(NewsNation) — Bryan Kohberger has been in Idaho’s maximum security prison for nearly two weeks, and one former detective says he’s already losing it.
Placed in “J Block” for his own protection, “Banfield” has learned Kohberger’s fellow hardcore offenders are going out of their way, as far as they can, to make the notorious newcomer miserable.
His fellow inmates have been taking turns shouting through the air ducts, all day and all night, to keep Kohberger from sleeping at night or even hearing himself think during the day.
“The good news is the inmates apparently were waiting for him,” said Chris McDonough, director of the “Cold Case Foundation” and a retired homicide detective.
“They are now making his life absolutely miserable. They’re utilizing the vent system. They’re kicking the doors. They’re taunting him. And they’re basically torturing him through using psychology,” he said. “And my goodness, he’s complaining.”
“We are aware of Kohberger’s complaints about what he considers taunting,” a public information officer for the Idaho Department of Corrections told NewsNation in a statement. “Incarcerated individuals commonly communicate with each other in prison. Bryan Kohberger is housed alone in a cell, and IDOC security staff maintain a safe and orderly environment for all individuals in our custody.”
Bryan Kohberger complaining to prison guards
Kohberger, who was sentenced to life in prison for the killings of four Idaho college students, had been housed in solitary confinement outside of Boise till last week.
He was moved to the restrictive block one week after being sentenced. However, Kohnberger is still complaining to guards even though he’s not facing any potential threat.
“The guards at this point, all the most they can do is write it down or tell him, ‘Hey, there’s nothing we can do. You’re not in physical harm,'” McDonough said.
“They’re under obligation to basically protect him, right? But in this particular situation, he’s in an isolation situation. Those around him can’t get to him physically,” he said. “So, they’ve come up, again, a way of circumventing what the rules may be. Communications are a no-no within the prison. Inmates are extremely creative.”
Bryan Kohberger’s prison block is ‘worst of the worst’
According to McDonough, Kohberger is surrounded by 32 inmates. And apparently, they are the worst of the worst outside of death row.
“It’s really a prison within a prison. However, the disadvantage that he’s at, is that there’s not a whole bunch of room where they can start moving other inmates around,” he said. “So what they wanna do is keep him in protective custody right now until he goes through the process.”