{"id":88591,"date":"2026-01-04T05:30:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T05:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88591\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T05:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T05:30:16","slug":"bryan-kohbergers-sister-reveals-killers-final-moments-before-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88591\/","title":{"rendered":"Bryan Kohberger&#8217;s sister reveals killer&#8217;s final moments before arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The sister of the  Bryan Kohberger revealed the final Christmas she spent with the sadistic killer just days before police raided their family home and nabbed him for the fatal Idaho University stabbings.<\/p>\n<p>Mel Kohberger said she felt nauseous when she learned her brother had been arrested for the murders of four college students, and denied having any knowledge of his crimes prior to his arrest, in an interview with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/03\/us\/idaho-murders-bryan-kohberger-family.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Times.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have always been a person who has spoken up for what was right, if I ever had a reason to believe my brother did anything, I would have turned him in,\u201d said. <\/p>\n<p>Kohberger, a Ph.D. in criminology at Washington State University, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/31\/us-news\/kohberger-may-have-come-face-to-face-with-idaho-roommate-before-murders\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">received four life sentences<\/a> in July for killing Idaho University students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50146628;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38087895\" width=\"886\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/bryan-kohberger-appears-ada-county-108600457.jpg\" alt=\"Bryan Kohberger\" class=\"wp-image-38087895\"  \/>Bryan Kohberger\u2019s final days with family revealed.  AP<\/p>\n<p>He pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal which allowed him to avoid the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p>Kohberger had fatally stabbed the co-eds at an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022. Just weeks later he joined his family for Christmas in their Pennsylvania home in early December.<\/p>\n<p>His sister revealed that the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/28\/us-news\/bryan-kohberger-whinging-about-type-of-bananas-he-gets-in-prison\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">twisted killer<\/a> engaged in party games with his family and enjoyed vegan cookies baked especially for him by their mom. <\/p>\n<p>Mel confessed that Kohberger had even recoiled at the site of blood when she cut herself on foil.<\/p>\n<p>Five days after Christmas F.B.I officers crashed into their home and arrested Kohberger for the brutal slayings of four young souls. Mel, who had left their parents home, was told by her sister Amanda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was like, \u2018I\u2019m with the F.B.I., Bryan\u2019s been arrested, I was like, \u2018For what?\u2019\u201d Mel said.<\/p>\n<p>Mel, who was pursuing a career in psychology when her brother was arrested, revealed he once stole her cell phone to pay for drugs.<\/p>\n<p>She said her brother had become a heroin addict after being ruthlessly bullied in high school, and his family worried he would die at a young age. <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>But his family believed he had taken a turn for the better after he received drug treatment and went on to study psychology at DeSales University and pursue a Ph.D.. in criminology at Washington State University. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were all so proud of him because he had overcome so much,\u201d Mel told the New York Times. <\/p>\n<p>However, a happy ending wasn\u2019t in store for ex-druggie, and he\u2019ll be spending the rest of his life behind bars. <\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50146628;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38087892\" width=\"886\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/kohberger-family-mother-maryann-kohberger-108612368.jpg\" alt=\"The Kohberger family, mother Maryann Kohberger, middle in black glasses, and sister Amanda Kohberger, front, leaves the Ada County Courthouse after the Bryan Kohberger sentencing Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo\/Drew Nash)\" class=\"wp-image-38087892\"  \/>The Kohberger family, mother Maryann Kohberger, middle in black glasses, and sister Amanda Kohberger, front, leaves the Ada County Courthouse after the Bryan Kohberger sentencing Wednesday, July 23, 2025. AP<\/p>\n<p>She also revealed the meaning of the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/07\/23\/us-news\/bryan-kohberger-has-odd-drawing-alongside-him-as-he-listens-to-idaho-victim-impact-statements\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">creepy black heart<\/a> drawing he had with him during his sentencing hearing. <\/p>\n<p>Mel said that she drew the heart \u2014 which many internet sleuths thought symbolized the deranged killer\u2019s dark hearted nature \u2014 as a show of support for her brother. <\/p>\n<p>Mel revealed she wanted to be at the sadistic killer\u2019s sentencing hearing, but couldn\u2019t attend because she needed to take care of their father who developed heart problems.<\/p>\n<p>Bryan\u2019s murders gave rise to an army of internet true crime sleuths who raised suspicions that Mel or her family knew of Bryan\u2019 crimes prior to his arrest. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s confusing it\u2019s painful. It\u2019s like being victimized but not really being a victim,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The sister of the Bryan Kohberger revealed the final Christmas she spent with the sadistic killer just days&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[30675,27524,238,9,11,10,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-88591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-bryan-kohberger","9":"tag-idaho","10":"tag-murders","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}