Idaho murders: Suspect Bryan Kohberger might have killed girls to get ‘sexually aroused’, says expert
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.
MOSCOW, IDAHO: A veteran forensic psychologist has shared her understanding of the possible motive that suspect Bryan Kohberger might have had for killing the four students. The PhD student is accused of murdering three girls – Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and a boy named Ethan Chapin on November 13. Forensic psychologist Dr Joni Johnston has reportedly indicated that the possibility of having “a sexual component” attached to the massacre was quite high.
Speaking with The Sun, Joni shared, “I'm trying to think of a series of murders like this, where college girls were targeted, in the dead of night, by a person who was perhaps surveilling them, and there wasn't a sexual component to it. But sexuality is such an interesting thing, and just because there were no signs of penetration or sexual assault, it doesn't mean the killer wasn't in a state of arousal during the murders.
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“Psychologists who ascribe to Sigmund Freud more than I do would say the knife is a phallic symbol. But one of the things we see in premeditated homicides sometimes is people who are aroused by torturing other people. There are also examples of people who are aroused by actually watching the life leave their victim's eyes. It's rare but it does happen.”
Johnston went on to explain, “The sexual or arousing component is in the control of the victim and being aware of the power they have over them - the power of life and death. For some killers, that's the ultimate turn-on,” before stating, “I’ve spoken with murderers who’ve told me they’ve reached orgasm at the moment their victim died, which is horrifying to think about, but only the Idaho killer will know what their motive was for sure.”
A murder-by-proxy thing?
The expert also said that “my theory is that this is an attack motivated by rage and anger, and almost a need for revenge. I don’t mean necessarily that there's this kind of need for anger or revenge against these [victims] specifically ... but it could be a murder-by-proxy thing.”
“The victims he chose may symbolize what he doesn't have and can't get - and so he's angry about that. These are young, attractive girls living in a college town ... in his mind, he needs to take power, take control, and get revenge on these individuals because of who and what they symbolize,” Johnston added.
Looking for clue in Bryan Kohberger's social shares
Johnston also focused on apparent social media posts shared by Kohberger as a teenager “in which he discusses struggling with suicidal thoughts, not being able to feel emotions or remorse, and observing his own life as if it were a video game." She also addressed the suspect’s Reddit survey, where he asked questions to reportedly understand a criminal mind.
She remarked, “The posts speak to somebody who is clearly unhappy, clearly struggling ... he's also clearly aware of the fact he isn't popular, he was being bullied and nobody liked him. It basically looks like someone who, in a very awkward way, is trying to get some help ... and he even makes the allusions as if he was a criminal, even at age 15.”
Johnston then noted, “I wonder if he might have gravitated towards criminology or criminal justice in a kind of way to attempt to cope with any anger and understand any violent fantasies he may have been having.” She added, “When you look at some of the research questions he wrote on Reddit, there was a lot of emphasis on premeditation, on how to select a target, and so on. If I was doing a survey on violent offenders or murderers I wouldn't ever ask those questions because most murders aren't premeditated."
She then theorized that there was a link betwwen the survey and Bryan's state of mind. “So I think there was definitely some investment on his part in this questionnaire and some attempt to find out information about how people feel about these things. Now was this an attempt to normalize his feelings or even seek encouragement? I don't know. But I don't think it was coincidental.”