FORMAL COMPLAINTS AGAINST BRYAN KOHBERGER AT WSU
Formal Complaints Against Bryan Kohberger at Washington State University (WSU)Based on newly unsealed documents from the Idaho State Police investigation into the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger faced a total of 13 formal complaints during his brief tenure as a first-semester PhD student and teaching assistant (TA) in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at WSU in fall 2022. These complaints were lodged between late August and early December 2022, just before his arrest on December 30, 2022. The first complaint came within days of the semester starting on August 18, 2022, and the rest accumulated over the next three months, primarily from female students, staff, and peers. Many complaints centered on discriminatory, sexist, and harassing behavior, leading to multiple faculty interventions, including altercations with professors, improvement plans, and mandatory discrimination training for all first-year doctoral students on November 8, 2022.Kohberger was ultimately terminated from his TA position on December 19, 2022 (effective December 31), for failing to meet "professionalism norms," though he completed the semester academically. Faculty described him as "highly problematic," with one predicting he could become a professor who "stalked or sexually abused" students. Classmates even maintained an informal "board" tracking his incidents. Below is a breakdown of the key categories and specific examples of the complaints, drawn from interviews and records in the unsealed documents. Note that not all 13 complaints are individually detailed in public reports, but they collectively highlight patterns of misogyny, discrimination, and unprofessionalism.Summary of Complaint Categories
Broader Context and Outcomes
Category | Number of Complaints (Approximate) | Description and Examples |
|---|---|---|
Rude and Belittling Behavior Toward Women | 9 | Focused on sexist attitudes, condescending interactions, and unequal treatment. Examples include: <ul><li>Mansplaining and talking down to female students and professors, often dominating discussions to assert "dominance."</li><li>Grading female students more harshly than males as a TA, leading to classroom debates where students confronted him.</li><li>Making female students feel "deeply uncomfortable" by staring aggressively (up to 9 times in one class), leaning over them, or invading personal space.</li><li>Arriving late specifically to classes taught by female professors and dismissing their authority.</li><li>Telling a divorced female classmate he didn't date "broken women."</li></ul> One female student described him as a "misogynist" and "narcissist" who "never displayed empathy" and wanted to be seen as "the strongest, smartest person in the room." |
Unprofessional TA Conduct | Included in the 9 above, plus additional | Related to his role assisting Prof. John Snyder. Examples: <ul><li>Two altercations with Snyder: one on September 23 (verbal dispute) and another on December 9 (post-murders).</li><li>Being "feisty," "belligerent," and rude in meetings; refusing to leave professors' offices.</li><li>Instigating contentious arguments in class, often on sensitive topics like offender decision-making or sexual burglary.</li></ul> This led to an October 3 meeting on professional norms, an October 21 email about unmet expectations, and a November 2 improvement plan. |
Discriminatory Comments (Homophobic, Ableist, Xenophobic) | 4 (overlapping with others) | Outspoken remarks that alienated peers. Examples: <ul><li>Asking a deaf classmate if she would be "comfortable procreating given her disability" (ableist).</li><li>Homophobic comments, such as derogatory remarks about LGBTQ+ individuals.</li><li>Xenophobic statements, including questioning immigrants' or non-white students' abilities.</li><li>General sexist comments, like asking if a woman in a low-cut shirt would be "at fault if raped" or bragging he could "pick up any woman in bars."</li></ul> Kohberger claimed his comments were "misunderstood" when confronted. |
Harassment and Stalking-Like Behavior | 3-4 | Involving unwanted advances and following. Examples: <ul><li>Repeatedly visiting a female undergraduate's office, forcing conversations, physically cornering her as she left work, and asking her on a date (she declined, citing her girlfriend; he persisted).</li><li>Following women to their cars, blocking doorways, or timing exits to trail them; one boss gave her rides home due to safety concerns.</li><li>Standing behind a female assistant's desk, looking over her shoulder; professors escorted women for safety and instructed them to email "911" if needed.</li><li>One report to WSU's Office of Civil Rights after he asked out and followed a staff member to her car.</li></ul> A neighbor expressed worry over "how many precautions" women took around him. |
- Faculty Response: Kohberger became a "weekly topic" in disciplinary meetings, focusing on his interactions with postgraduate students and professors. Text messages between faculty discussed an "intervention" due to his impact on female students' comfort. One staff member initially thought he was "socially awkward" but later identified deeper issues.
- Peer Perceptions: By September, he had a reputation for "being a d---" and acting like an "incel" (involuntarily celibate) who believed he deserved female companionship. Male peers also reported discomfort, like a three-hour "verbal kidnapping" in a parking lot where he bragged about women.
- Training and Termination: The complaints prompted department-wide discrimination training on November 8 (Kohberger attended but sat disengaged, staring at the ceiling). He was fired from his TA role shortly after the November 13 murders, though issues predated them.
- No Academic Critique: Complaints focused on behavior, not writing or intellect; peers called him "incredibly smart" but "creepy" and domineering.
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