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(NewsNation) — A renowned forensic psychologist who taught Bryan Kohberger about serial killers and criminal behavior is now questioning whether her curriculum may have inspired him to commit the Idaho quadruple murders.
"I have to look at the framework of what I taught and wonder, did I inspire him in some way?" Dr. Katherine Ramsland said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with NewsNation. "But I can't second-guess that because I may have inspired somebody else to become an FBI agent. And unfortunately, in this field, that's what we live with."
Ramsland, who was Kohberger's professor and adviser at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, spoke publicly about her former student for the first time in, expressing anguish over whether her classes influenced his alleged crimes.
Kohberger, a former graduate student in criminal justice at Washington State University, faces murder charges for the deaths of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin, who were killed at an off-campus house near the University of Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022.
She taught Kohberger in four classes between 2018 and his graduate studies, including courses on forensic psychology, death investigation and "Dangerous Minds: The Psychology of Anti-Social Behavior." The antisocial behavior course involved extensive case analysis of serial killers and mass murderers, Ramsland said.
"He seemed eager to be in the classroom. He was polite, he was respectful, intense and curious," Ramsland recalled of Kohberger, who entered DeSales as a psychology major with a forensic track in fall 2018.
The professor used textbooks she co-authored, including one written with BTK serial killer Dennis Rader about his decision-making process and crimes. She also assigned "The Mind of a Murderer," which examines behavioral experts who interviewed killers to understand their criminal development.
Looking back, Ramsland said she sees no red flags that would have indicated Kohberger's potential for violence: "There really weren't any red flags. He was always really quite respectful and grateful."
The professor acknowledged the inherent risk in her field of potentially attracting students with bad intentions while hoping the vast majority will pursue careers in law enforcement or other protective services.
"We all know that we could have students who might become offenders, but we also know that the vast majority of our students will not," she said.
Former professor: 'I really thought Bryan Kohberger was a promising student'
Ramsland described being "completely floored" when Kohberger was arrested, initially not believing the charges. Her doubts grew when his stated alibi proved inadequate, given his extensive academic background in criminal justice.
Fotografía proporcionada por la prisión del condado Monroe, Pensilvania, de Bryan Kohberger. (Monroe County (Pa.) Correctional Facility vía AP)
Newly released court documents include this smiling selfie of Bryan Kohberger, allegedly taken on the morning four University of Idaho students were killed.
Bryan Kohberger, facing first-degree murder charges in the deaths of four University of Idaho students last fall, is taken by sheriff's deputies from the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Bryan Kohberger, the man accused in the killings of four University of Idaho students, was transported by plane from the Idaho county where he was being jailed to another county where his trial will be held. (Credit: Ada County Sheriff's Office)
Bryan Kohberger, accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court on Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, is escorted to an extradition hearing at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., on Jan. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, Pool)
FILE - Boise State University students, along with people who knew the four University of Idaho students who were found killed in Moscow, Idaho, days earlier, pay their respects at a vigil held in front of a statue on the Boise State campus, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, in Boise, Idaho. The arrest of Bryan Christopher Kohberger in the Nov. 13, 2022 fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students has brought relief to the small college town of Moscow, Idaho.(Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman via AP, File)
"It's terrible, very hard," she said about potentially inspiring his crimes. "I really thought Bryan Kohberger was a promising student who really could have made a mark in this career in a very positive way."
The professor, who spent five years studying BTK killer Dennis Rader, said she would be willing to interview Kohberger for research purposes if he agreed. She believes such a study could help identify warning signs to prevent future crimes.
"I think anybody in my field will tell you they can be duped by a really skillful, predatory type of person," Ramsland said, explaining how some criminals excel at appearing normal while hiding their dark impulses.
Kohberger is scheduled to enter a guilty plea Wednesday in exchange for life in prison without parole, avoiding the death penalty for the November 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students.
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