Bryan Kohberger’s harrowing Christmas Day internet searches revealed – and the ‘mistake’ he made covering his tracks

BRYAN Kohberger downloaded information about more than 20 specific serial killers on Christmas Day 2022, digital forensic experts have revealed in brand new interviews.

He later tried to wipe the harrowing research from his phone in a frenzied attempt to cover his tracks — but he made a crucial mistake that allowed prosecutors to discover his digital footprint.

AP

Bryan Kohberger at his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho[/caption]

AP

Danny Rolling at his mental competency hearing in Ocala, Florida, on May 31, 1991[/caption]

Kohberger, 30, spent hours looking up murderers just weeks after he stabbed four college students to death in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.

The trove of downloads, taken from his phone and hard drive, was analyzed by digital forensics expert Heather Barnhart, People reported.

Heather Barnhart revealed to the outlet that Kohberger downloaded information about serial killers, including John Wayne Gacy, Ed Kemper, Rodney Alcala, and Danny Rolling.

She said experts were able to find the downloads, despite Kohberger deleting his history on his desktop and hard drive after using incognito mode.

“People think if they download things while their browser is in incognito mode, it stays private, but it does not,” Heather Barnhart explained.

He went through great lengths to wipe his search history and even ran a data-erasing software on his laptop three days after the murders, Heather and Jared Barnhart told the Daily Mail.

But Kohberger forgot to clear his Android phone after clearing his desktop and hard drive.

“In the end, everyone makes mistakes,” Heather Barnhart said.

Heather Barnhart said Kohberger was obsessed with researching murder cases.

“He didn’t just Google these cases,” Heather Barnhart told The Independent.

“He downloaded full PDFs of case files. Not once, but repeatedly. He was downloading detailed reports on serial killers,” she said.

“This wasn’t casual browsing. This was meticulous research.”

EERILY SIMILAR CASE

Barnhart revealed Kohberger had previously downloaded information about Rolling, known as the Gainesville Ripper, on November 19 — just a week after the murders.

Rolling’s gruesome act holds disturbing similarities to Kohberger’s crime.

In August 1990, Rolling killed five college students, four women and one man, in their homes.

He used a Ka-Bar knife in one of the attacks and broke into several of his victims’ homes through sliding glass doors.

Chillingly, Kohberger stabbed Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin with a Ka-Bar knife after breaking into their home through their sliding glass door.

Instagram/kayleegoncalves

Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle were stabbed to death on November 13, 2022[/caption]

Moscow Police Department

Handprints left on a window in the off-campus home where four college students died[/caption]

But while Rolling was executed for his crimes, Kohberger is serving four life sentences without parole in Idaho’s Maximum Security prison after he confessed to the quadruple murders.

Another difference in the cases is that Rolling sexually assaulted his victims before or after he stabbed them to death.

There was no evidence that Kohberger sexually assaulted his victims, prosecutors said.

No motive has ever been determined in the case, leaving his motivation for the murders a complete mystery.

University of Idaho murders timeline

On November 13, 2022, a brutal home invasion claimed the lives of four University of Idaho students.

Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in a Moscow, Idaho, off-campus home.

A six-week manhunt ensued as cops searched for a suspect.

On December 30, 2022, Bryan Kohberger, 30, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania – 2,500 miles away from the crime scene.

He was taken into custody and charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, was linked to the crime scene through phone records, his car’s location, and DNA evidence found at the home where the murders took place.

The house was demolished in December 2023 despite backlash from the victims’ families.

Kohberger was held at Latah County Jail where he awaited trial.

On September 9, 2024, an Idaho judge ruled to move the upcoming murder trial out of Moscow after Kohberger’s lawyer argued that the town was prejudiced against him.

The trial was expected to start in August 2025.

But on June 30, 2025, Kohberger struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to the charges on July 2.

The move was blasted by the victims’ families, who wanted Kohberger to face justice through a trial.

On July 23, Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Kohberger to four consecutive life sentences in prison with an additional 10 years for burglary.

Friends and family members of the four victims shared powerful impact statements at the sentencing hearing, as roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke also spoke out for the first time.

DISTURBING SEARCHES

However, graphic pornographic searches from Kohberger’s devices shed light on his mindset at the time of the killings.

Cellebrite, the Barnharts’ forensic research team, recovered search terms including “sleeping,” “passed out,” “voyeur,” “forced,” “raped,” and “drugged,” during their forensic analysis, the Daily Mail reported.

“The easiest way to say it is that all of his terms were consistently around non-consensual sex acts,” Jared Barnhart said.

Both Jared and Heather Barnhart were brought on by prosecutors to testify as experts in Kohberger’s murder trial.

Kohberger struck a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty just weeks before the trial began.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).