Why did Bryan Kohberger do it? Netflix’s ‘Idaho Murders’ documentary explores possible reasons
Netflix’s recently released ‘The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare’ documentary has deeply reflected on the horrific November 2022 Idaho student murders. Since witnessing how things turned out, viewers have one ultimate question, which victims’ families have also been seeking an answer to: why did Bryan Kohberger kill the Idaho students? Throughout the three-part documentary, the makers focused on a “victim-first approach.” Notably, it also featured footage from various sources that had not previously been revealed publicly. One thing that caught everyone’s attention was Kohberger’s intention, which, even after pleading guilty, he had not disclosed. The mystery of the motive had been the biggest takeaway throughout the horrific incident.
A month before Kohberger’s trial, he pleaded guilty. But it was still unclear why he chose those specific 4 students. According to Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger, “Ultimately we never have been able to answer that question that everybody wants answered: ‘Why?’ We don’t know, ‘Why these four?’ We don’t know, ‘Why this house?’ I don’t think we’ll ever know.” The documentary also featured Lilly Karaban, who sat next to Kohberger throughout their undergraduate criminology class at DeSales University. They studied alongside professor of forensic psychology Katherine Ramsland.
Sharing more about their Minds of a Serial Killer class, Lilly noted, “We studied in Dr. Ramsland’s class every big killer, every little killer, killers that people have never heard of. We did have group projects with mock crime scenes to figure out how a crime scene took place, what kind of killer would do a crime scene like this.” She mentioned not seeing him socializing outside of the class, and he seemed to be “in his own world.” However, he was quite involved in class discussions and group projects. Kohberger was pursuing his PhD in criminology at Washington State University. It was merely a 10-minute drive from the University of Idaho. Shockingly, a few female students have also reported that he was an unpleasant individual to be around. A female student noted that Kohberger followed her to the parking lot and spoke aggressively.
The documentary also revealed the questionnaire that Kohberger posted on Reddit. It was said to be a part of a supposed research project. Questions were for incarcerated individuals. This included inquiring about how they chose their victims and how they approached them. During Dr. Ramsland’s exclusive interview with NewsNation, she reflected on the time when she taught Kohberger’s class. “I have to look at the framework of what I taught and wonder, did I inspire him in some way? But I can’t second-guess that because I may have inspired somebody else to become an FBI agent. And unfortunately, in this field, that’s what we live with.”
