Andrew Chua, a graduate student who lived in the same building as Mr. Kohberger, said he briefly met him in August or September. The two spoke about their degrees and where they were from, and Mr. Kohberger had appeared to be excited to continue his studies.
“He was really passionate about what he was doing,” said Mr. Chua.
Another graduate student who knew Mr. Kohberger said he was keenly interested in studying policing. But the student, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of worries about upsetting others in the department, said Mr. Kohberger had few friends at the school. Mr. Kohberger had appeared to want to socialize, the student said, but had made offensive remarks in the past that had left him somewhat isolated.
Students at Washington State University frequently socialize with students from the University of Idaho, which is a 15-minute drive across the state line.
Before moving to Pullman, Mr. Kohberger had spent much, if not all, of his life in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania.
Casey Arntz, who was one year ahead of Mr. Kohberger at Pleasant Valley High School, said he was known to have a temper and that he did kickboxing, possibly as a way to get his anger out. She said his mother had sometimes worked as a substitute teacher at the high school.
Ms. Arntz, 29, said that she used to occasionally hang out with Mr. Kohberger as part of a group, once hiking a mountain near her parents’ house, but had not seen him since a friend’s wedding in 2017.
According to articles in local newspapers, Mr. Kohberger worked for several years as a security officer with the Pleasant Valley School District, drawing some attention in 2018 for helping another officer save the life of an employee who was having an asthma attack. He left the district in the summer of 2021.
