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Amy Robach
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No purchase necessary. Legends International Void where prohibited by law 18 and over terms and conditions apply. Hey, folks, it is Friday, August 15, and Brian Kohberger, who is serving four life sentences for killing those four University of Idaho students, says the other prisoners aren't being nice to him. He's been told to stop whining. Welcome to Amy and TJ Robes. That's a headline making its way around how he is complaining about other prisoners taunting him. But some real headlines and real information. Robes that we have never heard before, that we are getting now, that's kind of giving us. He hasn't told us why he did it, but we're getting a little more insight into maybe why he did this.
Amy Robach
Yes, this is fascinating stuff because even at the sentencing hearing, we were all hoping that Bryan Kohberger was going to say something to the families of those just brutally murdered Idaho students. He said nothing. Everyone wanted to know the why. Everyone wanted to know if there was a connection between these students, any of these students and him. And now we are starting to actually get real information because a gag order has been lifted. And one of the digital forensics experts has been talking about what she uncovered while investigating this trial or preparing for this trial and investigating this crime. And what we're learning is creepy. It's. It's like stuff movies are made of. Horror movies are made of what this man, Brian Coburger, was doing in the weeks leading up to the murders and then in the weeks following the murders before he was actually captured.
TJ Holmes
So to remind you all to catch you up here. Yes, he. The murders happened back in 2020, was preparing for trial this year. He pleads guilty, just sentenced last month.
Amy Robach
Yes.
TJ Holmes
So this is where we are. Even on the day of his sentencing, when all this was finally over, a lot of the gag orders were lifted and a lot of things were unsealed. And I think immediately after, I think those press conferences, some officials were starting to give out a little more information publicly. And this brings us today, this Heather Barnhart is her name. She's a digital forensics expert. So she is not under any kind of gag order, but she's starting to give some interviews. So this is why we're getting a lot of these details. And she Robes was one of the ones, and she was prepared to testify, and she's telling us what she was going to say. But she is one of the ones who went through his phone. And this stuff is fascinating.
Amy Robach
It truly is. So she was able to find out that he was planning this murder for quite some time. She can see and she could tell. And actually he tried to cover up his Searches and his research and these PDF files and these documents he was downloading on serial killers. Multiple, multiple serial killers that he was obsessed with. She basically said not just casually Google searching him them, but actually obsessed with them. And there was a.
TJ Holmes
Study is a good way to put it. He was studying them.
Amy Robach
And that is some scary stuff when you start to see who he was studying and who he was obsessed with. There was actually one particular serial killer who he seemed to be fixated on.
TJ Holmes
Danny Rolling. Now, I don't know if that name, I didn't recognize the name when I first saw it. Robes, but Danny Rawling. Some people might remember the murders in 1990 down in Florida near the University of Florida campus. Danny Rolling was known as the Gainesville Ripper. And he killed five students down there over a stretch of a few days. Now, if that doesn't sound familiar to you, this will. This guy served as the inspiration for one of the greatest, probably horror movie franchises of all time.
Amy Robach
Scream.
TJ Holmes
Yeah.
Amy Robach
And so, yes, he was called the Gainesville Ripper. And he would go into these college students rooms through a sliding glass door, an open door. And then he killed them and posed their bodies. And so it appears when you look and see what Coburger did in terms of getting through in a sliding glass door, he stalked, they believe he stalked this home to look and see where he could go in, where he could enter. And it just, it was scarily similar to what. If you go back and look and see what Rolling did, it's kind of eerily similar to what Kohberger did.
TJ Holmes
And yeah, you said he. I think they had. Did they say 20. I think they said 20 serial killers that he had research on, but this was one in particular. Go ahead, Rose.
Amy Robach
Yeah, well, some of the ones he was researching are household names. Was looking into Ted Bundy, he was looking into John Wayne Gacy. But there are 20 names and all of these people he. I. It was really interesting how this forensic experts put it. She said he didn't just Google these cases, he downloaded full PDFs of case files. Not once, but repeatedly. He was downloading detailed reports about serial killers. This wasn't casual browsing. This was meticulous research.
