2011. Kohberger would have been around the age of 16 at the time.
Someone who knew the homicide suspect during that period said he was “extremely confident” that the posts were Kohberger’s, according to ABC News. The posts’ dates coincided with Kohberger’s complaints at the time about his troubles with visual snow syndrome.
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In another thread, Kohberger allegedly wrote in May 2011 that he had “depression, no interest in activity, constant thoughts of suicide, crazy thoughts, delusions of grandeur, anxiety, poor self image, poor social skills, NO EMOTION.”
His post concluded that “when I get home, I am mean to my family. This started when VS did. I felt no emotion and along with the depersonalization, I can say and do whatever I want with little remorse.”
Kohberger allegedly also wrote in July 2011 that he felt the depersonalization “go on” in his life for two years, and when he looked at his family, “I am blank, I have no opinion, I have no emotion, I have nothing.”
The 28-year-old criminology graduate student, who attends Washington State University, is accused of stabbing Ethan Chopin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Gonclaves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, multiple times in the chest on Nov. 13.
A knife sheath that investigators believe fits the homicide weapon was found near Goncalves’s and Mogen’s bodies. The DNA found on the sheath matches the DNA that police took from Kohberger’s trash.
The make and model of Kohberger’s car, a white Hyundai Elantra, was the focal point of the investigation by Moscow, Idaho, and state police. A similar vehicle was captured on video near the crime scene during the time of the death window and near the victims’ home prior to the stabbings.
Police discovered Kohberger had a car similar to the vehicle of interest on the Washington State University campus. Officers conducted an intentional traffic stop after tracking his whereabouts in order to gather footage of his hands and face.
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Kohberger’s features matched the description that a surviving roommate gave officials of the person she saw leaving her home early in the morning on Nov. 13 after hearing sounds and crying from her roommates’ rooms.
A preliminary hearing for Kohberger’s trial is set for June, marking seven months after the deaths. The hearing is set to go on for four to five days. During that time, the defense and prosecutors will have the opportunity to present evidence and call witnesses, per state law.