“He was bullying people”: Bryan Kohberger’s former friend said that Idaho murder suspect turned ‘aggressive’ in high school

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger, has been described to have turned “aggressive” and became a bully at the end of high school.

A former friend agreed with the description but one of Bryan's former teachers said that he was a good student.

Almost six weeks have passed since the Idaho murders took place. On December 30, 2022, Bryan Kohberger, a criminology doctoral student, was arrested on suspicion of murdering four Idaho students. Officials have mentioned that Bryan’s DNA has reportedly matched the samples obtained at the crime scene.

The 28-year-old was arrested in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, and will reportedly appear in court on Tuesday, and is currently being held without bail.

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger was arrested on suspicion of killing the four Idaho students

Bryan Kohberger has been charged with the Idaho murders. The 28-year-old was arrested on Friday at his Chestnuthill Township home. He also reportedly has an address in Pullman, Washington.

Bryan has been described as strange and awkward by people who knew him.

Boyce Jubilan, an associate professor at DeSales University was Bryan’s research supervisor. Boyce mentioned that Bryan was a little awkward with his peers and that he liked to work alone.

Nick McLoughlin, a former friend of Bryan Kohberger, said that he was shocked to hear about Bryan’s arrest. A former student also mentioned that Kohberger supposedly turned aggressive and became a bully at the end of high school.

According to police officers, they detained the 28-year-old criminalogy doctoral student in Pennsylvania around 2,500 miles away from the crime scene. On November 13, 2022, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle were brutally murdered in Moscow, northern Idaho.

A post-mortem report found that some of the students had defensive wounds and were possibly attacked while they were asleep. Authorities also confirmed that there was no sign of s*xual assault.

According to Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson, the accused is reportedly facing four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. Moscow Police Chief James Fry addressed the case and said that in what was a complex and extensive case, the murders had shaken the community. He added that while they have arrested the accused, no arrests will bring back the four students.

He further told reporters during the press conference that police have received over 19,000 tips regarding the case. They made a major breakthrough in the case after discovering a white Hyundai Elantra car near the crime scene and urging the public to help them find it. The car was recovered on Friday; however, authorities have not yet found the murder weapon.

Upon being asked whether any other arrests have been made, Fry said that they have a person who committed the crimes in their custody and that the community is safe. He continued:

“But we still need to be vigilant, right?”

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A former DeSales classmate described Kohberger as someone who was careful about how he spoke but was “seemingly detached”

WSU Pullman Chancellor Elizabeth Chilton spoke about the arrest and said,

“Kohberger had completed his first semester as a Ph.D. student in WSU’s criminal justice program earlier this month.”

Kohberger’s former classmate at DeSales, who wanted to stay anonymous, recalled Bryan as very intelligent and well-spoken but seemingly detached. The classmate added that Bryan was leveled and somewhat imposing. They continued to say that there wasn't much emotion displayed by Bryan who took care of how he spoke.

A controversial Reddit post was also uploaded by Bryan Kohberger about seven months ago. In the post, Bryan allegedly asked ex-cons to participate in a research project that aimed:

“To understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.”

According to the Daily Beast, Bryan Kohberger got his bachelor’s degree in 2020 and graduated in June 2022. A spokesperson for DeSales University stated:

“As a Catholic, Salesian community, we are devastated by this senseless tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families during this difficult time.”

Nick McLoughlin, a former high school friend of Bryan's, mentioned that he was overweight at the end of junior year, but became extremely thin at the start of senior year.

Bryan had allegedly also picked boxing as a new hobby. Nick added that Bryan always wanted to fight with someone and was constantly bullying people. McLoughlin said that they began cutting Bryan off from their friend group after he was "100% a different person.”

Not just Nick, but another high school friend named Thomas Arntz also described Bryan as “mean-spirited” and a “bully” in high school.

It was discovered that Bryan Kohberger was a member of a psychology study honor society called “Psi Beta.” A relative of Bryan's spoke to the New York Post and stated that he had “weird eating habits.”

Bryan will make his court appearance on Tuesday for his extradition proceedings. Authorities have refused to comment further on the case or disclose a possible motive until Bryan Kohberger is brought back to Idaho.