Bryan Kohberger’s sister reveals ex-heroin addict’s final moments before arrest for gruesome Idaho college murders
The Kohberger family, mother Maryann Kohberger, middle in black glasses, and sister Amanda Kohberger, front, leaves the Ada County Courthouse after the Bryan Kohberger sentencing Wednesday, July 23, 2025. AP
The sister of Bryan Kohberger has spoken publicly about the final Christmas she spent with her brother, just days before law enforcement arrested him in connection with the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students.
In an interview with The New York Times, Mel Kohberger said she felt physically ill when she learned of her brother’s arrest and insisted she had no prior knowledge of the crimes.
“I’ve always been someone who speaks up for what’s right,” she said. “If I had ever believed my brother was capable of something like this, I would have gone to the police myself.”
Bryan Kohberger, a Ph.D. student in criminology at Washington State University at the time of the killings, later pleaded guilty as part of a deal that spared him the death penalty. He received four life sentences in July for the murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves.
The four students were stabbed to death at an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. Weeks later, Kohberger traveled to Pennsylvania and spent Christmas with his family.
Mel Kohberger said her brother appeared normal during the holiday, participating in family games and eating vegan cookies their mother had baked for him. She recalled being struck by how he reacted when she accidentally cut herself on foil, saying he appeared disturbed at the sight of blood.
Five days after Christmas, FBI agents raided the family’s home and arrested Kohberger. Mel said she was no longer at her parents’ house when the arrest happened and learned about it from her sister, Amanda.
“She said, ‘I’m with the FBI. Bryan’s been arrested,’” Mel recalled. “I asked, ‘For what?’”
Mel, who had been pursuing a career in psychology at the time, said her brother struggled with drug addiction in the past, including heroin use, which she said followed years of severe bullying in high school. She recalled a time when he stole her phone to pay for drugs and said the family feared he might die young.
According to Mel, the family believed Bryan had turned his life around after receiving treatment, earning a psychology degree from DeSales University, and beginning doctoral studies in criminology.
“We were all so proud of him because he had overcome so much,” she said.
Mel also addressed public speculation surrounding a black heart drawing Kohberger had with him during his sentencing hearing. Online observers had interpreted it as symbolic, but Mel said she drew it herself as a gesture of support for her brother.
She said she wanted to attend the sentencing but was unable to because she was caring for their father, who developed heart problems after the case became public.
In the aftermath of the murders, online true-crime communities scrutinized Kohberger’s family, with some suggesting they may have known about the crimes beforehand. Mel rejected those claims and described the emotional toll of being linked to such a case.
“It’s confusing. It’s painful,” she said. “It’s like being victimized, but not really being a victim.”
About Post Author
