Bryan Kohberger says inmates threatened to sexually assault him

(NewsNation) — Convicted quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger has asked to be transferred from the solitary confinement wing of an Idaho prison where he is housed after some inmates there allegedly threatened to sexually assault him.

Kohberger filed an initial complaint July 30 saying other inmates were flooding their cells on purpose while subjecting him to “minute-by-minute verbal threats/harassment,” according to documents obtained by NewsNation. In a follow-up communication Aug. 4, Kohberger claimed one inmate told him, “I’ll butt f— you,” with another allegedly saying, “The only a– we’ll be eating is Kohberger’s.”

A third complaint written by Kohberger, dated July 31, pertains to the food he’s receiving behind bars. In a handwritten statement, he says he has “not received all items of food on my tray.”

“… the nutritional standard is not being upheld unless I receive my full tray,” Kohberger says on the “grievance” form.

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Bryan Kohberger’s solitary life behind bars

Kohberger pleaded guilty July 2 to fatally stabbing University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin early on Nov. 13, 2022, at an off-campus rental property in Moscow, Idaho. Authorities say Kohberger, a criminology graduate student at Washington State University, methodically plotted the crime months in advance.

He was handed multiple life sentences under an agreement with prosecutors that spared him Idaho’s death penalty. In late July, he began living in long-term restrictive housing in the J-Block at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

J-Block inmates occupy single-person cells and get one hour of outdoor recreation daily. They are moved in restraints and are only allowed to shower every other day. 

Several media outlets previously reported Kohberger was the focus of coordinated harassment in his maximum-security wing, with inmates constantly yelling through vents to keep him awake at all hours.

Prison is no picnic, ex-FBI agent says

Over the weekend, NewsNation law and justice contributor Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI special agent, offered some context amid allegations that Kohberger is being systematically harassed by fellow inmates. In setting their sights on the high-profile Kohberger, she said, the hardened inmates of J-Block are likely trying “to make a name for themselves.”

“He’s in prison now, and there are four people that he brutally murdered,” Coffindaffer told “NewsNation Prime.”

She noted that leaked jail video purporting to show Kohberger in his new prison cell does not reflect harsh conditions.

“That’s bigger than most New York hotel rooms,” Coffindaffer said.

Officials with the Idaho Department of Corrections say they’re investigating whether the footage is genuine and how it became public.