Murder spree at an Idaho college: Bryan Kohberger's comprehensive exploration of criminal behavior

Bryan Kohberger, a Ph.D. student at Washington State University (WSU), was studying criminals' emotions and decision-making during the fall semester of 2022. His research focused on understanding how emotions influence the decision-making involved in burglary before, during, and after crime-commission.

However, Kohberger's status at WSU was in jeopardy by the end of the fall 2022 semester, according to police records. Just 11 days before he allegedly carried out a quadruple killing, Kohberger was sent a letter from his graduate program directing him to adjust his behaviour or face further discipline.

In an essay quiz dated Oct. 19, 2022, Kohberger argued that the death penalty is not effective. He also wrote about the issue of false confessions in the American criminal justice system and a 2005 murder case involving a woman who was convicted of her mother's murder, and later won her release.

Kohberger's writings, which were released by the Idaho State Police, indicated that he had steeped himself in studying crime and had shown a desire to get inside criminals' heads, according to investigators. He suggested conducting in-person, semi-structured jailhouse interviews as part of his research.

In one of his papers, Kohberger discussed a gruesome stabbing murder case. Kohberger noted grisly details from the scene of the stabbing murder, which he believed would be a reminder of the seriousness of the crime to jurors.

However, Kohberger's initial account did not match the DNA evidence found at the scene of the crime. His DNA evidence was found at the scene of the stabbing murder, which belied his initial account.

Prosecutors planned to use Kohberger's homework against him at trial, arguing that he had intently studied crime and knew exactly how to cover his tracks after committing murder. Investigators studied Kohberger's writings to help piece together a portrait of their suspect.

In November 2022, Bryan Kohberger allegedly stabbed four college students to death. Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in July.

The homework assignments were released in response to public records requests, including from ABC News. Kohberger stated that lack of judicial oversight and plea deals can lead to false guilty pleas. He also pointed to eyewitness misidentification as an issue and suggested increasing video surveillance in public places as a potential remedy.