Seven years before 28-year-old alleged mass killer Bryan Kohberger stabbed Nov. 13, 2022 four University of Idaho undergraduates at a rental house, Hayley Willette came forward with her story of going out on a date with him. Willette said she matched on the dating site Tinder and wound up going to the movies with Kohberger when he was 21-year-old at Penn State, Hazleton and she was 20, working on her nursing degree. Tracing the development of a mass or serial killer isn’t easy for the best profilers, looking into the proverbial crystal ball trying to make forecasts about the future. For what it’s worth, Willette said she had an uncomfortable encounter when she invited Kohberger back to her apartment to watch another movie. Willette recalls Kohberger “was very polite and nice” during the date but he “completely changed gears” once he went to her room.
Why a 20-year-old undergraduate would invite someone she barely knew into her room is anyone’s guess. So, her recollection of events nearly seven years ago only adds to the post-mortem profiling typically done by researchers looking into the histories of serial killers and mass murderers. “He just seemed very different,” Willette said, about Kohberger once he entered her room. “Definitely felt uncomfortable when he decided he needed to wait outside the bathroom,” Willette said, something that could happen to any young woman inviting a new date back to her room. “After an hour or so of him being gone, he messaged me and said I had good birthing hips and I just never messaged him back,” Willette said. Kohberg’s comments weren’t much different than any young women with a stranger in her room. There’s nothing in Wilmette’s recall that would point to a future mass murder.
Arrested at his family’s home Dec. 30, 2022 near the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania, Kohberger was tracked by the FBI, making a cross country trip in his white, Hyundai Elantra, the same care spotted by around the rented home where Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Krrnodle, 20 and Kaylee Gonsalves, 21, were slashed to death Nov. 13, 2022 by some unknown assailant. Police used DNA evidence found at the crime scene on the sheath of the knife to match with some discarded trash at Kohberger’s family home. Whether the DNA evidence stands up in court, FBI investigators were able to track his movements all the way from Moscow, Idaho to his parents’ home in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. Law enforcement officials showed that with the help of DNA, at least some serial killers or mass murders can be identified for eventual arrest when all leads fail.
Kohberger preliminary hearing in Moscow, Idaho has been continued to June 26, at which point he’ll be charged with burglary and four counts of homicide. Kohberger’s defense attorney Anne Taylor said it will give her enough time to review discovery of Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thomson said he had no objections to Magistrate Megan Marshall to allow the delay before Kohberg enter his expected not guilty plea. All the stories from past friends, classmates and acquaintances make for interesting copy in various news stories or broadcast talk. But as Kohberger knows as a Washington State criminology grad student, he knows the science behind crime scene investigation has evolved into a more exacting process. Some experts have said Kohberger didn’t cover his tracks very well, leaving the knife sleeve with his DNA or using the same vehicle spotted near the crime scene.
Kohberg’s in custody in Moscow, Idaho until his June 26 arraignment, giving his defense attorney and country prosecutor time to build their cases. Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial, another sign that the case against him looks more solid. If Kohberger really thought he was innocent, he would protest loudly, wanting his day in court at the earliest possible time. Sitting in jail for the next six months suggests that he knows the deck is stacked against him. “He’s willing to waive timeliness to allow us time to obtain discovery in the case and be prepared,” Taylor told Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall. No innocent person wants to rot in jail any longer than they have to, especially if they’re innocent. Kohberger knows every textbook on criminal interrogation or investigation knows the demeanor of an innocent suspect, seeking a court date at the earliest possible time.
Local, state and federal law enforcement officials should be commended to tracking Kohberger down to his parents’ home in the Poconos, using the latest DNA crime-scene investigation techniques. Unless Kohberger has a lot of cash to spend on his defense, he’s not going to get the kind of DNA experts refuting the government’s case against him. Serial or mass killers come in many packages, with different personalities, difficult to stereotype with one-size fits all descriptions. But one thing’s for sure, especially when the murders are gender-specific, in this primarily young women, there’s deep hatred for the opposite sex. Whether that’s due to repeated rejection and uncontrollable rage is anyone’s guess. Establishing motive is usually the last thing detectives figure out. Waiving his right to a speedy trial certainly shows that Kohberger isn’t protesting his innocence too loudly.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.
