Bryan Kohberger’s Classmates Say He Had ‘Bloody Knuckles’ and Other Injuries Days After Idaho Murders

Bryan Kohberger’s former classmates in his Washington State University graduate program shared that he had multiple injuries on his body after he murdered the Idaho Four.

In a People article published on Wednesday, August 20, the outlet obtained documents from Idaho State Police, Moscow State Police, and the Pullman Police Department, which revealed that multiple students had noticed injuries on him when he came back to class on November 29, 2022.

Kohberger, 30, returned to school after he brutally stabbed Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, to death on November 13 in Moscow, Idaho.

One female student told police that Kohberger — who was arrested six weeks after the murders — had “cuts on his hands” that were “similar to cat scratches,” which he used Band-Aids for, per People.

A second student said she saw him with “bloody knuckles,” and that “the hands looked really beat up like he was hitting something,” but couldn’t remember if it was “just prior to the homicides,” or after.

A third classmate told police Kohberger had “bruised knuckles,” with “redness halfway up the back of the left hand from his knuckles,” as well as “a cut on his ring finger,” according to People.

An additional classmate noticed scratches on his hands and face, while another said that in December, he still had bloody knuckles and “bad” cuts.

Kohberger reportedly told his fellow pupils different stories about how he sustained his injuries, including being a boxer, getting into an indoor accident and being involved in a car accident.

While it is unclear if Kohberger got the bruising and scratches from the slayings, they could have been from Kernodle, as she is said to have fought back during the attack.

In July 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.