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Convicted killer Bryan Kohberger, who murdered four University of Idaho students during a home invasion in 2022, has asked to be transferred to another facility after claiming to be “singled out” for harassment in Idaho’s Maximum Security Institution. Kohberger, 30, who was formerly a Ph.D. student in criminology at the university before being arrested, has been in custody since his arrest in December 2022 and was sentenced in October 2023 to life in prison without parole. He has filed at least two handwritten complaints to prison officials over the past month, detailing the threats and harassment he is reportedly receiving from other inmates.

According to People, Kohberger reported that he is “minute-by-minute being verbally threatened and tormented” in J Block, a high-risk, high-profile section of the prison where Idaho’s death row inmates and other dangerous offenders are kept. “I’ve been told, ‘I’ll b— f— you,’” Kohberger wrote, according to a second inmate’s statement. “I’ve also been told, ‘The only a– we’ll be eating is Kohberger’s.’”

Kohberger has made similar complaints twice, first two days after being moved to J Block and again less than a week later. In handwritten notes, Kohberger reportedly asked to be moved to B Block, a less crowded and “quieter” area of the prison. “Tier 2 of J Block is an environment that I wish to transfer from if possible,” he reportedly wrote. “I request transfer to B Block immediately. I wish to speak with you soon.”

In his notes, Kohberger also claimed that he had not been involved in any major disruptive conduct, including “flooding” or “striking.” In prison lingo, flooding means “filling a toilet or sink with paper or a cloth object that blocks the pipe system, forcing water out through an overflow and causing serious water damage,” while striking is a “standard definition of refusing work.” Guards confirmed that Kohberger had overheard vulgar comments being made about him but one officer said that he did not “specifically remember the nature of what was said.” As of this week, Kohberger was still being held in J Block, where prison records indicate that he will likely spend the rest of his life. Idaho prison officials have not made any public statement or indicated that they are considering Kohberger’s request.

A History of Harassment

Kohberger’s prison experience has not been smooth from the start. After he was arrested in December 2022, he spent time at the county jail where, according to his attorneys, he was jeered at by inmates in the general population. At one point, an inmate stood over Kohberger while he was on a video call with his mother and shouted, “F—ing Kohberger. F—ing kill, kill, kill. Six girls. No need for you.” Kohberger has also reportedly been called a “f—ing weirdo” and “would have killed you if not for getting caught.”

In Kohberger’s defense filings from his trial, his attorneys described him as a socially awkward person with a “hard stare” who “suffers from a lack of social graces and social intelligence,” according to the AP. These descriptions, along with the fact that he is the accused killer of four college students, have made Kohberger a target for harassment and ridicule, at least in the eyes of one prison consultant. “Any high-profile inmate is likely to face threats and attacks,” the consultant told People. “Kohberger’s demeanor, whatever it is, only makes that more likely.”

Kohberger’s attorneys have noted that the convicted killer has lost a significant amount of weight during his two and a half years in custody. Kohberger is now sharing a unit with some of Idaho’s most notorious criminals, including death row inmate Chad Daybell. In recent years, many high-profile prisoners have been the victims of violence by other inmates, including Jeffery Dahmer, who was beaten and killed by a fellow inmate after years of harassment. While Kohberger’s current predicament is very different from Dahmer’s, the inmate consultant says that Kohberger’s notoriety and demeanor could lead to the same kind of problem.