Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger Was 'Inspired by Evil Incel Elliot Rodger' as 'Gorgeous Victims Represented Everything He Could Not Have'
Bryan Kohberger may have been inspired by a fellow killer who was angry at society.
May 12 2025, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Bryan Kohberger left behind social media clues hinting he may have been inspired by mass murderer Elliot Rodger.
Just like Rodger, the Idaho murders suspect allegedly also decided to end the lives of college students in a horrific knife attack that left four people dead, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Fellow Incels?
Kohberger is believed to have been inspired by killer Rodger.
During their investigation of Kohberger, police discovered he was active on social media weeks before he would be handcuffed and thrown behind bars for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodl, and Ethan Chapin.
A Facebook user named Pappa Rodger – an account Kohberger is believed to have been behind – left a message in the University of Idaho Murders' Case Discussion group which read: “Of the evidence released, the murder weapon has been consistent as a large xed blade knife. This leads me to believe they found the sheath.”
A sheath was found at the bloody crime scene, however, authorities did not make it public until after Kohberger's social media post. As for the Facebook handle Pappa Rodger, a forensic expert suggested it is a reference to Rodger.
In 2014, Rodger – then 22 years old – murdered six people at the University of California, Santa Barbara, including two women from a sorority on the campus.
The kill spree is believed to have been discussed in criminology classes – and Kohberger was studying for a Ph.D. in the same subject.
Rodger famously described himself as an incel, or involuntarily celibate male," the expert added. "I believe Kohberger was also an incel and he killed those three girls because they were gorgeous and represented everything he could not obtain."
The Anti-Defamation League also defines incels as “heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success.”
Rodger was considered an incel, which is described as men who blame society for their lack of romantic relationships.
Rodger ended up shooting himself dead after the rampage.
As for Kohberger, he was arrested on December 30, 2022, and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. Kohberger's legal team entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in May 2023.
Recently, a video showing a white sedan, a car believed to have been driven by Kohberger was revealed to the public. The clip, captured by a neighbor's home security, is said to show the suspected killer driving near the scene where four students would be killed just one day later.
Overwhelming Proof... Or Broken Case?
Kohberger is suspected of killing four college students.
In the footage, first obtained by Dateline, the car makes repeated passes of the house on King Road before quickly driving away 13 minutes later.
The car, along with DNA and cellphone date, will be enough to convict the now 30-year-old, at least according to prosecutors. An FBI cellphone expert revealed that Kohberger's phone connected to a cell tower near the crime scene 23 times over a four-month period: all after dark.
A guilty conviction may lead to Kohberger being thrown on death row, but the defense may have a trick up their sleeve: they claimed detectives in the small town kept secret a glove stained with blood from a second unidentified male that they found outside the home.
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Kohberer's legal team claimed DNA of an unknown male was also discovered in the crime scene.
"The unknown blood samples give the defense the perfect tool to say their client was set up," Paul Huebl, a former Chicago cop turned Hollywood private eye, previously said.
He added this possible evidence will give the "jury reasonable doubt and makes it very hard to convict in a death-penalty case."
Kohberger's trial is set to begin in August 2025.
