“Obsession goes to other levels”: Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger grad program reportedly had ‘crime lab’ access

On December 30, criminology graduate student Bryan Kohberger was arrested for the murders of four University of Idaho students in Moscow, Idaho.

Throughout the course of the investigation, many criminologists claimed that Kohberger, who was pursuing a criminology PhD at Washington University, may have been using his degree to become a better criminal.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, a Washington State University source said:

"I don’t think that any amount of positive research that has come out of this department is worth the risks of letting a wolf in the henhouse."

The source noted that while being dedicated to the subject is normal among those pursuing PhD's, certain students almost become manic:

"They are all obsessed with crime and criminals — you’d have to be to have a PhD in criminology— but sometimes that obsession goes to other levels and attracts this kind of madness."

Bryan Kohberger has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary. Authorities have not yet disclosed a potential motive behind the slaying.

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Bryan Kohberger's interest in criminology

According to the Washington State University source, the institution maintains a crime-based data lab that includes surveillance and police body cam footage. The source stated that these resources could potentially be used by aspiring criminals who have entered the source.

Phil Weiler, the WSU vice president, stated that Bryan Kohberger did not have access to the criminal database.

"To be clear, Bryan Kohberger never had any access to any footage from the Complex Social Interaction Lab at Washington State University."

He added that several security measures have been taken to ensure that the university's resources are not misused.

"Access to that facility is strictly controlled. All research assistants must complete a background check, an FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Level 2 certification, be fingerprinted by the FBI and sign a confidentiality agreement in order to enter the facility."

In an interview with Newsweek, forensic psychiatrist Carole Lieberman speculated on Kohberger's choice to take criminology as a subject.

Lieberman said:

"I think Kohberger was trying to calm the demons inside of him that were telling him to kill (while also) trying to learn how to commit the perfect crime."

In an interview with the Slate, criminologist Matthew Robinson of Appalachian State University said that while many of his students displayed disturbing obsessions with crime, none of them appeared to have homicidal tendencies.

"I have had a few students in my 25-year career who ended up in trouble with the law. And I have had a few students who gave me the creeps, based on things they said to me in and out of class. But to my knowledge, I have never had a former student go on to commit murder.”

If convicted of the slayings, Bryan Kohberger could face the death penalty.