Experts say Idaho quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger will have ‘target on his back’ in general population

By Michael Ruiz Fox News – Published July 9, 2025 – Fox

My cmnt: There are so many problems with our current democrat-run prison system. A democrat politician would rather torture someone for decades with either isolation or solitary confinement (see the movie “Bronson” and the link here) than simply obtain swift justice by executing the murderer. So, in typical democrat style, the dems won’t execute justice and pat themselves on the back as these great moral paragons of virtue while allowing fiendish inmates to do their dirty work.

Bryan Kohberger admitted to killing four University of Idaho students to avoid the death penalty, but his life could still be in danger, according to a former prison pastor who is in touch with convicts around the country.

Kohberger, 30, was a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University when he snuck into a home 10 miles away and butchered Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in a 4 a.m. knife attack. Some of them were asleep. 

The motive remains a mystery. He left behind a Ka-Bar knife sheath with his DNA on it. 

In exchange for his plea, he avoids the potential of facing a firing squad and instead gave up his right to appeal or seek a reduced sentence on four consecutive life prison terms without parole, plus another 10 years. 

Bryan Kohberger arrives at Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania in advance of the extradition hearing then sent him back to Idaho to face justice. He has pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)

“He’s going to have a target on his back as soon as he walks in the door in general population,” said Keith Rovere, a former prison pastor who is now the host of the Lighter Side of True Crime podcast, in which he interviews a sampling of the nation’s most notorious murderers and other convicts. 

“Those who are doing life have nothing to lose,” Rovere told Fox News Digital. “The badge of honor they would receive will get them much notoriety and respect in the prison and probably get them countless letters from the outside world — which could mean more money for them that people donate $5 here or $10 there for their commissary… Funny how notoriety will get you killed and how notoriety will get you respect in the same prison.”

The convicts are going to eat him up.— Seth Ferranti, former prisoner turned documentary filmmaker

According to Kohberger’s own lawyers, he is noticeably awkward. A psychiatrist hired by the defense diagnosed him with autism spectrum disorder, finding he has “poor insight into his role in relationships,” an awkward sense of humor and speaks in canned phrases.

His former boxing coach revealed last week that he never actually sparred in the gym and only showed up after his father, Michael Kohberger, brought him there to boost his confidence.

“The convicts are going to eat him up in Idaho state prison,” said Seth Ferranti, a former prisoner and now a documentary and film director whose most recent work is “A Tortured Mind,” which explores post-prison psychology.

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

“He’ll probably get protective custody, because of the high-profile case,” he told Fox News Digital. “But killers don’t respect people who kill kids or students. He will get attacked even in protective custody, and some lifer might just end his miserable existence.”

Death row could be a more comfortable option, said Rovere the former prison pastor, at least while it lasts.

“He would have been away from general population and much safer — and more than likely die of natural causes in prison rather than the state putting him to death, with all the appeals,” he said. 

According to the Idaho Department of Corrections, inmates who either pose a higher risk to other inmates or who are “especially vulnerable” can be housed with higher security. 

Bryan Kohberger pictured after his transfer to the Ada County jail in 2024, following a change of venue that took his case out of Latah County, where he has admitted to killing four University of Idaho students. (Ada County Sheriff’s Office)

Ron McAndrew, a longtime Florida prison warden who for a period oversaw the “Gainesville Ripper” serial killer Danny Rolling, said prison officials could place Kohberger in isolation, have him escorted around by extra guards or take other increased security measures while he is in custody.

“Some inmates, especially those that are vicious or have mental problems, see killing someone like this as a status symbol,” McAndrew told Fox News Digital. “Especially if they’re already on death row, and they kill another inmate, what are you going to do?”

Rolling, like Kohberger and fellow serial killer Ted Bundy, killed multiple college students. 

McAndrew took part in a half-dozen executions, including a botched one that turned him against them. He is now a board member of Death Penalty Action, a nonprofit that opposes capital punishment.

University of Idaho students from left to right: Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21. All four were stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. (Jazzmin Kernodle via AP, Instagram/@kayleegoncalves)

He said that Kohberger will have to work between 40 and 60 hours a week at a prison job while serving life without parole, as opposed to “getting room service three times a day” on death row while lazing away in protective custody.

