Leaked footage allegedly showing convicted University of Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger inside his maximum-security cell has sparked a prison investigation and renewed concerns about security breaches.
The short clips, which surfaced on social media Thursday, appear to show the 30-year-old (who was sentenced to life without parole) pacing alone in his cell with visibly red hands, then pausing to examine them before standing motionless for several seconds.
Kohberger was sentenced to life without parole. Credit: Moscow Police Department
In the eerie 10-second video, Kohberger, dressed in prison garb, can be seen walking toward a wire rack, setting an item down, and then staring intently at his irritated hands. Viewers have speculated that his skin may be inflamed from obsessive handwashing, a habit he is rumored to engage in dozens of times each day.
A second leaked clip shows him in the center of the stark concrete room, moving slowly as he wipes down his shoes with meticulous care.
The origins of the footage remain unclear. Early indications suggest the material may have been recorded by someone filming official surveillance monitors with a cellphone inside the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna. Authorities stressed that this would represent a serious breach of protocol.
“We are aware of the videos circulating online and are investigating the matter,” the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) said in a statement Friday. “While we cannot yet confirm the veracity of the videos, if verified, they are a clear violation of IDOC policy and the parties responsible will be held accountable, up to and including termination. We caution that some videos may be fake or AI-enhanced.”
Prison officials said staff were recently reminded of their responsibilities and warned against improper handling of surveillance footage. “Videotaping and publicly sharing security footage is prohibited conduct and we will be reviewing all legal options, including criminal prosecution,” the IDOC statement continued. “The safety and security of our staff and incarcerated population remains our top priority.”
The unsettling footage comes just weeks after Kohberger unexpectedly avoided a death penalty trial by agreeing to a plea deal.
In July, he was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without parole after admitting to the brutal murders of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin. The four were fatally stabbed in their off-campus home in Moscow on November 13, 2022, in a crime that shocked the nation and devastated the close-knit college community.
The plea agreement, reached only a short time before jury selection was due to begin, angered some of the victims’ families, who were left without answers as to why Kohberger carried out the killings.
His abrupt acceptance of guilt eliminated the possibility of the case being argued in court, cutting off the opportunity for more details about the murders to emerge through trial testimony.
The circulation of the new videos has only deepened public fascination (and unease) surrounding Kohberger, a former criminology graduate student whose crimes and behavior continue to unsettle those following the case.
For authorities, however, the focus now is on finding out how such sensitive footage made its way out of one of the most secure prisons in the state.
