Bryan Kohberger, the convicted murderer currently incarcerated, has reportedly been attempting to contact notorious serial killers across the nation. This effort comes amid complaints about prison meals and taunting from fellow inmates, according to insights shared by a former homicide investigator.
Chris McDonough, who is the director of the Cold Case Foundation and a retired detective, has provided details regarding Kohberger’s activities within the Idaho Maximum Security Institution located in Kuna.
When queried about Kohberger’s social interactions behind bars, McDonough revealed that his source indicated Kohberger has been reaching out to other infamous criminals. Kohberger purportedly considers himself superior to those around him.
“He’s been making attempts to connect with other serial killers,” McDonough shared with Fox News Digital. “However, it’s unclear if any actual relationships have been established. He’s also trying to communicate with individuals outside the prison walls.”
Bryan Kohberger appeared in the Ada County Courthouse on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for his sentencing. He was convicted of the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students.
Before his conviction, Kohberger was a Ph.D. student at Washington State University, studying criminology. He infamously drove roughly 10 miles to commit a horrific early morning home invasion at the University of Idaho.
He stabbed four undergrads to death in an off-campus house – Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
He left scant evidence behind — but dropped a Ka-Bar knife sheath with his DNA on it. The case dragged on for more than two years, and he finally pleaded guilty when his attempts to have the potential death penalty taken off the table failed.
He received four consecutive sentences of life without parole, plus another 10 years, after pleading guilty to avoid the firing squad.
The Pennsylvania native entered Idaho prison with a target on his back, experts previously told Fox News Digital, due to the notoriety of the crime and the callous selection of victims, whom he had no known ties to.
This still image taken from surveillance video of an Albertson’s supermarket in Lewiston, Idaho, shows Bryan Kohberger shopping hours after the Idaho student murders. He is now reportedly complaining about his prison food. (Moscow Police Department)
In a little over four months in prison, he’s already filed official complaints claiming he’s been mistreated, harassed and threatened by his fellow inmates.
“He’s desperately trying to get transferred out of J-Block because of relentless taunting from other inmates,” McDonough told Fox News Digital. “Recently, his big complaint has been food, especially the bananas, because he’s a vegan. He didn’t like the type or quality of the food being prepared.”
However, complaining about that won’t help, with food services run by fellow inmates, McDonough explained.
This image shows the recreation yard at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, where Bryan Kohberger sees only one hour of exercise a day while housed in the facility’s secure J Block unit. (IDOC)
“It wouldn’t be surprising if the inmates intentionally give him the worst bananas — ‘Give this one to Kohberger,’” he said.
Although the J-Block cell keeps Kohberger physically isolated for 23 hours a day, minimizing a risk that any other inmate could make good on threats of violence, Kohberger doesn’t like it and wants to be moved, McDonough said.
“His latest issue is that he’s implied that if they don’t move him out of J-Block—complaining his cell is too small and so on—he’ll harm himself. No one knows what that means. It could be a manipulation tactic, almost like a toddler having a tantrum, to get himself into a better unit.”