“To sentence someone to prison for life without the possibility of parole means that they’ll be making a contribution for the rest of their lives as a worker at that prison,” he said. “If he was on death row, that would not be the case. He would, in fact, be a burden on the prison, a burden on taxpayers, and waiting for a date to be executed some 25 or 30 years later.”

Rovere suggested Kohberger might be better off seeking a transfer to a prison in another state. While Idaho has fewer violent inmates than places like California, Texas and New York, prisoners there could have potential ties to the Pennsylvania man’s victims.

“You also have to take account of how many friends and family members of the victims might have a friend in there,” he said. “Or a friend of a friend of a friend, who they can reach out to and make sure he’s taken care of — or at least beaten very badly.”

Bryan Kohberger transferred to maximum security state prison

Experts say Bryan Kohberger is ‘vulnerable and notorious’ as he enters prison system after receiving four consecutive life sentences

By Michael Ruiz , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten – Published July 24, 2025 –Fox

BOISE, Idaho – Bryan Kohberger will spend the rest of his life in prison, but the details about how and where he’ll be kept are still emerging.

The 30-year-old former criminologist received four consecutive life sentences plus another 10 years for the murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

A source with knowledge of the case told Fox News Digital Kohberger was already in custody at the state prison in Kuna, about 16 miles from the Ada County courthouse, by Wednesday afternoon.

Kohberger’s sentence amounts to “life and death in prison,” as Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson put it during a rare news briefing after the hearing.

Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago. (Kyle Green/AP Photo, Pool)

The Idaho Department of Correction declined to give specific details about the transfer process.

“Once in IDOC custody, the person goes through a Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) process to evaluate their needs and determine appropriate housing placement; this process takes 7-14 days,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We wait until a person completes RDU to determine their classification, housing placement, and privileges.”

That evaluation will include a psyche check to determine whether Kohberger may be a threat to himself, other inmates, or prison staff, said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor who has closely followed the case.

He’ll probably be placed in solitary confinement, Mauro said, at least for a while. But inmates are typically not kept there indefinitely, he said, and eventually he could wind up in general population with other killers.

Exterior view of Idaho State Correctional Complex in Kuna, Idaho, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Bryan Kohberger is being housed at this facility after being sentenced in the stabbing murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

“In the general population, he is vulnerable, and he’s notorious — and in prison, especially for lifers, your reputation as being dangerous and just your reputation in general is the currency,” he said. “So there could be somebody looking to do him. On the other hand, we do want to remember Idaho is a death penalty state, and if you’re in for life, and you kill somebody, well, that’s going to get you to death penalty.”

Kohberger could try to request an out-of-state transfer, but that would be a rare move, according to Josh Ritter, a criminal defense attorney and the host of “The Courtroom Confidential” podcast.

“He’s not going anywhere,” he told Fox News Digital.

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

During their impact statements during Kohberger’s sentencing Wednesday, the victims’ families delivered a range of messages, from outrage to forgiveness.

“They ran the gamut, right, you have people who were willing to forgive him, and saying you know, ‘If you ever want to talk, please call me I’ll hear you out,’ and then you had people who we’re wishing death on him,” Mauro told Fox News Digital.

Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee’s mother, invoked the words Kohberger is believed to have said to the victims, overheard by one of the surviving roommates.

Derek Chauvin ‘dead man walking’ even before Thanksgiving stabbing: former prison minister

George Floyd’s killer serving federal sentence; mom says gov’t left her in dark after stabbing

By Michael Ruiz Fox News – Published November 28, 2023 – Fox

The prison stabbing of George Floyd’s convicted killer, the disgraced ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, was a predictable attack on a high-profile target at obvious odds with many of his fellow inmates, according to experts.

Meanwhile, Chauvin’s mother blasted federal authorities on Facebook Monday, days after paramedics rushed her son to a hospital after the stabbing in a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona.

“I AM OUTRAGED,” she began her post, in all capital letters. “MY SON WAS STABBED ON FRIDAY AT 12:30 P.M. NOT ONE PERSON FROM FCI PRISON, BOP OR THE FBI HAS CONTACTED ME!”

She said she had major concerns and questions about the incident, which authorities have so far declined to discuss publicly.

