Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield

Episode Title: Kohberger Caught on Camera? A Prison Insider Weighs In
Release Date: August 16, 2025

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, Ashleigh Banfield investigates a newly surfaced and potentially explosive jail video, allegedly depicting Bryan Kohberger—the suspected quadruple murderer of four Idaho students—inside a jail cell. To verify the authenticity and significance of the mysterious footage, Banfield consults Larry Levine, an ex-inmate and professional prison consultant, for expert analysis. Together, they dissect clues from the leaked video and discuss security, prison politics, and the psychological state of a high-profile criminal like Kohberger. The episode offers rare, candid insights into penal life and the aftermath of notorious crimes, all while keeping a sharp, irreverent edge.

Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. The Mysterious Jail Video Leak ([00:42])

• A shocking video emerges in a Facebook group, allegedly showing Bryan Kohberger inside a jail cell—an unprecedented look beyond his previous mugshots.
• Uncertainty surrounds the video's authenticity; official statements from Idaho authorities are presented:
  • Ada County Sheriff's Office outright denies their facility is where it was filmed.
  • Latah County Jail refuses to comment.
  • Idaho Department of Corrections states, “We are aware of the videos circulating online and are investigating the matter. While we cannot yet confirm the veracity ... if verified, they are a clear violation of IDOC policy ...” ([04:54])
• Banfield notes the timeline: July 23 (Kohberger’s sentencing), and swift transfers to maximum security, suggesting the video may originate from the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

2. Video Details: “Is It the Real Deal?”

([07:47]–[10:35])

• Visual clues analyzed:
  • The cell is unusually large—appears to be a handicapped-accessible room, with support bars near the toilet.
  • Several pairs of shoes, a garbage can with a plastic bag, a strange “cage-like” shelf, an electrical cord, and piles of clothes/clothing choices are scrutinized.
  • Banfield highlights: “Whoever's taking this picture is someone looking at a monitor ... So he is under constant surveillance ...” ([09:05])
  • Kohberger’s hands, visible and unusually red, potentially corroborate reports of obsessive-compulsive behavior and incessant hand-washing.

3. Prison Insider Larry Levine Weighs In

([10:35]–[18:45])

• Initial Judgment: Larry affirms, “I believe it's real.” ([10:35])
• Cell arrangements: Handicapped cell with TV monitor locked in a cage; not likely suicide watch—“The guy was not on suicide watch. He's a narcissist. He wanted to live …” ([10:49])
• Shoes and clothing: Having three pairs isn’t abnormal; commissary purchases possible—“You're going to have your shower shoes, your tennis shoes, your steel toe boots...” ([18:50])
• Plastic bag and electrical cord: Routine setups—not suicide watch.

4. Validity and Privacy in Surveillance

([12:55]–[14:42])

• The video appears to be authentic, captured via security camera monitored at a distance—common in high-security, high-profile cases.
• Banfield asks about inmate privacy: “He doesn't have that kind of an expectation of privacy, does he?”
  • Levine confirms: “Not really. ...he was a high prized inmate. ... They could zoom in on him while he's sitting on the toilet ...” ([14:02]–[14:27])

5. Cell Arrangement and High Profile Inmates

([15:14]–[17:30])

• High profile or PC (protective custody) inmates may be temporarily placed in handicapped cells or whatever is available to enhance monitoring.
• The “cage” in the cell is for securing the TV or a monitor and ID card—not for the inmate’s private possessions.

6. Daily Life and Mental Implications

([19:22]–[25:07])

• General daily routine for high-profile, isolated inmates: TV-watching, reading, thinking.
• Banfield comments on Kohberger’s reported compulsive hand washing and extensive phone calls to his mother post-murders.
  • Levine: “He's washing his hands constantly. Imagine he's got some major irritation. ... I've never seen an inmate ... that had red hands like that anywhere.” ([23:35])
  • “It’s like killing those four kids didn’t make any difference to him. It’s like, 'Hi, mom, how are you?' ... Just a cold-hearted son of a bitch, really.” ([24:31])

7. Life on the Inside – Inmate Perspective

([27:30]–[31:50])

