Bryan Kohberger Self-Assessment Form Reveals New Details About Suspect

A job application form completed by Bryan Kohberger shows the suspected killer claiming to have knife skills and to have been a champion competitive speaker.

Kohberger, 28, is accused of breaking into an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022, and killing four students.

Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were all found deceased with stab wounds later that day.

Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania on December 30 on charges of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He declined to enter a plea during a hearing in Latah County District Court in May, prompting the judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Bryan Kohberger
Bryan Kohberger looks toward his attorney, public defender Anne Taylor, right, during a hearing in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho, on January 5, 2023. A employment application form filled out by Kohberger gives... Getty

The Idaho murder suspect's 2015 application form for a job as a school security guard in the Pleasant Valley School district of Pennsylvania details his previous employment history, as well as his hobbies, according to Fox News Digital, who obtained the form.

Under a section headed "Describe any specialized training, skills and extra-curricular activities," Kohberger wrote: "I boxed after school every day at the Jesse Harris Boxing Gym on 209 near Big Cheese Pizza, when it was still open.

"I also attended a year of the Law Enforcement Program and a year of HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)."

The former took place while he was in high school, the latter at the Michigan Career and Technical Institute (MCTI), a public vocational school in Plainwell, Michigan.

In the employment experience section of his application form, Kohberger detailed jobs as a fish cutter at Big Brown Fish and Pay Lakes in Effort, Pennsylvania, and a meat wrapper at BJ's Wholesale Club.

Of his fish cutter role, Kohberger wrote: "I cut the fish to the specifications of the customer."

Charles Conklin, the man who founded Big Brown Fish and Pay Lakes, contradicted this when he spoke to Fox News Digitial about Kohberger. He said he did not last long on the job and never got any training with a filleting knife.

"When kids come in here, their jobs are to keep the place clean, pick up paper all day long, help customers catch fish, fix poles, and then we try to train them how to fillet fish," he said. "And if they get good at it, then they can fillet customers' fish."

Of his job as a meat wrapper, Kohberger wrote: "I did multiple things here, mostly the meat wrapping and produce positions.

"I made sure tags were correct, prices were matching on the outside shelves. I stocked the shelves with meat products and I unstocked the shipment that came in overnight, about 3 or 4 times a week."

Other parts of his application detail what Kohberger thinks of himself regarding his "dedication to be successful," as well as other skills.

"I was the District 11 Skills USA regional champion in 2011 for extemporaneous speaking (a competitive improvisational speaking style.) I learned how to do more HVAC at MCTI, and I learned how to patrol and do basic security procedures from my year in Law Enforcement," Kohberger wrote.

"I was a boxer and am still a runner. I believe dedication and perseverance are the most important skills learned from my activities," he said. "I lost 130 lbs at age 15 into age 16 while attending school at PVHS (Pleasant Valley High School) and MCTI. I believe this is proof that I have the required dedication to be successful."

Kohberger's past has come under intense scrutiny since his arrest. His trial is set for October.

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About the writer


Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more

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