TJ Holmes
I mean, so that, I mean, that answers a pretty significant question, does it not? This dude was planning to kill somebody while he was doing this research. He might not have even known who, but he. This was a plan. This wasn't just random. He didn't just happen upon a house, happened upon some people he wanted to kill. That is terrifying.
Amy Robach
And think about It. He also was a PhD student. He was getting his master's degree in criminology. So he. He was a student of crime and then became someone who took it to the next level and wanted to become a serial killer. It looked as though that was what he was researching, even academically, and then in his free time, was taking it even a step further, which is just chilling.
TJ Holmes
You said he wanted to be a serial killer. He also didn't want to get caught. That is part of the information that's come out again from this forensic scientist who went through his phone, who was prepared, who was supposed to be a witness at his trial. Says here, quote, he was diligent in prep and cleanup, and he made our job really hard. This is someone who tried really hard to not be detected.
Amy Robach
What?
TJ Holmes
I mean, I don't know how much they've gotten in the psych evaluation of this guy, but he wanted to be a serial killer. He was trying to get away with this. I mean, I guess this. Sometimes people are wired strangely. This is an illness. This is sick.
Amy Robach
It is sick. And even at the time where they were trying to, again, build the case against him, should it have gone to trial. But his phone, he even knew he didn't lose signal or run out of battery when he was at the home of those four college students. Right before he went and committed these heinous acts, he turned his. His phone off, but he also took his wifi off. Took his like. He meticulously made sure that his phone would not link him to this crime. So for a full two hours, his phone was completely turned off, out of service, and unavailable for any sort of way that they could trace where somebody was at the time of the crime.
TJ Holmes
So this is how particular. And this is what digital forensics can do. They know exactly when his Phone went dark? November 13, 2022, the day of the murders. Phone went dark 2:54am Came back at 4:48am in that stretch of time, four kids were murdered in Idaho.
Amy Robach
That wasn't a coincidence. And the other interesting thing they found on his phone was that they could go back and see where it had logged into WI Fi. And everyone was looking for this connection. Did Coburger know his victims? Did he stalk them? Did he watch them? Well, it turns out two of the victims worked at a Greek restaurant, the Mad Greek, I believe was the name of it. And they were able to go back and see twice. I believe his phone connected to that WI Fi. So it appears, at least on two occasions, he was in the same restaurant. Where two of the victims worked. So there is now for the first time, a real potential connection that maybe he did watch these girls. He was specifically targeting them and planning it.
TJ Holmes
That could have been totally random as well. In a smaller town. He happens to go in there. But at the same. They came out and said again, did they not, Robes? After sentencing, they came out and said it again. There is. We have been going through this case since 2022. We have still not found a single connection between this guy and these kids.
Amy Robach
It sounds like he was studying serial killers. He was studying criminology at school in a master's program or a doctorate program. Excuse me. He was getting his PhD. And he was waiting for the right time, perhaps the right victims in the right location. And it's really chilling to think that this was all happening and. And he had this one goal in mind, which is just frightening. Something else that's extra creepy. It brings back and it harkens another horror movie psycho. Because this was also so interesting. This digital forensic expert said the amount of times he would text and call his parents was actually extraordinary. And he had them. He only had the contacts in his phone were mother, father, sister. And he almost had. I think they said they found one other text chain where he might have said one thing to a classmate and that was it. He did not have friends. He did not have other contacts. But to even have his family labeled as mother, father, sister. No names. And immediately after the murders, he was texting his mom before and after at 6:13am and then if his mom wouldn't answer, he'd call his father. It was as if he had to constantly be connected to them and calling them and texting them in a very strange way.
TJ Holmes
How do you have your parents saved in your phone?
Amy Robach
Mom, dad.
TJ Holmes
What about your brother Eric?
Amy Robach
How about you?
TJ Holmes
Yeah, I think I have Mom. I got pop. And then I have Tish. Yeah, I'm trying to think if I.
Amy Robach
But mother, father, sister. Sister's even the weirdest. Can you imagine just having sister in your phone, Pastor?
TJ Holmes
Well, I mean, cousin, daughter. I have never actually heard of it.
Amy Robach
It's almost as if you're. You're desensitized in a way that you are actually not even humanizing. The people in your life are closest to you. You're actually just having some formal name associated with it. Can you imagine Daughter one, daughter two. Instead of Ava and Anneliese. But that's kind of what it's akin to. She pointed it out that it. And if you look to see his texting and calling habits. They were abnormal.
TJ Holmes
They said the details. Again, one last thing about how he kept things hidden. They said some things in robes. He was planning to get away with this. And I guess he studied serial killers, the things they got right and if you will, and the things that got wrong and got them caught. But he was trying to cover his tracks, as he was trying so hard to cover his tracks that you could not find some of the information on that phone unless you had special forensic tools to use. So. So a normal person couldn't do it. So this. He. He was taking Robe, some pretty significant steps to do this and get away with this.
Amy Robach
And then after the murders, he was downloading reports incessantly on the Idaho murders and was doing extensive searches on each of the victims and again, buried these files in directories like. Like a way that you and I wouldn't even know how to do it. But they were able to find that he was obsessed with the crime, obsessed with the coverage of it, and was monitoring it multiple times. They said he was even on the Moscow police constantly going back and checking for updates and looking to see what they had, what they knew, and it was all uncovered through their work.
TJ Holmes
So the. Also in that batch of things he was looking at and looking at press reports that came out from this forensic analysis said that the day before his arrest and the day. Yeah, the day before his arrest, he was searching things like wiretapping. Psychopath and paranoid was in his. In his searches the day before he was arrested.
Amy Robach
That's so bizarre.
TJ Holmes
It's just bizarre.
Amy Robach
It really is. I. I think it's. It's. I love the way the forensic expert put this. She said with what they were able to find, there wasn't a single smoking gun. But what they found was digital evidence that told a story of preparation. So that was a big part of it. This was so premeditated. This was prepared, it was analyzed, it was researched. And then he was. And became obsessed with what was going. If he was going to get caught.
TJ Holmes
Oh, my goodness. All right. Well, folks, the latest thing with him, and it's. This is bizarre in a bizarre case robes, is that he's in prison and apparently the other prisoners aren't being nice to him. And those reports have been out there to the point that now the Idaho Department of Corrections has actually had to put out a statement and respond to what's happening to him. I'll summarize now. Shut up, Brian.
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TJ Holmes
Continuing now with what's pretty much some certainly never before heard, but pretty stunning details. Robes about Bryan Coburger, who was convicted, of course, in serving four life sentences for the deaths for those brutal murders of those four University of Idaho students. And we've been talking about this, this forensic, digital forensic expert who went through his phone and was prepared to testify at his trial, but of course he ended up pleading guilty. But we've, we've shared some of the quotes that are out there, but this one we kind of saved because this quote, I think maybe is the strongest one we've heard so far from this forensic expert and maybe even from anybody to try to explain the why. This is as close as we get.
Amy Robach
Everybody wants to know the why, but this is what she said. This wasn't someone who just snapped. This was someone who planned he didn't accidentally stumble into this house and commit the heinous crime. It was intentional.
TJ Holmes
That's tough.
Amy Robach
It really is tough. And you know, she said we're never going to be able to give the families a true why he did this, but they wanted to. And their whole purpose was to at least show how he did it and really not make it. Like it wasn't something he just decided to do on impulse. This was something that was planned. It was not spontaneous. And that was a part of understanding the why. You know, you don't, you won't be able to ever know why he chose who he Chose. But in understanding the why, he was intentional. He was planning this. This was what he wanted to be and become and he wanted to do. Seems as though he wanted to do it more than once. He wanted to build up this serial killer reputation. It's really disturbing.
TJ Holmes
You know, I. Every story, right. We, we learned this very early on. The who, what, when, where, why and how. We've answered everything, I think, except the why now, because really, through some of this information that this analyst has put out, we, we are at least in the public understanding more of the how. The how he did this was not just randomly how he was able to be on the run and undetected for so long. Kind of makes more sense now because he had no connection. Maybe he made sure he had no connection to these kids. I don't perhaps, but he covered his tracks as well. Something. But this is the why is left the how. This helps.
Amy Robach
Yeah, it does. I, I think that it is incredibly helpful. I wonder what his parents knew, or suspected, if anything at all. But it did seem as though he was so closely tied to them, at least electronically, and it seemed as if he had a very close relationship with them. It's hard to imagine they didn't wonder about his disposition or wonder about his mindset. If he's researching all of this, living in this, a criminal criminology PhD student, would there be signs? Were there signs? It's I wonder what that relationship must be like with his family who sat in court with him every day and cried prisoner. Yeah, the mom cried. But prisoners, when he was being held during, right before the trial, after he was arrested, described him as talking on the phone with his mom for hours. So this. Yeah. It's just fascinating to think that they wouldn't have known something was off.
TJ Holmes
And I have it right. And you remind me, I'm sorry if you don't know either. There was an uptick, they said, right. In messages to his mom. What, the morning after the killings and somewhere around his arrest.
Amy Robach
Yes. So two different times right before he was arrested. Yes. And then right before, Right after the murders were committed. So he committed the murders between somewhere between 2 and 4am at 6:13am they said he was just non stop texting his mom and calling his mom and his dad, both of them just very like in a way that drew attention. It was abnormal is how she described it.
TJ Holmes
All right, well, we mentioned off the top here. Yes. Headlines were being made that he in fact was being taunted is the right way to put it, maybe by fellow prisoners at the prison Maximum security prison where he's being held in Idaho. So those reports were getting around. Robes about some pretty. It. I think it was News Nation that was first reporting. I believe they were. What was it that they were screaming at him through the vents or something?
Amy Robach
Yeah, he's isolated. Yeah. So he's. Yeah, physically he's in no danger, but mentally, they're. They're torturing him deliberately. So they're banging on the walls, yelling at him, shouting at him through the vents, I believe is what the description was. And that he's been complaining incessantly to the guards that he's being tormented, and they're saying, hey, you are physically safe. Ain't nothing else we can do. And in fact, the prison, like, come.
TJ Holmes
On, this is a good statement.
Amy Robach
I love the statement from prison.
TJ Holmes
Okay. How often do we. When do we ever get a chance to say, hey, Department of Corrections, you nailed it on that press release.
Amy Robach
Department of Corrections nailed it on this statement that they said. And they. This is what they gave out to the news outlets who were asking, hey, you know, he's complaining. He's saying he's being tortured. So here's what the. What the prison said. We are aware of CO Berger's complaints about what he considers taunting. Incarcerated individuals commonly communicate with each other in prison. Bryan Coburger is housed alone in a cell, and IDOC security staff maintain a safe and orderly environment for all individuals in our custody. I love that.
TJ Holmes
I think you read it the way they meant it to be read. Whoever is on that staff, I don't know who came up with that, but what a way to put it. They commonly communicate with each other in prison. That was just well done. Great. I don't think anybody cares about him not being able to sleep. And I understand we're not suggesting any inhumane treatment of anyone, but complaining about being taunted by fellow prisoners. Well done, I.D. department of Corrections.
Amy Robach
And I don't think anyone's shedding one tear for poor Mr. Cobur who doesn't like being mentally tortured or having to have people kicking the doors and utilizing the vent system to shout whatever they'd like at him. I kind of want to know what they're saying, but just. I just kind of want to know.
TJ Holmes
It's just common prisoner talk. Just common.
Amy Robach
Yeah. I wonder what that is. I wouldn't know.
TJ Holmes
But fellow prisoners, well, this was one. And we should remember. Ethan Chapin, 20 years old. Zana Kernodle, 20 years old. Madison Mogan, 21 years old. And Kaylee Gun Calvis, 21 years old, the four victims in all this. And I think Rome, I would really wonder what the families think about the information they've gotten because we're learning it for the first time. They. They were complaining about the lack of information, so they're learning a lot of things now as well. Wonder how they feel about this bit of information.
