The suspect charged over the brutal killing of four University of Idaho students would avoid getting involved in conversations about the murders.
Authorities in Pennsylvania detained 28-year-old Bryan Christopher Kohberger on Friday December 20 and charged him with four counts of first degree murder and felony burglary.
The criminology student was charged over brutal slayings of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20 and Ethan Chapin, 20, whose bodies were found in an off-campus student house on November 13 in Moscow, Idaho, US.
The four were stabbed to death in their beds with some of the victims showing defensive wounds.
The case shocked the country and gained international attention.
But when fellow students at Washington State University (WSU), where Kohberger studied, discussed the case, he would not contribute.
BK Norton, one of the students, told NBC: “When discussed in class, Bryan did not mention or contribute to the conversation of the murders.
“We were released from class early after the murders to get home when it was still light out, and Bryan was in those classes with us.”
Norton recalled Kohberger would remain “quiet and deadpan” throughout those coversations, despite appearing more animated following the killings.
Kohberger is a PHD student at WSU's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology in Pullman, Washington, according to the department's website.
Pullman is just a 15-minute drive from the home where the four students were butchered.
Kohberger wasn't arrested until six weeks after the murders with speculation on what happened running rampant across communities and the internet.
So-called 'internet sleuths' wildly speculating about the case were a "massive distraction" for investigators.
Moscow Police Captain Roger Lanier said: “Tracking down rumours and quelling rumours about specific information and specific events that may not have happened is a huge distraction.
“It is very, very frustrating for investigators. It makes it hard to stay on track.”
Kohberger was described as a "brilliant student" by a former professor.
DeSales University Professor Michelle Bolger, who taught Kohberger in an online course, said she was in shock about what her former student has been accused of.
She told DailyMail.com: "I'm shocked as s**t at what he's been accused of. I don't believe it, but I get it."
He graduated this year from DeSales University in Pennsylvania, which the university has confirmed. He received a bachelor's degree in 2020 and completed graduate studies in June 2022.
His keen interest in criminology has added a sinister turn to the already grim case.
In a questionnaire, believed to be written by Kohberger in support of his studied, he asked respondents who had committed crimes questions such as:
Why did you choose that victim over others?
How did you leave the scene?
Did you struggle with or fight the victim ?
Introducing the questionnaire, the suspect wrote: "Hello, my name is Bryan and I am inviting you to participate in a research project that seeks to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime."
According to a brewery owner, Kohberger had to be called out for allegedly frightening female staff at his business.
Kohberger often visited the Sever Sirens Brewing Company and harassed the women who worked there, according to business owner Jordan Serulneck.
The brewery scans everyone's IDs and has a system that allows staff to write accompanying notes about customers that then pop up whenever the ID is re-scanned.
"Staff put in there, ‘Hey, this guy makes creepy comments, keep an eye on him. He’ll have two or three beers and then just get a little too comfortable,” Serulneck told NBC News.
Kohberger would allegedly ask female staff invasive questions such as where they lived.
If they weren't interested, “he would get upset with them a little bit," Surelneck added.
Serulneck recalled a time when Kohberger called an employee a “bitch” when she refused to answer his questions.
The owner said he confronted Kohberger on his last visit to the brewery.
“I went up to him and I said, ‘Hey Bryan, welcome back. We appreciate you coming back. … I just wanted to talk to you real quick and make sure that you’re going to be respectful this time and we’re not going to have any issues,’” he recalled.
