Idaho murder suspect's grad program keeps database of police bodycam vids and security footage

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger's graduate program at Washington State University maintains a database of police bodycam footage and live surveillance video feeds, which an insider claims he may have had access to.

WSU's Complex Social Interaction Lab (CSI Lab) maintains a database of bodycam footage from five police departments, while another study operates a live feed of security footage from the WSU campus.

A WSU spokesman insisted to Fox News Digital that 'Kohberger never had access to any footage' from the CSI Lab, but an insider told the outlet that individuals on campus may have had access to the database without authorization.

The CSI Lab does not include footage from the police department in nearby Moscow, Idaho, where Kohberger is charged with murdering four University of Idaho students: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

Kohberger was in the first semester of a criminology PhD program at WSU when the murders occurred on November 13, in a home about 10 miles away from the WSU campus in Pullman.

The source quoted by Fox News, who works for the university, speculated that Kohberger could have used the CSI Lab to view unredacted images from crime scenes, and other disturbing footage.

However, Phil Weiler, WSU's vice president of marketing and communications, told the outlet that Kohberger never obtained entry to the programs that maintain the footage.

'To be clear, Bryan Kohberger never had access to any footage from the Complex Social Interaction Lab at Washington State University,' he said. 

'Access to that facility is strictly controlled. All research assistants must complete a background check, an FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Level 2 certification, be fingerprinted by the FBI and sign a confidentiality agreement in order to enter the facility,' said Weiler.

But the insider claimed that 'multiple individuals who have not gone through the vetting or training' had access to the facility as part of their duties, including 'technical support staff.'

The prospect of an accused killer gaining access to the footage raised concerns for the insider, who told the outlet: 'I don't think that any amount of positive research that has come out of this department is worth the risks of letting a wolf in the henhouse.' 

The website for the CSI Lab says the program is devoted to assisting police departments by using 'software to analyze police footage' and giving 'results and guidance to better police departments.' 

The project includes bodycam footage from five local police departments, but the Moscow Police Department is not part of the study. 

A separate WSU study from the Division of Governmental Studies and Services (DGSS) maintains live security camera feeds from around Pullman. 

Last spring, Kohberger completed a master's in criminal studies at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where he studied under famed forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland, whose books include How to Catch a Killer and The Mind of a Murderer.

Ramsland also wrote a book based on her correspondence with Dennis Rader, the notorious BTK Killer whose serial murders spanned decades. 

While he was at DeSales, Kohberger took to Reddit in May with a post seeking criminals to complete his survey about how they selected their targets and carried out offenses.

Previously, experts have speculated in remarks to DailyMail.com that Kohberger could have been drawn to his interest in criminology for ulterior motives.

'I suspect that Kohberger was well aware of his dark nature and homicidal ideation and endeavored to discover more about himself through his studies,' said Enzo Yaksic, a criminal profiler and founder of the Atypical Homicide Research Group in Boston.

'But pursuing an advanced degree to become a better murderer is a foolhardy exercise,' he added, 'as nothing more is learned about such tactics and strategies than can be found on a popular podcast or true crime book.

Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary and is being held without bail in Idaho.

His attorneys have said that he plans to plead not guilty to the charges, and expects to be exonerated of any involvement with the crime. 

Over the weekend, a former FBI investigator claimed that Kohberger may have been motivated by an 'incel complex'. 

Pete Yachmetz speculated that Kohberger may have been trying to 'assert some dominance' in allegedly committing the murders.

He noted that Kohberger, 28, had a history of social issues growing up in Pennsylvania — as his former classmates describe him as a troubled, disgruntled young man who didn't fit in at school. 

Speaking to the New York Post over the weekend, Yachmetz said he believes the brutality of the murders and Kohberger's history of social challenges may point to a possible motive.

'I believe a continued stabbing of a victim indicates ... an uncomfortable rage ad extreme anger,' he said, noting that Kohberger has been descried as 'socially awkward with a long history of interpersonal problems.

'I think he may have developed an incel complex,' Yachmetz said, 'The murders may have ben an effort to assert some type of dominance.'

The term 'incel' — short for 'involuntarily celibate — refers to men who have trouble establishing romantic relationships.

It is associated with misogynistic online tendencies and sometimes even crime, with Psychology Today reporting last year that men who identify as 'incels' tend have poor mental health and are more likely to experience feelings of victimhood, inferiority and loneliness.'