Idaho Murders convict Bryan Kohberger was obsessed with this ‘creepiest’ Hollywood movie, cellmate reveals his true-crime fixation | Hollywood News

Bryan Kohberger’s obsession with psycho killers

In a new interview, it was revealed that Bryan’s favourite movie is American Psycho. The 2000 film stars Christian Bale as a wealthy psychopath who murders people. The cellmate further revealed that Bryan always talked about true crime stories, especially Alex Murdaugh’s trial, where the lawyer was convicted of killing his wife and son. He spent hours watching CourtTV, never missed an episode of Nancy Grace’s Crime Stories, and even closely followed the development of his own case, though he tended to quickly change the channel whenever his family or friends were mentioned. “Kohberger analysed everything. He wanted to know why people had preferences for anything. He ‘psychoanalyses everything,’” the cellmate, whose name was not mentioned in the interview, said, according to the NY Post.

Also read: HBO’s new true crime documentary is so traumatic, filmmaker quit career, abandoned damaging footage, crew needed therapy

The cellmate described Bryan Kohberger as obsessively clean, he’d spend an hour in the shower, scrub his hands raw, and go through three bars of soap at once. Earlier, leaked prison footage showed Bryan walking with red hands, which many found suspicious. He also had a habit of constantly asking for fresh sheets and clothes. Despite his strange routines and what the cellmate called his “creepy eyes,” Bryan came across as smart and easy to get along with. Still, he never once revealed why he committed the murders.

Bryan’s disturbing behaviour, however, was visible long before the killings. During his time at Washington State University, students and staff filed over 13 formal complaints against him. Most of these were his offensive and discriminatory remarks (sexist, homophobic, ableist, xenophobic, most of which often targeted women.) A divorced woman said he told her he didn’t date “broken women.”  A deaf classmate recalled him asking if she was “comfortable having children with a disability.” Many female students reported that he humiliated them in class and often clashed with female professors, sometimes even following them to their cars, forcing them to arrange escorts for safety. His behaviour was so troubling that entire groups of students were made to attend discrimination training because of the things he said, though Bryan himself sat back, ignoring everything. 

Faculty members were alarmed as well. Some thought he was just simply socially awkward, but they later realised his behaviour was darker. A professor even warned colleagues that if he ever got his Ph.D., he could go on to harass or abuse his future students, calling him a predator in the making. His lack of empathy and obsession with the emotions behind committing crimes were often discussed by his classmates and professors. 

On November 13, 2022, Bryan drove from his WSU apartment to a rental home in Moscow, Idaho. Four students, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Xana’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, were inside their vacation home. That’s when Bryan broke in during the night and brutally stabbed all four to death with a knife. The killings shocked the entire country. Prime Video recently aired a documentary on the same, uncovering how police traced his DNA, cell phone records, and surveillance footage. In July 2025, before going to trial, he struck a deal to avoid the death penalty by pleading guilty to four counts of murder and one count of burglary.