Criminology professor who taught Idaho college killer Bryan Kohberger wonders if her lessons inspired him

The criminology professor who once taught Bryan Kohberger said she is grappling with the possibility that her own teachings may have influenced his decision to carry out the murder of four Idaho college students.

Dr. Katherine Ramsland, who was Kohberger’s adviser and instructor at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, told NewsNation on Tuesday, “I have to look at the framework of what I taught and wonder, did I inspire him in some way?” 

Ramsland, who has authored 73 books and teaches courses on serial killers, said that while she never expected anything sinister from Kohberger, her courses could potentially inspire violence in the wrong individuals. “Unfortunately, in this field, that’s what we live with,” she said.

Ramsland said she began teaching Kohberger in 2018, when he started studying forensic psychology. She described him as intense, curious, and respectful, adding, “I really thought Bryan Kohberger was a promising student who really could have made a mark in this career in a very positive way.”

“There really isn’t anything that stood out to me,” she said, noting she saw no red flags in his behavior.

Now, Ramsland says she wants to interview Kohberger herself to identify potential warning signs and “developmental trajectories.”

“I want to understand how he was able to completely fool me,” she explained. “If he wanted to do that, I know he has the intellectual capacity to do it, to be self-reflective and think about how his life came to this.”

“I have questions for him that I think nobody else but me could ask,” Ramsland added.

Kohberger formally pleaded guilty on Wednesday as part of a plea deal that will spare him the death penalty. The agreement will sentence him to life in prison without parole for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen.