On Friday, 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection to the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students in November. It has since been revealed that Kohberger conducted a study asking criminals questions about their crimes.
A Reddit account introducing himself as "Bryan" made numerous posts in May and June to various prison or ex-convict community pages inviting people to "participate in a research project that seeks to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime."
According to the Independent, Kohberger graduated from Pennsylvania’s DeSales University in May of 2022 with a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice.
"In particular, this study seeks to understand the story behind your most recent criminal offense, with an emphasis on your thoughts and feelings throughout your experience," the Reddit post said.
Kohberger is listed as the Student Investigator for the research project. As of Friday afternoon, the survey has been deactivated.
The survey begins by asking a number of demographic questions regarding the survey taker and the nature of their crimes committed, then stated that a series of "open-ended" questions would be asked.
The questions included:
- "How was your life right before the crime occurred?"
- "Did you prepare for the crime before leaving your home? Please detail what you were thinking and feeling at this point."
- "How did you travel to and enter the location that the crime occurred?"
- "After arriving, what steps did you take prior to locating the victim or target (i.e., person or object)? Please detail your thoughts and feelings."
- "Why did you choose that victim or target over others?"
- "Before making your move, how did you approach the victim or target? Please detail what you were thinking and feeling."
- "What was the first move you made in order to accomplish your goal? Please detail any thoughts and feelings at this point."
- "How did you accomplish your goal? Please explain what you were thinking and feeling."
- "Before leaving, is there anything else you did?"
- "How did you leave the scene?"
- "After committing the crime, what were you thinking and feeling?"
The survey asks whether the survey taker had experienced issues like anxiety, worry, restlessness, and irritability in the 2 weeks before taking the survey, and how they would respond in hypothetical situations.
Kohberger was arrested in Scranton, Pennsylvania at around 3 am on Friday. Kohberger is currently being held awaiting extradition to Idaho.
Between the hours of 3 and 4 am on November 13, four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in their King Road residence in Moscow, Idaho.
Kohberger is listed as a Ph.D. student at Washington State University's Pullman campus, according to the university’s website. Pullman, Washington is a 15-minute drive from Moscow, Idaho, where the murders occurred.
Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, were stabbed to death near campus, allegedly by the suspect.
