A convicted mass killer's co-workers, cellmates and former Tinder matches have labelled him "socially awkward" and "annoying" in newly released police documents.
Bryan Kohberger was sentenced this week to life in prison for the 2022 murders of four Idaho university students inside their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21 years old, and Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20 years old, were all killed on November 13, 2022.
Earlier this month Kohberger accepted a plea deal and admitted to the killings, offering no motive for the crime.
Minutes after his sentencing, the Moscow Police Department released hundreds of pages of documents online.
The files reveal new details about the case, spanning from the moment police arrived on the scene to the months following Kohberger's arrest.
Defensive wounds and sounds of a struggle heard in home
Roommates of the four students had already detailed hiding from a stranger clad in black in the early hours of that November morning.
One of the two surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen, told police she heard Ms Goncalves "scream and announce there was 'somebody' inside", according to a police report dated November 13.
"[She] said she locked herself in her bedroom and continued to hear a commotion," the report said.
"[She] said eventually she stopped hearing a struggle and heard a male voice say, 'You're gonna be fine. I'm gonna help you.'"
Other documents described the aftermath of the brutal attack as officers entered the home.
One report, dated November 21, 2022, described dozens of "mostly defensive" injuries to Ms Kernodle.
An officer wrote it was "obvious an intense struggle had occurred" between Ms Kernodle and Kohberger.
Authorities have previously suggested the other three victims were asleep when they were attacked.
Ms Goncalves's sister, Alivea Goncalves, confronted Kohberger while delivering a victim impact statement at his sentencing hearing.
"You want the truth? Here's the one you'll hate the most," she said.
"If you hadn't attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night like a paedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your f***ing ass."
Woman told police she discussed horror movies, knives with Kohberger
One tip among the thousands received by police came from a woman who believed she had matched with Kohberger on Tinder several months before the killings.
The woman said Kohberger had told her he was a criminology student, and that she had discussed the murder of a friend in her town with him.
"The conversation turned to horror movies and which ones [she] liked the most," the police offer wrote in the March 18, 2024 report.
"[She] told Kohberger she liked the Rob Zombie Halloween movies. To this, [she] said Kohberger asked what she thought would be the worst way to die.
"[She] said she thought it would be a knife. [She] said Kohberger then asked her something to the effect of 'like a Ka-Bar?'"
A Ka-Bar brand knife sheath was found in the Moscow home following the killings.
The prosecution said Kohberger bought the same brand of knife with the sheath and a sharpener in the months leading up to the killings.
The murder weapon has never been found.
The woman said Kohberger's questions "made her uncomfortable" and she eventually stopped speaking to him.
Kohberger's co-workers report 'inappropriate' behaviour and 'scratches from fingernails'
Kohberger moved to Pullman, Washington, from Pennsylvania, to pursue a PhD in criminology at Washington State University.
He had been called in on multiple occasions for inappropriate and troubling behaviour on campus.
A former teaching assistant who shared an office with Kohberger at the university told police he thought Kohberger was "very intelligent but also selfish", describing him as "dishonest".
[alivea]The man added Kohberger began to talk "much more than usual" following the November murders.
"[He] characterised Kohberger's conversations as those coming from someone who wanted to vent," the police offer wrote in the October 2023 report.
"[He] stated Kohberger attempted to use his authority as a TA to inappropriately interact with female students."
The former co-worker also noted injuries he saw on Kohberger's face and hands "on two separate occasions" in October and November 2022.
"[He] stated one injury was a large scratch on Kohberger's face which [he] described as looking like the scratches from fingernails," the officer wrote.
"[He] said he also saw wounds to Kohberger's knuckles on two separate occasions.
"When [he] asked Kohberger about what happened to him, Kohberger replied he had been in a car accident."
Other former staffers and students at Washington State University have recalled Kohberger often made female staff uncomfortable.
One report noted a former student who described him sitting in "close proximity" to her "on the rare occasions he would attend class".
"[The student] told me she thought Kohberger was socially awkward but was not able to provide me any other information about him," the police officer noted in his report.
The student's mother contacted police after watching a Dateline special about the Moscow killings.
During a segment talking about photos of university students found on Kohberger's phone, the woman said she identified several photos as being of her daughter and her friends.
Dateline reported "dozens of photos" of women from Washington State University and the University of Idaho found on Kohberger's phone.
The student told police she believed they had been taken from her public Instagram account.
A 'coward' and 'weirdo' sentenced to life behind bars
Kohberger was arrested on December 30, 2022.
A police report included among the released documents stated his name first came to the attention of police on December 18.
Within two years, police had begun to receive information from Idaho inmates regarding Kohberger's behaviour.
In August, a video supplied to police by a prosecutor showed a male inmate talking about being in "max" security with Kohberger.
Asked, "how is he" by another inmate, the man responded: "A f***ing weirdo."
"He continued to say if he wasn't worried about further legal repercussions he would have physically assaulted Kohberger," the officer noted in the report.
"[The other inmate] asked if Kohberger 'did it', referencing the homicides. [He] affirmed this statement and added he had pretty good judgement of people and '[Kohberger's] eyes tell a story.'"
In September, another inmate housed at the Latah County Jail and kept in the cell next to Kohberger for several weeks spoke to police.
"[He] told me Kohberger was highly intelligent and polite for the most part," the officer wrote.
"[He] told me Kohberger quickly became annoying because of some of his habits.
"He told me Kohberger would wash his hands dozens of times each day and would spend 45 minutes to an hour in the shower.
"I asked [him] if Kohberger slept at night. He told me Kohberger would be awake almost all night and would only take a nap during the day.
"[He] said Kohberger did not mention his alleged offenses at all [and] was excited to move to Ada County [Jail].
"[The inmate] stated he had served time at Ada County and noted he did not think Kohberger would like to be there."
Kohberger has been sentenced to four life sentences without the possibility of parole, and waived his right to an appeal.
An Idaho Department of Corrections spokesperson told media he will face two weeks of evaluation before likely being transferred to the state's only maximum-security facility.
In sentencing, Judge Steven Hippler labelled Kohberger a "coward" who "slithered through the sliding glass door at 1122 King Road".
He added the motive behind the murders may never be known.
"[But] by continuing to focus on why, we continue to give Mr Kohberger relevance, we give him agency, and we give him power," he said.
