Bryan Kohberger lost his spot in the vocational law enforcement program at his high school after female students lodged complaints about him, says a school administrator.
This is according to Tanya Carmella-Beers, a former administrator at the vocational school who oversaw student discipline and mental health.
“A situation occurred where a complaint was made and the teacher reported it to me and said … an investigation needed to be conducted,” Carmella-Beers said in an interview with The Idaho Massacre podcast. “Other students were interviewed, Bryan was interviewed, and, you know, there comes a time when decisions have to be made, whether it’s the decision the student wants or not.”
Carmella-Beers said on the podcast that in the end there were complaints from multiple female students but could not elaborate beyond that due to privacy laws.
After being forced out of the program, Carmella-Beers said that Kohberger found another program to enroll in but that did not last long.
“He was removed from [the law enforcement program] and transitioned into HVAC [program] and then, at the end of that 11th grade year is when he decided not to return as a senior,” Carmella-Beers explains.
Kohberger would then do his final year of high school online, as first reported by The Idaho Statesman earlier this year.
She also noted during the podcast that the infraction which got him removed from his program aligns in some way with the crime he is suspected of committing in Idaho.
“It’s interesting because ultimately what — and I have to be careful what I say — but ultimately what had him removed from the program when I look back on it now, makes sense,” said Carmella-Beers.
Kohberger did seem to turn his life around however, and a few years after taking his senior year online enrolled at Northampton Community College.
After completing his studies there he went on to get an undergraduate and graduate degree at Desales University before accepting an offer to join the doctoral program at Washington State University.
Just a few months into his studies there however, Kohberger allegedly drove over the state line to Moscow, Idaho, where he is suspected of murdering four University of Idaho students while they slept in their off-campus home, according to authorities.
Three of the victims —Madison Mogen, 21;Kaylee Goncalves,21;Xana Kernodle, 20 — lived in the home. The fourth victim, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin, was in a relationship with Kernodle.
Kohberger told a previous public defender that he expects to be exonerated at trial. In May, he declined to enter a plea after being formally charged with four counts of murder. The judge in the case entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.