The accused Idaho student slasher, Bryan Kohberger, shares unsettling connections with some of America’s most notorious serial killers—and the details are sending chills through true crime circles.
Kohberger, 28, was arrested in Pennsylvania on December 30 for the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students: Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. At the time, he was a PhD student in criminal justice at Washington State University, just nine miles from the crime scene.
Before his arrest, Kohberger studied at DeSales University under Dr. Katherine Ramsland, a forensic psychologist who co-wrote a book with infamous BTK killer Dennis Rader. That 2016 book, “Confession of a Serial Killer,” explored Rader’s evolution into a murderer who killed 10 people over three decades.
Rader’s daughter, Kerri Rawson, told NewsNation she’s haunted by the possibility her father’s crimes may have influenced Kohberger. “It’s hard to be the kid of this guy and live with this,” she said. “And then see somebody else go do this and wonder, did your dad influence this?”
Investigators have reportedly used genetic genealogy to link Kohberger to the crime scene—a technique that helped crack two other high-profile cases. In 2010, it led to Lonnie David Franklin Jr. , the Grim Sleeper, who murdered Black women in Los Angeles.
In 2018, it helped identify Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. , the Golden State Killer, who terrorized California with murders, rapes, and home invasions.
But the method isn’t perfect. In 2014, police falsely accused filmmaker Michael Usry of a murder based on a DNA match that turned out to be a false positive. Legal experts warn that DNA evidence can be misused.
Kohberger appeared in a Pennsylvania court Tuesday for extradition to Idaho, where he faces four murder counts and one burglary charge. His public defender insists he is innocent until proven guilty, and his family says they’ve fully cooperated with law enforcement.
As the case unfolds, one question lingers: how deep do these eerie connections really go?
