He slaughtered 4 students because they did not respond to his messages on Instagram
American media reported that Brian Kohberger, who is accused of killing four college students in Idaho in their beds last November, followed three of his four victims on Instagram - but they did not follow back or respond to his messages.
According to People magazine, authorities have not said whether the victims knew Kohberger, but the suspect's now-deleted Instagram account — which was reviewed by People before it was removed — followed the Instagram accounts of victims Madison Maugin, Kylie Goncalves and Zanna Kernodel before the murder.
Kohberger allegedly sent a message to one of the three victims over and over two weeks before the killings, an investigator familiar with the case previously told the magazine.
In late October, an account that authorities believe belonged to Brian Kohberger sent a message to one of the victims, according to the source.
When the user did not receive a response, he reportedly sent her several additional direct messages.
They were short messages saying, "Hi, how are you?", but he did it over and over again, and Kohberger didn't seem to get a reply.
A source investigating the case said, "Maybe [the victim] didn't see those messages, because she went through the message requests."
Instagram users are not notified when they receive a message from someone they don't follow, and messages move to a separate folder. "We're still trying to determine how aware the victims are," he added.
Kohberger hacked Madison Maugin, Kylie Goncalves, Zana Kernodel and Ethan Chapin to death in a rented home off campus in Idaho on November 13.
A masked intruder entered the house and killed all four students in their bedrooms with a knife.
Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania on December 30.
The 28-year-old graduate student and teaching assistant at Washington State University has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of robbery.
He was transferred back to Idaho on January 4th.
A chilling detail has been revealed as a possible cause of deposition in the University of Idaho murder case
More and more details about the alleged killer's psychological history have been pouring in since his capture.
In an online forum, an account that appears to have belonged to Kohberger during his teenage years described feelings of depression, detachment, and the ability to do whatever he wants with little regret.
Kohberger will return to court on June 26 after waiving his right to a speedy preliminary hearing.
He is being held without bail and has not yet entered a plea to the charges against him.
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