BOISE, Idaho (Court TV) — Photos from Bryan Kohberger’s phone reveal a series of selfies, including one that appears to show an injury to his hand, taken in the hours and days surrounding the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students.
The photos, obtained by Court TV, were found by investigators on his personal cell phone. They were not sent to anyone and appeared to be for his own personal viewing. In one image, taken on the same day as the murders, Kohberger gives a thumbs-up to the camera. Other photos show him posing in a mirror, flexing his bicep.
Court TV analysts noted the images speak to Kohberger’s narcissism and his preoccupation with his physical transformation. Kohberger was reportedly overweight in high school and later became a vegan, losing a significant amount of weight. Prosecutors might have argued that his anger toward women intensified after he was still rejected despite his changed appearance.
Perhaps the most significant image is one that shows an injury to his left ring finger. The metadata from that photo could have provided a timestamp and location, potentially linking him directly to the time of the murders. This detail, combined with the DNA evidence found on a knife sheath left at the scene, created an overwhelming case against him.
Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at the time, was accused of killing Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, in their off-campus rental home on Nov. 13, 2022. He ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, avoiding a potential death penalty. He was sentenced to multiple life terms in prison.
Photos previously released by investigators of Kohberger’s apartment showed a tidy, minimalistic space. Documents found in his apartment and office were related to his criminology studies and focused on capital punishment and incarceration.
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