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Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, is requesting to be transferred from the state’s Maximum Security Institution after filing complaints about death threats and harassment in prison. Kohberger, 30, the former Ph.D. candidate in criminology who was sentenced to life without parole in August, claims he has become the frequent target of other inmates.

The People reported that the multiple handwritten grievances to prison officials alleged that Kohberger is the victim of verbal abuse “minute-by-minute” while being housed in J Block. In a prison email to the Ada County prosecutor, Kohberger claimed another inmate told him, “I’ll b— f— you,” and another “commented, The only a– we’ll be eating is Kohberger’s.”

Kohberger first asked to be removed from J Block, which includes high-risk and high-profile inmates as well as death row, two days after he was assigned to it. He submitted another handwritten note less than a week later in which he asked to be moved to B Block, which he described as quieter and where he would be less targeted for harassment. “Tier 2 of J Block is an environment that I wish to transfer from if possible,” Kohberger wrote. “I request transfer to B Block immediately. I wish to speak with you soon.”

In the notes, Kohberger said that he “has not engaged in flooding, striking, or any other disruptive activity or gang activity.” In prison terminology, flooding is when someone clogs toilets or sinks to cause flooding and striking can mean refusing to work, fighting, or other disciplinary violations. An officer who checks on Kohberger every 30 minutes told Idaho Public Radio that he heard “comments on tiers directed toward Mr. Kohberger that would have been of a vulgar nature.” However, the officer did not remember the details. Kohberger is still in J Block this week, according to records, but state prison officials have not publicly addressed his request.

Trouble with Other Inmates

The problems Kohberger is having in prison began even before he was convicted. In March, at the county jail where Kohberger was held pre-trial, he was laughed at by other inmates when he tried to read a book and one said during a video call when Kohberger’s mother was speaking to him, “Oh, f— you, Kohberger.”

At the jail, another inmate who had committed a triple homicide called Kohberger a “f—ing weirdo” and stated he would have killed Kohberger if it was not for fear of punishment. According to court filings, Kohberger is a loner who had no trouble being alone before his arrest. He was arrested after a video showed him driving by the house where the four college students were murdered, with three of them being killed with a shotgun and the other one with a knife.

Trial court filings showed that Kohberger has what defense attorneys described as a “piercing stare” that made some find him “creepy.” At least one college professor said Kohberger lacked “social graces” and had no sense of humor. As a Ph.D. student and before he was arrested, Kohberger also was “awkward and ill at ease in his social interactions,” according to the filing.

An Idaho prison consultant told the News-Record & Sentinel that Kohberger’s profile “fits a pattern of the high-profile inmate who is nearly always the target of threats, and his particular lack of social grace makes him an especially easy target for that kind of treatment.” A former corrections director for the state Department of Corrections also commented on Kohberger’s high-profile case as one of the most notorious in the state’s history, “behind bars and in the public eye until his death.” He noted Kohberger may be “at risk of becoming the next Jeffrey Dahmer” if he is not protected by guards against other inmates. Dahmer was murdered by a fellow inmate after years of prison bullying.

Prison conditions in Idaho are notorious for the violence. The Idaho Women’s Correctional Center is on lockdown over a contraband cell phone, and Governor Brad Little’s new budget for prisons is expected to reduce recidivism. Inmates in the maximum security unit where Kohberger is staying have included Idaho’s most notorious killers, such as Laverne Pavlay, who was executed last year for killing his wife and her children.

Kohberger, who has lost significant weight during his 2 ½ years in jail and prison, faces decades more in an environment known for its danger. He is in J Block, where he is being closely watched and observed by guards and where he will likely remain for the rest of his life.