"Passionate about criminal justice": Affidavit reveals Bryan Kohberger applied for police internship before Idaho murders

On Thursday, January 5, an affidavit revealed that in the weeks preceding the massacre of 4 University of Idaho students, suspect Bryan Kohberger had applied for an internship with the Pullman Police.

As per Fox, at the time of his arrest, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger was a graduate student pursuing a PhD in criminology at Washington State University. One of Kohberger's former teachers told the Daily Beast that he had always been interested in criminal justice.

The teacher told reporters:

“(He was) passionate about criminal justice."

The teacher continued that Kohberger was a regular 12th grader who was a good student and had a few friends. The teacher said that they believed that the suspected killer would become a police officer or a correctional officer.

Bryan Kohberger was arrested in connection with the quadruple homicide on December 30.

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Bryan Kohberger had always been interested in criminology

As per the affidavit, Bryan Kohberger applied for an internship with the Pullman Police Department in the Fall 2022 semester.

In his application, Kohberger wrote:

“(I want to assist) rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations."

As per the Insider, Bryan Kohberger would also post online surveys regarding criminology related questions.

One post read:

"(The purpose of this study is to) understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision making when committing a crime."

Kohberger's former teacher, who remained anonymous, said that his interest in the world of law enforcement and criminal justice had always been evident.

They said that Kohberger liked watching movies about the police and would ask them if they had watched it. They added that it was much more than a hobby for Bryan as he was always asking questions about the same.

The teacher added that Kohberger had always been a well behaved student, and that they did not anticipate that he could be connected to such a brutal crime.

The teacher said that Kohberger had friends, liked school, good grades and that he even did well at vo-tech. They added that the suspected killer had plans of going to school for criminal justice. They noted:

“He had his life in order.”

However, Nick McLoughlin, a former friend of Kohberger's, said that his behavior changed drastically after they graduated junior year. McLoughlin said that Kohberger began to behave aggressively and bully other students.

He added that Kohberger always wanted to fight someone and that he was constantly bullying people. Nick noted that they began cutting him off from their friend group as he had turned into a completely different person.

Another student, Thomas Arntz, said that Bryan was a mean-spirited bully. He added that while he never thought Kohberger would kill anyone, the murders didn't really surprise him.

As per the Independent, Idaho authorities have not disclosed a potential motive behind the slayings. However, they did find Kohberger's DNA on a knife sheath recovered at the scene of the crime. If convicted of the killings, he could potentially face the death penalty.