Amy Robach
It's probably so hard to hear, to know that he had been quietly planning all of this all along and perhaps was even stalking and. And watching their loved ones before he ended up doing just what no parent wants to wake up and hear. Look, I just. Anneliese, literally, as we're recording this, is on her way to her college campus where she is going to be living in a house with six other folks. And I have been repeatedly telling her the story. Please lock your doors. Please lock your doors. She actually yelled at me yesterday, mom, stop talking about the Idaho murders. But this is something. This is every parent's worst nightmare. Anyone who's sending their kids off to college right now, this is the time of year where all doing that. And this is just a cautionary tale, a scary one at that. But to know that there are evil.
TJ Holmes
People out there and yes, lock your doors. You feel safe in numbers, right? There's six of us living in this house.
Amy Robach
There are guys in our. In our house. And I said there was a. There was a guy in the Idaho house as well. It doesn't make you immune to certain people who want to do evil, who want to do something terrible. And so locking your doors and just being aware that people like this exist in the world, it's not just in the movies. These are unfortunately people who are living around us and among us. And it's just. It is a cautionary tale.
TJ Holmes
All right, folks, we'll continue to keep an eye on this case as more information does continue to trickle out. We always appreciate you listening with us. I'm TJ Holmes alongside my partner, Amy Robach. Talk to you all soon.
Amy Robach
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Amy Robach
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Amy Robach
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Amy Robach
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Amy Robach
This is an iHeart podcast.
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Episode: Convicted Idaho Murderer Brian Kohberger Meticulously Researched Serial Killers, Possibly Inspired By “The Gainesville Ripper”
Date: August 15, 2025
Hosts: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes
In this gripping episode, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes dissect newly revealed details in the case of Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of brutally murdering four University of Idaho students. Now serving four life sentences, Kohberger’s case has transfixed the country. With a court gag order recently lifted, digital forensic expert Heather Barnhart can speak publicly, introducing chilling findings about Kohberger’s motivations, his methodical planning, and his obsession with notorious serial killers, especially the Gainesville Ripper. The hosts grapple with what these discoveries mean, particularly for the victims’ families and for anyone trying to understand the "why" behind such horror.
Even at sentencing, Kohberger refused to offer any explanation to the victims’ families.
The public and the families hoped for insight into whether there was a connection between Kohberger and his victims.
"Everyone wanted to know the why. Everyone wanted to know if there was a connection between these students, any of these students and him. And now we are starting to actually get real information because a gag order has been lifted."
— Amy Robach [03:23]
The lifting of the gag order has allowed experts to share insights never before available.
Digital forensic specialist Heather Barnhart revealed evidence regarding Kohberger's extensive planning.
"She was able to find out that he was planning this murder for quite some time...downloading PDF files and documents on serial killers. Multiple, multiple serial killers that he was obsessed with."
— Amy Robach [05:11]
Kohberger did not casually search; he obsessively downloaded and repeatedly reviewed case files on over 20 serial killers—including Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy.
"This wasn't casual browsing. This was meticulous research."
— Amy Robach [07:12]
There was a particular fixation on Danny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper, whose crimes and methods closely mirrored Kohberger’s.
"Danny Rolling was known as the Gainesville Ripper...this guy served as the inspiration for one of the greatest, probably horror movie franchises of all time."
— TJ Holmes [05:54]
"If you go back and look and see what Rolling did, it's kind of eerily similar to what Kohberger did."
— Amy Robach [06:28]
Kohberger, a criminology PhD student, studied not only for academic purposes but to strategize his own crimes.
"He was a student of crime and then became someone who took it to the next level and wanted to become a serial killer."
— Amy Robach [08:04]
He meticulously ensured his phone could not be used against him:
"He turned his phone off, but he also took his Wi-Fi off...for a full two hours, his phone was completely turned off, out of service, and unavailable for any sort of way that they could trace..."
— Amy Robach [09:16]
Digital forensics could pinpoint exactly when:
"Phone went dark 2:54am. Came back at 4:48am. In that stretch of time, four kids were murdered in Idaho."
