Did Bryan Kohberger Kill to Impress His Professor FBI Profiler Robin Dreeke Breaks It Down
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 12 May 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this gripping episode, retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke dives into one of the most bizarre and controversial theories in the Bryan Kohberger case: the idea that Kohberger may have committed the murders of four University of Idaho students to impress his former professor, Dr. Katherine Ramsland. This theory, reported by journalist Howard Blum, has drawn comparisons to John Hinckley Jr.'s attempted assassination of President Reagan to impress actress Jodie Foster. But is it psychologically plausible?
Dreeke, who once led the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, brings his deep expertise in motive, delusion, and high-risk behavioral patterns to break down the facts. Could Kohberger's academic obsession with serial killers have blurred the line between research and reality? Did he see his alleged crime as a twisted form of validation from a mentor he idolized?
We explore how common—or rare—this type of motive actually is, what kind of psychological markers are typically present, and what kind of evidence investigators would need to verify such a theory in court. Dreeke also explains why the absence of hard proof doesn’t necessarily mean the theory is wrong—it just makes it legally dangerous to rely on it without corroboration.
Whether you believe the "impress the professor" theory or not, Dreeke helps cut through the noise to reveal what behaviors actually matter in assessing this case. This is a must-watch for anyone trying to understand the psychology behind one of the most confusing and disturbing alleged motives in recent true crime history.
Hashtags:
#BryanKohberger #RobinDreeke #KatherineRamsland #FBIProfiler #TrueCrimePsychology #IdahoMurders #CriminologyMotive #HowardBlum #MurderMotive #KohbergerTrial
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?
Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is the Hidden Killers podcast with Tony Bruske and continuing coverage of the case against Brian Koberger. |
| 0:08.2 | What drives a man who studied the criminal mind to become the suspect of one of the most brutal college town murders in recent memory? |
| 0:19.3 | That's the riddle at the center of the Brian Coburger case, |
| 0:22.2 | a Ph.D. student in criminology, allegedly obsessed with a serial killer, accused of planning |
| 0:27.6 | and executing the murders of four University of Idaho students, and in doing so, some say with |
| 0:34.0 | eerie precision. But now a new controversial theory is gaining traction from Howard Bloom, |
| 0:40.4 | was Koberger trying to impress someone, not a girlfriend, not a peer, but his former professor |
| 0:47.3 | who we've had on this show many times, Dr. Catherine Ramsland, one of the world's foremost |
| 0:53.6 | experts in serial killers. |
| 0:56.0 | He studied under her. |
| 0:57.8 | It sounds like the plot of a dark Netflix drama, but it's a theory that Howard Bloom is taken to these articles. |
| 1:07.2 | It's making its way into serious discussion, fueled by unanswered questions, a lack of clear |
| 1:11.7 | motive, and some eyebrow-raising patterns in his behavior. Joining us as someone who knows a thing or two |
| 1:17.1 | about decoding motive and delusion, retired FBI special agent Robin Drake, former chief of the |
| 1:21.9 | counterintelligence behavioral analysis program. I was surprised when I saw this one, Robin, but I know you and me both really |
| 1:29.0 | respect his writing and his reporting, so I thought, let's discuss. From behavioral standpoint, |
| 1:35.5 | how plausible is it that a man like Coburger would commit an act this extreme, not out of |
| 1:40.5 | hatred or revenge, or being, uh, what's the, the, the, the name escapes me for a second here, |
| 1:47.9 | the guys who are obsessed with women but hate women, an in-cell. |
| 1:51.5 | An in-sell. |
| 1:52.6 | But to try to gain the admiration of someone he saw as a mentor. |
| 1:58.4 | This is Howard Bloom's theory at this moment in time he just published on airmail. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from True Crime Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of True Crime Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.