(NewsNation) — Bryan Kohberger emerged from heroin dependence a seemingly more stable person in the years leading up to the 2022 slayings of four University of Idaho students, a sister of the convicted murderer tells the New York Times.
“We were all so proud of him because he had overcome so much,” Melissa Kohberger said in a story published this weekend.
The mental health counselor describes how family members — Bryan Kohberger’s parents and his two adult sisters — have tried to reconcile the horror of the killings with the son and brother they’ve known.
Melissa Kohberger specifically avoided discussing the Idaho murders but talked about her brother’s upbringing in eastern Pennsylvania and the problems he had as a youth. She said Bryan Kohberger, now 31, had spiraled into heroin addiction after being bullied.
At one point, she said, he stole her phone and sold it to buy narcotics, prompting her parents to call police. The family feared he might be on a path to an early death, but he went through treatment, the sister said.
From there, Melissa Kohberger said, her brother appeared to be on more solid footing, although she would still argue with him because of what she called an abrasive personality. She became interested in mental health as a profession, while he moved toward a policing career.
Bryan Kohberger attended DeSales University in eastern Pennsylvania before enrolling in a graduate program for criminology at Washington State University. The latter campus is a brief distance from the University of Idaho, which caused Melissa Kohberger to worry when four Idaho students were found fatally stabbed in a rental home in November 2022. She recalls telling her brother, “Be careful.”
By year’s end, investigators had zeroed in on Bryan Kohberger. He was arrested while visiting his family in Pennsylvania, triggering immediate public scrutiny on the suspect and his family.
Melissa Kohberger said she was preparing to start a new job as a mental health counselor before publicity scuttled the opportunity. She likened the unwanted attention to “being victimized but not really being a victim.”
The sister says her mother prays daily for the four Idaho victims: Kaylee Goncalves, 22; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. She said she herself has entered their birthdays into her digital calendar and acknowledges the pain their families are feeling, especially around the holidays.
“The idea is making me so emotional that I can barely speak to you about it,” Melissa Kohberger said.