— TJ Holmes [09:57]
Forensics also revealed his phone had been at “The Mad Greek”—the restaurant where two victims worked—twice, showing some degree of possible stalking or pre-planning.
"There is now for the first time, a real potential connection that maybe he did watch these girls."
— Amy Robach [10:18]
Kohberger’s phone contacts were limited to "mother," "father," and "sister"; he had no evidence of friends or typical social interaction.
"The amount of times he would text and call his parents was actually extraordinary...He did not have friends. He did not have other contacts."
— Amy Robach [11:25]
His communication with family intensified suspiciously after the murders and before his arrest.
"He committed the murders between somewhere between 2 and 4am. At 6:13am they said he was just non stop texting his mom and calling his mom and his dad, both of them just very like in a way that drew attention."
— Amy Robach [24:03]
Kohberger obsessively searched for news and police updates about the case, burying these files in deep, obscure digital directories.
"He was obsessed with the crime, obsessed with the coverage of it, and was monitoring it multiple times."
— Amy Robach [14:15]
The day before his arrest, his web searches included “wiretapping”, “psychopath”, and “paranoid”.
"The day before his arrest, he was searching things like wiretapping. Psychopath and paranoid was in his searches."
— TJ Holmes [14:52]
Barnhart, the forensic expert, stressed there was no single “smoking gun,” but a mountain of digital evidence “told a story of preparation.”
"This wasn't someone who just snapped. This was someone who planned. He didn't accidentally stumble into this house and commit the heinous crime. It was intentional."
— Heather Barnhart (quoted by Amy Robach) [21:09]
"There wasn't a single smoking gun. But what they found was digital evidence that told a story of preparation."
— Amy Robach [15:19]
Recent headlines report Kohberger is being taunted by other prisoners, leading him to complain to guards—though physically he is safe.
"He's in prison and apparently the other prisoners aren't being nice to him...he's being tormented. They're banging on the walls, yelling at him, shouting at him through the vents..."
— Amy Robach [24:50]
The prison’s official statement dismissed his complaints with dry understatement:
"Incarcerated individuals commonly communicate with each other in prison. Bryan Coburger is housed alone in a cell, and IDOC security staff maintain a safe and orderly environment for all individuals in our custody."
— Idaho Department of Corrections statement, read by Amy Robach [25:23]
Reflection on the victims and the ongoing grief for their loved ones as new, disturbing information surfaces.
Amy shares how the episode has made her more vigilant, especially with her own daughter heading to college.
"This is every parent's worst nightmare. Anyone who's sending their kids off to college right now...this is just a cautionary tale, a scary one at that."
— Amy Robach [27:12]
"Locking your doors and just being aware that people like this exist in the world, it's not just in the movies."
— Amy Robach [28:03]
On forensic evidence:
"He was diligent in prep and cleanup, and he made our job really hard. This is someone who tried really hard to not be detected."
— Heather Barnhart, quoted by TJ Holmes [08:32]
On the significance of the research:
"This was a plan. This wasn't just random. He didn't just happen upon a house, happened upon some people he wanted to kill. That is terrifying."
— TJ Holmes [07:41]
On prison life:
"I'll summarize now. Shut up, Brian."
— TJ Holmes [15:46]
Reflecting on the purpose of sharing these findings:
"They wanted to...at least show how he did it and really not make it like it wasn't something he just decided to do on impulse. This was something that was planned. It was not spontaneous."
— Amy Robach [21:25]
Flow & Tone:
Robach and Holmes maintain a tone that is both analytical and empathetic—combining factual detail, forensic insight, and personal reflection. Their candid, at times conversational style (“I'll summarize now. Shut up, Brian.” [15:46]) underscores the emotional gravity of the case without veering into sensationalism.
This episode provides a chilling look into how a seemingly studious criminology PhD student transformed his academic fascination into real-life horror. The revelations, sourced from never-before-shared forensic evidence, illuminate just how obsessive, deliberate, and premeditated Bryan Kohberger’s crimes were, and highlight the necessity for ongoing vigilance and understanding—both for justice and for the safety of future generations.