DEREK CHAUVIN STABBED BY INMATE IN FEDERAL PRISON, SERIOUSLY INJURED: REPORT

Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for the death of George Floyd. (AP)

Chauvin’s condition was not immediately clear. 

Federal Bureau of Prisons authorities said they could not give an update on his injuries Monday, citing privacy and safety concerns. Officially, they have not even confirmed the identity of the inmate stabbed just after noon Friday.

He was a dead man walking his first day in prison. This definitely won’t be the last attack.— Keith Rovere, host of ‘Lighter Side of Serial Killers’ podcast

And a spokesman for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted Chauvin on the state murder charge, said he had not received current information.

In a statement over the weekend, Ellison said he was “sad” to hear the news and condemned the attack.

George Floyd died May 25, 2020, after an encounter with four Minneapolis police officers. (AP)

“He was duly convicted of his crimes and, like any incarcerated individual, he should be able to serve his sentence without fear of retaliation or violence,” he said.

However, not even Chauvin’s family or defense team has received an update on his condition this week, according to attorney Gregory Erickson, who called the lack of news “completely outrageous.”

“It appears to be indicative of a poorly run facility and indicates how Derek’s assault was allowed to happen,” he told The Associated Press.

No prison employees were hurt in the incident, according to the BOP. Prison staff “isolated and contained” the incident before performing “life-saving measures” on the victim, who was transported to a local hospital.

Photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota on June 3, 2020, show, from left, former officers Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)

“He was a dead man walking his first day in prison,” warned Keith Rovere, a former prison minister who hosts the “Lighter Side of Serial Killers” podcast and speaks with dozens of inmates around the country regularly. “This definitely won’t be the last attack.”

In fact, he said, he was surprised it took so long. Prison gangs notoriously target high-profile prisoners, he said, and Chauvin is among the most infamous ex-cops behind bars in the country.

“And it’s not exactly a fair fight – they’re going to wait until you’re alone or when your back is turned,” he added.

Chauvin, a 19-year member of the Minneapolis Police Department who garnered both medals for bravery and more than a dozen civilian complaints, held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes on Memorial Day 2020, a slaying captured entirely on a bystander’s cellphone video, which prompted nationwide riots and calls to “defund” police departments that have had lasting effects on U.S. cities. 

Floyd had been accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill.

Chauvin is serving concurrent sentences for second-degree murder and for violating Floyd’s civil rights – making him the highest-profile inmate in federal custody, according to Mike Padden, a Minneapolis-based defense attorney who has been following Chauvin’s case from the start.

This happens in Third World countries, not in America.— Mike Padden, Minneapolis attorney

“It just seems like there are just so many examples in our country where we’re not living up to what we’re supposed to be,” he told Fox News Digital.

From Chauvin’s “egregious” murder of Floyd to the mystery surrounding his stabbing last week, the public deserves answers and accountability, he said, while also criticizing the stabbing of disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar and the death of Jeffery Epstein – both of which happened in federal facilities.

Sports doctor turned sex offender Larry Nassar, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and mobster James “Whitey” Bulger all suffered violent attacks while in custody – the latter two fatal ones. (Getty Images/AP Newsroom)

“This happens in Third World countries, not in America,” Padden said. “The American public has an absolute right to know exactly what happened. Period.”

Chauvin’s stabbing happened around 12:30 p.m. Friday. The following day, the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson suspended visitation. 

Federal officials said they could not discuss security practices but that the suspension decisions are made on a case-by-case basis “for a variety of reasons” by prison wardens.

Prior to his arrival there, Chauvin had been incarcerated in solitary confinement at a maximum security state prison in Minnesota.

“They threw this cop to the wolves,” said Seth Ferranti, a former “Most Wanted” fugitive. He said someone with Chauvin’s profile should have been locked up either in protective custody or in a facility where other inmates have more to lose. 

Ferranti served 21 years in federal prison on nonviolent drug trafficking charges, where he became an author and documentarian. His most recent project, “Psychadelic Revolution: The Secret History of the LSD Trade,” was just released on Amazon. 

“He’s a cop. He killed a Black man… two strikes against him,” Ferranti told Fox News Digital. “He was bound to get hit in a medium security facility.”

In an appeal filed earlier this month, Chauvin claimed new evidence shows he was not responsible for the death. Separately, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal for a new trial just days before the stabbing.