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Bryan Kohberger, the killer of four University of Idaho students, remained calm during his first police interview, speaking at length about his Ph.D. program before abruptly shifting focus to his parents, his dog, and his constitutional right to an attorney.
According to a newly released police summary from the Moscow Police Department, Kohberger, 30, acknowledged receiving a crime alert from Washington State University (WSU) and admitted, “of course” he knew about the killings but invoked his Fifth Amendment rights when pressed for details.
Moscow Police Cpl. Brett Payne and Idaho State Police Det. Darren Gilberton spoke to Kohberger at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Stroudsburg. When Payne introduced himself, Kohberger said, “you do look familiar,” according to a report from Moscow police.
Kohberger said “the only thing he heard of from Moscow was an alert that came to his phone,” according to that report.
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Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
In Kohberger’s first interview with police following the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle, the students’ killer openly talked about his decision to pursue a Ph.D. in criminology.
“Knowledge was far more important to him than money,” police said, adding that Kohberger said he “loved being in college.”
He described applying only to WSU and UC Irvine because they didn’t require the GRE, and said he had recently returned home to Pennsylvania after driving across the country with his father.
Kohberger added WSU had a good program to study under and then said “you guys know all about this more than likely,” police documents said.
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)
The conversation shifted from small talk, including talking about WSU football and sports, to Kohberger saying he “would appreciate it if we [police] would explain to him what he was doing there,” according to the report.
Kohberger deflected when asked why he thought the police were there, telling Gilbertson he’d rather have them tell him.
“Det. Gilbertson said we were there because of what occurred in Moscow but did not provide any further detail,” the report said.
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Gilbertson asked Kohberger if he watched the news. Kohberger said, “I watch the news.”
Kohberger then asked where his parents were and where his dog was.
READ THE POLICE INTERVIEW WITH KOHBERGER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE
The interview, which took place around 2 a.m., shifted to Kohberger’s recent drive back to Pennsylvania.
Kohberger said he drove across the country and wanted the challenge of that and experience it with his father.
He shared that he took a different route back home with his father for Christmas Break to avoid snow.
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Police said that he began to speak about the beauty of the environment and its relationship to God and a higher power.
“We spoke about this for some time and Kohberger said he was raised Christian but was always a skeptic except when confronted with the beauty of the natural world,” the police document said.
Bryan Kohberger was stopped by Indiana police on Dec. 15, 2022 before he was identified as a suspect in the murder of four University of Idaho students. (Hancock County Police Department)
Bryan Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra is seen during a traffic stop. (Hancock County Sheriff’s Department)
When asked if his father and he had made any stops on their lengthy road trip back to Pennsylvania, Kohberger said that their “main goal was just [to] drive.”
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“Kohberger then told a story about seeing an unmarked police car near Kansas City speed up behind him, catch up to another vehicle, turn on its emergency lights, then drive away.
“Kohberger thought this was strange and was unsure why it occurred,” the document said.
When the police told Kohberger that the attack on the Idaho students was why they were there and asked him if he wanted to talk about that, Kohberger replied: “I think I would need a lawyer.”