• Levine shares insider anecdotes: correctional officer versus “guard” terminology, prison nicknames (“Dumbass, Robocop, Butt Head…”), and a surprisingly positive view of prison time:
  • “I kind of enjoyed prison. I thought it was like a pressure relief ... my own personal adult amusement park.” ([30:19])
• Levine’s consulting today: “I like doing, working with criminals. I really do. I was a professional criminal. I tell people I have a PhD in criminology. Even the cops would say, oh, he's got a PhD. … I gave myself the PhD.” ([32:00])

8. Social Dynamics and Kohberger’s Prospects

([36:53]–[41:30])

• Banfield and Levine discuss rumors that fellow inmates are harassing Kohberger:
  • “They’re taking shifts all day and all night to bang on doors, yell through the vents, and make his life a living hell ...” ([36:53])
  • Levine predicts: “I honestly believe that he'll be dead in the next two, three years ... It won't be the cops that'll get him. ... It's going to be another inmate.” ([38:33])
• Banfield explores Kohberger’s social standing among inmates:
  • Levine: “He's the low man. Nobody is going to accept him, Ashleigh. ... This guy had no regard for these kids and no reason.” ([42:28])

9. Motive and Ongoing Mysteries

([43:40]–[45:50])

• Discussion turns to whether Kohberger targeted a specific victim, stalking behaviors, and unsettling details from documents, such as him possibly addressing Kaylee by name.
• Banfield closes with the big, lingering questions: “Will we ever find out why those four, why Kaylee, Maddie, Ethan, and Zanna? ... It’s the motive. It’s the biggest question.” ([45:51])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ashleigh Banfield:

  • “Whoever's taking this picture is someone looking at a monitor ... he is under constant surveillance, that whole cell, and someone's taken a picture of him on the monitor.” ([09:05])
  • “...his hands in this video, they are extraordinarily red. Again, is it from hand washing? Is it from something else?” ([09:44])

• Larry Levine:

  • “I believe it’s real. It’s a large cell, that’s for sure. ... That’s a handicapped cell. That’s why it’s so big.” ([10:35])
  • “The guy was not on suicide watch. He’s a narcissist. He wanted to live and do whatever.” ([10:49])
  • “It looked kind of like [the bed] was elevated ... Maybe you’re right on the money there [about infirmary setup].” ([20:11])
  • “...he's washing his hands constantly. ... I've never seen an inmate anywhere that I was at ... that had red hands like that anywhere.” ([23:35])
  • “It’s like killing those four kids didn’t make any difference to him. It’s like, ‘Hi, mom, how are you?’ ... Just a cold-hearted son of a bitch, really.” ([24:31])
  • “No one's going to claim Kohlberger. ... Anybody that takes him out ... will achieve folk hero status ... The cops aren’t going to care.” ([41:00])
  • “He's the low man. Nobody is going to accept him, Ashleigh. ... He's below the lowest of the totem pole.” ([42:28])

Key Timestamps

• 00:42: Introduction to video leak; law enforcement statements
• 09:05: Surveillance details; obsessive behaviors highlighted
• 10:35: Larry Levine’s first impressions—video authenticity, cell details
• 12:32: Inmate attire and prison policy
• 14:02: Privacy and surveillance expectations
• 16:31: Analysis of the “cage”—TV/monitor security
• 18:07: Shoe count and commissary purchases
• 23:35: Discussion of red hands, compulsive habits
• 24:31: Discussion of phone calls to parents, emotional detachment
• 30:19: Prison experience anecdotes; “pressure relief” of prison life
• 36:53: Inmate harassment of Kohberger
• 38:33: Prediction of mob justice in prison
• 42:28: Social hierarchy and isolation within prison
• 43:40: Motive, stalking behaviors, and ongoing mysteries
• 45:51: Episode close; remaining questions about motive

Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, irreverent, and unfiltered. Banfield combines journalistic rigor and anecdotal humor; Levine is blunt, explicit, and draws from first-hand penal experience. Their dynamic brings levity to heavy truths and a unique human angle to the chilling subject matter.

Summary for New Listeners

This episode provides a riveting, expert-driven exploration into leaked footage of Bryan Kohberger behind bars, using forensic scrutiny, penal policy, and lived prison wisdom. Listeners get a rare window into the realities of solitary incarceration, inmate hierarchies, the psychology of high-profile criminals, and the persistent questions left in the wake of a headline-making tragedy. For those interested in true crime, criminal justice systems, and the real world behind the headlines, it’s as revealing as it is “drop dead serious.”