Bryan Kohberger: Idaho murder suspect housed in separate cell with private TV access for 'safety reasons'
MOSCOW, IDAHO: Bryan Kohberger, the suspect accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is being kept apart from other jail inmates for his own safety, according to a former FBI agent who spoke to Newsweek. On November 13, 2022, Kohberger, 28, is suspected of entering a rental house close to the university campus in Moscow, Idaho, and killing Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The attorney who represented him in Pennsylvania following his arrest there on December 30 said he was "ready to be exonerated" despite the fact that he has not yet entered a plea to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
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Kohberger deliberately kept away from jail's other detainees
Kohberger, who was a student at the time of the killings at the nearby Washington State University, has been held at the Latah County Jail in Moscow since his extradition in early January. He will have a preliminary hearing in late June.
Details of Kohberger's time spent in the 40-person capacity jail, located beneath the Latah County Courthouse, have recently come to light. Kohberger has deliberately been kept away from the jail's other detainees. He is supposedly permitted to sit close to other prisoners only during church services, but he is not allowed to talk to them.
Kohberger has access to his own television with basic cable service because he is housed in a separate cell, whereas other prisoners share television time. Kohberger must be kept apart from other prisoners due to the possibility that they could hurt him, according to former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer, who spoke to Newsweek.
She said, "They have to keep someone like Bryan Kohberger in solitary, away from the rest of the inmates, because of the notoriety of this case. Of course, those inmates likely know what he's accused of doing. The danger to him is too great to put him in the population with the rest of the inmates staying there."
According to her, another prisoner would try to hurt Kohberger "either out of anger over the situation or out of them wanting their own notoriety." Coffindaffer says the safety of the other inmates also comes into play as Bryan Kohberger may harm or endanger other prisoners. She said, "This is somebody accused of murdering four people."
'Certainly the most notorious individual'
Moscow had not seen a homicide prior to the deaths of the four students since 2015. According to Coffindaffer, the majority of inmates at the Latah County Jail are there for significantly less severe crimes. She said, "He's certainly the most notorious individual they've ever had." She added, "And remember, he's in there with people that have been pulled over for DUI, shoplifting, minor assaults, fraud—things that are of a much less egregious nature. It's important that he be kept separate," as per Newsweek.