Author Reveals The One Mistake That Ruined Bryan Kohberger's 'Perfect Murders' Of Idaho Students

Yahoo

21 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger believed he had committed the perfect crime until one small misstep unraveled everything, according to author James Patterson.
During a recent interview, Petterson revealed how the single mistake led to the downfall of the man behind the Idaho University student murders.
This revelation comes after Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the killings of 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, along with 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were found dead in their off-campus home.
In the wake of Bryan Kohberger's stunning guilty plea to the murders of four Idaho University students, bestselling author James Patterson has offered chilling insight into how one fatal error prevented him from getting away with it all.
Drawing from a theory by forensic psychology expert Dr. Katherine Ramsland, Patterson explained that killers often fall into "tunnel vision" during their crimes. This, he claimed, makes them "panic" and "miss things" that wouldn't have happened on a typical day.
He believes Kohberger experienced the same psychological spiral while carrying out the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, referencing how it made him leave behind crucial evidence that led to his capture.
"So here was Kohberger, who almost committed the perfect murders – except [he had] that tunnel vision," Patterson told Fox News Digital in an interview.
He added, "He left that knife sheath behind. And that's what ultimately led to his arrest."
Patterson is also the co-author of "The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy" and producer of the Prime Video docuseries "One Night in Idaho: The College Murders," two projects that pull back the curtain on the Idaho University students' murders and Kohberger's life prior to committing these crimes.
While discussing with the outlet, he explained how Kohberger was socially awkward, particularly towards women, whom he allegedly wrongfully graded while working as a teaching assistant for his Phd in Criminology.
"He was inappropriate – he didn't know how to socialize very well," Patterson said about Kohberger.
"He was a teaching assistant, and he was just turning people off. He graded the women poorly. He had an inability to deal with women, yet he thought he was popular. It was a thought of, why aren't these people, these women, loving him? Because he found himself very worthy. And in this documentary, most of this comes out."
Speaking further about Kohberger's social awkwardness, Patterson claimed that the former PhD student would often try to engage female bartenders and patrons at the Seven Sirens Brewing Company, a popular restaurant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
However, rather than being attracted to him as he had hoped, he was "simply off-putting" to them. Some even went so far as to complain to the brewery's owner about "the creepy guy," Kohberger, who they claimed had "bulging eyes."
"He made people uncomfortable," said Patterson. "The bartenders and owners remembered him as being this weird duck who would sit at a bar and just weird everybody out and talk inappropriately. He had a lot of trouble socializing."
Back in December 2022, Kohberger was arrested and charged with the murders, just several weeks after committing the crimes.
Although many might view the time between the murders and his arrest as relatively short, Patterson claimed that it wasn't an easy case and that authorities were simply fortunate that Kohberger made a critical mistake.
"It was a hard case to solve," the award-winning author shared. "[Investigators] were very fortunate that Kohberger made that one really big blunder.
He added, "[Kohberger didn't make a lot of mistakes. So it was a tough investigation… He might've never been caught. We might've been writing about God knows what right now."
Having pleaded guilty to the murders and the burglary charge linked to the crimes, Kohberger is expected to be formally sentenced at a hearing on July 23. He is facing four consecutive life sentences, one for each murder, as well as a 10-year sentence for the burglary charge.
Pursuing a conviction in court could have resulted in a guilty verdict, but it would likely have triggered years of costly and time-consuming appeals from Kohberger and his lawyers.
It would have also forced the victims' families to relive the deaths of their loved ones, an experience that can be profoundly traumatic.
These reasons were hinted at in a letter written by prosecutors to the victims' families.
"This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family," they said, per ABC News.
"This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals," they added. "We hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice."