Bryan Kohberger fired as teaching assistant before arrest in student killings

Bryan Kohberger was reportedly fired as a teaching assistant at Washington State University after it investigated him for run-ins with a professor and his behavior toward women in the weeks leading up to his arrest in the murders of four University of Idaho students.

Kohberger, 28, who was a Ph.D student a WSU, met with faculty members to discuss his job performance and disturbing behavior with female students, according to The New York Times.

On Sept. 23, 2022, he had a verbal “altercation” with Professor John Snyder, whom he was assisting, according to the termination letter obtained by the newspaper.

Kohberger met with a university official to “discuss norms of professional behavior,” the Times reported, citing three sources and a letter that informed him he had failed to meet the conditions required to maintain his funding.

A professor emailed Kohberger the following month about “the ways in which you had failed to meet your expectations as a T.A. thus far in the semester,” according to the outlet.

On Nov. 2 — 11 days before Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found dead — department officials reportedly met with Kohberger to discuss an improvement plan.

But on Dec. 9, Kohberger had another “altercation” with Snyder, the Times reported.

In December, professors also were informed that Kohberger had made multiple female students feel uncomfortable, according to the paper.

In one incident, he allegedly followed a woman to her car, two sources familiar with the situation told the Times on condition of anonymity.

The university did not find Kohberger guilty of any wrongdoing regarding the female student, two people told the paper.

The decision to eliminate his funding and remove him as TA was based on his unsatisfactory performance in the position, including his failure to meet the “norms of professional behavior” in his dealings with the faculty, according to the sources.

On Dec. 19, the department informed Kohbrger that he “had not made progress regarding professionalism” and removed him from his position, the paper reported.

WSU spokesman Phil Weiler told the Times that a federal student privacy law prohibited him from commenting in detail about Kohberger, saying only that he was no longer enrolled at the school.

His attorney did not respond to a message by the Times seeking comment.

There have been several reports of Kohberger making women feel uncomfortable.

The owner of the Seven Sirens Brewing Company in Pennsylvania said Kohberger harassed women at his bar, where he usually sat alone “observing and watching” other patrons until he started drinking.

The suspect, who allegedly killed the four University of Idaho students on Nov. 13 as they slept in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, was arrested at his family’s home in Pennsylvania in late December.

He remains in Latah County Jail in Moscow, Idaho, on four counts of first-degree murder and a felony burglary charge. He is scheduled to appear back in front of the judge on June 26.