Mel Kohberger, sister of Bryan Kohberger, told The New York Times her family never suspected he was behind the Nov. 13, 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. She recounted warning him when the killings were first reported and described the shock of learning of his arrest. Mel also detailed the personal toll of public scrutiny—losing a job opportunity and seeing online exploitation of her family—and urged a more empathetic true crime culture toward victims' families.
Mel Kohberger Breaks Her Silence: 'We Had No Clue' Bryan Was The Idaho Killer
Monroe County Correctional Facility via GettyBryan Kohberger in 2022
Mel Kohberger, one of the sisters of convicted killer Bryan Kohberger, has spoken publicly for the first time since his 2025 sentencing, telling The New York Times her family never suspected he was responsible for the Nov. 13, 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students.
In an interview published Jan. 3, Mel described the shock and upheaval that followed the killings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. She said that when the murders were first reported and an unknown suspect was at large, she called Bryan to warn him: "Bryan, you are running outside and this psycho killer is on the loose." He replied that he would stay safe and thanked her for her concern.
Mel portrayed Bryan as socially awkward and sometimes blunt, prone to arguments but never, in her experience, violent. She recalled a time he physically restrained her hands to de-escalate a fight between them. She also described the values their parents, Maryann and Michael, instilled in the family—loyalty, self-reliance and putting others first.
KYLE GREEN/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock (Bryan Kohberger at his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025
Mel learned of Bryan's arrest when their sister Amanda called to say FBI agents had arrived at their parents' Pennsylvania home. At first she thought it was a prank; then she felt nauseated. Bryan later pleaded guilty and in 2025 was sentenced to four life terms without the possibility of parole.
Public Scrutiny and Personal Costs
The interview details the intense and invasive attention the Kohberger family endured after the arrest. Mel said she left training for a position as a mental health counselor after her employer was inundated with inquiries about the case. Online sleuths dug up footage of Amanda in a 2011 horror film that included staged stabbings, and someone published a book under the name "Melissa J. Kohberger," an action Mel called "confusing" and "painful."
"It's like being victimized but not really being a victim," Mel said, describing how speculation and attempts to profit from the case have felt for her family.
Family Reaction And Reflection
Mel strongly rejected theories that the family must have known Bryan was guilty. "I have always been a person who has spoken up for what was right," she told the paper. "If I ever had a reason to believe my brother did anything, I would have turned him in."
Zach Wilkinson-Pool/GettyBryan Kohberger in a courtroom in May 2023
Before the killings, the family had expressed pride in Bryan's progress: he became a doctoral candidate in Washington State University's criminology program after confronting childhood bullying and struggles with heroin addiction. Mel said the family felt proud that he had overcome so much.
Now, holidays and anniversaries are marked by absence and by thoughts of the victims' families. Mel said thinking about the loved ones of Kaylee, Madison, Xana and Ethan is deeply emotional. She also expressed regret about her own past interest in true crime and urged the community to adopt a more protective, empathetic approach toward victims' families.
"It’s human nature to be curious about darker things," she said. "But I think we should come together for a true crime culture that is more protective and empathetic to the families of the victims."
Source: Interview with The New York Times; reporting on the 2022 murders and 2025 sentencing.
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