Idaho prison officials responded to convicted murderer Bryan Kohberger‘s complaints of being bullied in prison.
“We are aware of Kohberger’s complaints about what he considers taunting,” an Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) spokesperson told People on Friday, August 15. “Incarcerated individuals commonly communicate with each other in prison.”
The Idaho Department of Corrections clarified that Kohberger is “housed alone in a cell” at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, Idaho.
“IDOC security staff maintain a safe and orderly environment for all individuals in our custody,” a spokesperson for the organization insisted.
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Earlier this week, retired homicide detective Chris McDonough went public with accusations that Kohberger was frequently tormented by inmates at the Idaho detention center where he is serving four consecutive life sentences for murder, plus another 10 years for burglary.
“It’s driving him crazy. The inmates are tormenting him at night and almost all hours of the day – taunting him through the vents in his cell,” McDonough told the Daily Mail on Tuesday, August 12. “They are literally getting up into the grate and yelling at him. The inmates are taking it in turns doing it. It’s relentless.”
McDonough, who now works for the Cold Case Foundation, discussed his accusations further during an appearance on NewsNation’s Banfield on Wednesday, August 13. The retired cop alleged that “inmates apparently were waiting” for Kohberger to arrive at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution so they could terrorize him.
“The guards at this point, all the most they can do is write it down or tell him, ‘Hey, there’s nothing we can do. You’re not in physical harm,’” McDonough explained. “They’re under obligation to basically protect him, right? But in this particular situation, he’s in an isolation situation. Those around him can’t get to him physically.”
The retired police officer went on, “[The inmates] have come up, again, a way of circumventing what the rules may be. Communications are a no-no within the prison. Inmates are extremely creative.”
Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 in connection with the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students — Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho.
Despite initially denying he was involved in the murders, Kohberger finally confessed in June 2025 as a part of a plea deal to spare him the death penalty. Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary, as well as waive his right to ever seek appeals or parole.
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Some of the victims’ families have been critical of prosecutor Bill Thompson striking a plea deal with Kohberger, as they would have preferred that he face the death penalty. Thompson defended the plea deal in July, insisting that he’d spared the victims’ families a potentially long and painful criminal trial.
“I think that we did our job, and we had the opportunity to do it in a way to really give some immediate finality, which wouldn’t have happened if we had to go through trial,” Thompson told The Idaho Statesman in an interview published on July 31. “We’re pleased that we did our job, and we had the opportunity to do it in a way to really give some immediate finality, which wouldn’t have happened if we had to go through trial.”
The brutal murder case continues to yield new revelations even after Kohberger’s sentencing in July. Digital forensics expert Heather Barnhart confirmed to People this week that Kohberger spoke to his mother by phone several times in the hours after committing the murders at 1122 King Road.