Did Bryan Kohberger Kill to Impress His Professor, Dr. Katherine Ramsland? Howard Blum Thinks So
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2025
⏱️ 37 minutes
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Summary
In this episode, Tony Brueski takes a deep dive into one of the most unsettling and psychologically complex theories in the Bryan Kohberger case: the claim that the murders were committed as a twisted attempt to impress his former professor, Dr. Katherine Ramsland. This idea, originally reported by Howard Blum, suggests that Kohberger—a criminology PhD student with an intense academic background in serial killer studies—may have crossed the line between student and subject. Using the three-part narrative breakdown, we explore the factual history between Kohberger and Ramsland, the reported but unconfirmed communications, and the chilling psychological theory that this was Kohberger's way of saying, "Look what I can do."
If true, this would place Kohberger's motive in a rare psychological category: admiration-fueled symbolic violence. This wasn’t about revenge. It wasn’t about the victims. It may have been about validation—from someone who had no idea she was being idolized. Is this theory fact or just media myth? Join Tony as he dissects the known facts, separates evidence from rumor, and lays out the case for and against this deeply disturbing motive.
Hashtags: #BryanKohberger #KatherineRamsland #TonyBrueski #HiddenKillers #KohbergerMotive #HowardBlum #TrueCrimePodcast #CriminologyMurder #PsychologicalMotive #IdahoMurders
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the Hidden Killers podcast with Tony Bruske and continuing coverage of the case against Brian |
| 0:07.0 | Coburger. |
| 0:08.8 | This is an interesting piece. It's one that Howard Bloom is putting some light on over on airmail. |
| 0:19.2 | And it certainly caught my attention. And it probably has |
| 0:23.0 | caught in the tension of some of you as well. It speaks to the motive of Brian Coburger. |
| 0:30.5 | What happened? Why did he do the crimes he allegedly committed? And there really hasn't been a great answer for it. |
| 0:39.9 | But Howard Bloom has a theory. |
| 0:43.5 | And it involves someone we've even had on our show. |
| 0:47.4 | A very well-respected doctor, Dr. Catherine Ramsland, |
| 0:51.5 | who he was studying under at DeSales University. |
| 0:54.8 | Now, this is all theoretical. |
| 0:57.0 | This is all from Howard Bloom's reporting. |
| 1:00.9 | We cannot confirm any of this. |
| 1:03.8 | But we're going to talk about this with some conjecture and just some what-ifs today. |
| 1:10.3 | Because he makes some valid points. |
| 1:13.4 | And Howard's reporting is usually pretty good. |
| 1:16.3 | If what he's about to talk about and what you're going to learn about in this piece |
| 1:21.1 | in terms of some communications that have gone on are true, |
| 1:25.3 | that's going to be interesting to see. |
| 1:29.7 | Because it involves Brian Coburger and a better understanding possibly of the way he viewed |
| 1:38.3 | his relationship with Catherine Ramsland, not in anything dirty or anything like that, |
| 1:45.5 | but from the point of someone who may very well, you know, hold her in super high regard, which anyone, you know, should, |
... |
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