What Bryan Kohberger's Life In Jail Is Really Like
When four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in their beds in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, it sent shockwaves and fear down the spines of the residents of the college town of Moscow. Three roommates, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20 were killed along with Kernodle's boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, who was spending the night at the rented house off-campus where the young women lived. For weeks, police seemed baffled as the families of the victims and the people of Moscow anxiously awaited news of an arrest. There was no obvious motive for the brutal slaying of the students, but the killer left something behind. According to a Latah County police affidavit, a tan, leather knife sheath was lying in the bed next to Mogen's body — and it had DNA on the button snap.
The DNA turned out to be a match to a then-28-year-old Ph.D. candidate named Bryan Kohberger who was studying criminology at Washington State University which is less than 10 miles from the University of Idaho. More evidence came from neighborhood surveillance footage along with digital evidence from Kohberger's cell phone. He was arrested at his parents' home in Monroe County, Pennsylvania on December 30, 2022, and extradited back to Idaho where he was charged with four counts of murder in the first degree and one count of burglary. Since January 4, 2023, he's been housed at the Latah County Jail while he awaits his June 2025 trial.
Bryan Kohberger is in a jail that only houses 38 people
As a testament to how low crime is in Latah County, Idaho, where Moscow is one of nine incorporated cities, the jail only holds a maximum of 38 people of mixed gender, according to the county website. The small detention center, which is located under the county courthouse, is run by a team of seven deputies, a bailiff, two corporals, two sergeants, and a captain.
Bryan Kohberger is allowed an hour a day for some kind of recreation — he can choose whether he wants to go to the library or to the yard or visit both. He also has access to a phone and a tablet, a commissary, and programs that are typical of jails and prisons, including substance abuse education and worship services. Per the Daily Mail, the jail provides vegan meals for Kohberger. Visitors are only allowed three days per week for 20 minutes at a time, and only if they have appointments.
According to News Nation, as of September 2023, Kohberger's family in Pennsylvania had not visited him in jail, but they had been in contact with him on the phone. The Idaho murder suspect was said to be a "model prisoner" who doesn't make waves and keeps to himself, which may not be too hard since he's segregated. As News Nation also reported in March of 2023, Kohberger had his own TV with basic cable in his cell, and overall he avoided involvement with other people. He turned down mental health services, but he spent about a half hour a week with a pastor for Bible study and prayer.
Kohberger is said to be quiet and expressionless
The Daily Mail sent a reporter to the Latah County Jail to meet with inmates there to talk about what Bryan Kohberger is like and how he spends his time. From what can be gleaned in that report, Kohberger is not friendly, avoids conversation, stays in his cell a lot, and keeps his eyes forward when he walks through the facility. According to one inmate, "He always has the same expression — or non-expression. He just looks straight ahead. I've never even seen his eyebrows or mouth move. He never says anything."
The primary people he seems to talk to are a pastor who pays weekly visits to the jail with whom Kohberger has one-on-one time, and of course, his attorneys. He's also said to be very interested in watching the news coverage involving his case. One person being held at the Latah County jail told the Daily Mail reporter, "He watches himself all the time. It's really kind of bizarre."
In such a small jail amongst people who are there for far less serious crimes, Kohberger seems to be an unsettling presence. Kyler Ledet was released from the jail but told The Daily Mail he'd seen Kohberger just a few times and he was always flanked by guards — but he and the others were weary of Kohberger. "We'd always talk about the fact he was in the same jail with us. Nobody liked the guy, I could tell you that. There's a lot of hatred. But we were in awe of him. Nothing like that really happens around Moscow. It shocked a lot of people."