The sister of Bryan Kohberger has opened up about the last holiday she spent with her brother just days before he was taken into custody for the fatal stabbings at the University of Idaho.
Mel Kohberger described feeling sick to her stomach when she first heard that police had arrested her brother in connection with the murders.
In an interview with the New York Times, she insisted she had no knowledge of his crimes before his arrest.
“I have always been a person who has spoken up for what was right, if I ever had a reason to believe my brother did anything, I would have turned him in,” she said.
What happened in the brutal Idaho University killings
Bryan Kohberger, who earned a Ph.D. in criminology from Washington State University, was convicted and received four life sentences in July for the murder of Idaho University students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves.
Under a plea deal that spared him the death penalty, Kohberger admitted to fatally stabbing the four students in their off‑campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
Despite the horrific nature of his crimes, Kohberger spent part of December 2022 at his family’s Pennsylvania home for the Christmas holiday, just weeks after the killings.
Family holiday moments with a man later revealed as a killer
Mel Kohberger described how her brother participated in party games with family and even enjoyed vegan cookies that their mother baked for him.
She said he once reacted strongly at the sight of blood after she accidentally cut herself on foil.
But five days after Christmas, the harsh reality of what he had done came crashing in. FBI agents burst into the family home and arrested Kohberger for the killings of the four young students.
Mel, who had already left the house at that point, learned of the arrest from her sister Amanda.
“She was like, ‘I’m with the F.B.I., Bryan’s been arrested,' I was like, ‘For what?’” Mel said.
Family history, addiction and the path to criminology
At the time of his arrest, Mel was pursuing a career in psychology.
She also opened up about a troubling past with her brother, revealing that Kohberger had once stolen her cell phone to pay for drugs.
She said he became addicted to heroin after being severely bullied in high school and that the family feared he would die young.
Still, there was hope for a turnaround. After completing drug treatment, Kohberger went on to study psychology at DeSales University and later pursued a Ph.D. in criminology at Washington State University.
“We were all so proud of him because he had overcome so much,” Mel told the New York Times.
But that turnaround did not last. Instead of a comeback story, Kohberger is now facing life in prison with no possibility of release.
Revealing the story behind the black heart drawing
Mel also addressed the black heart doodle that Kohberger had with him during his sentencing hearing, a symbol that internet sleuths speculated reflected a dark nature.
She said she drew the heart herself as a gesture of support for her brother.
She also shared that she had wanted to attend his sentencing hearing in person, but was unable to because she needed to care for their father, who was dealing with heart problems.
The brutal murders sparked a massive online investigation, with many armchair detectives suggesting that Mel or other family members must have known about Kohberger’s actions before he was arrested. But for Mel, the experience has been painful and bewildering.
“It’s confusing it’s painful. It’s like being victimized but not really being a victim,” she said.