A behavioral analyst specializing in body language told Fox News that murder suspect Bryan Kohberger appeared fearful entering court Thursday.
Body language expert Susan Constantine contrasted his appearance during Thursday’s status conference with his earlier appearnce, where he displayed intensity.
“As he turns the corner into the courtroom, he takes a breath in, meaning something important is going to happen, namely fear,” Ms. Constantine said in a Fox News interview. “The horizontal forehead lines are from worry.”
Mr. Kohberger appeared to slouch as he entered the courtroom, Constantine noted.
Latah County Sheriff Richard Skiles attributed Kohberger’s facial cuts and abrasions to a bad shave, according to a Daily Beast report. The suspect is being detained in Latah County Prison until his trial, which has been tentatively set for June. A hearing to set the trial path is scheduled for June 26, according to a King5 report.
Kohberger faces four homicide charges for the November 13 deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. He is also charged with felony burglary in connection with the University of Idaho students murdered in their King Road residence.
The suspect is a graduate student at Washington State University, in Pullman, Washington. That campus and his residence are about ten miles across the state line from the King Road rental where the four coeds were stabbed to death.
He was arrested at his parent’s home in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains and extradited upon a request from Moscow, Idaho police. When Kohberger appeared in an Idaho court January 5, police unsealed the probable cause affidavit justifying his arrest warrant. Police Chief James Fry said Idaho state law forbade sharing that information before a suspect physically appeared in court.
The criminology student’s body language appeared to show fear and fixation, Constantine said, adding a week in county jail had transformed the intensity to fear.
“What I did notice was a forceful heartbeat as seen in his cheek,” Constantine said about Kohberger’s Jan. 5 appearance. “That blood vessel was throbbing from intense internal emotion.”
The body language expert said she detected something in the way Kohberger glanced over at Kootenai County Public Defender Anne Taylor.
“Kohberger’s awkward glance, followed by a quick micro smile that flashed and disappeared sharply,” she said. “This signals a disingenuous attempt to acknowledge his attorney along with a sharp head nod, then leaned back.”
He spoke little during that hearing, nodding occasionally and replying “Yes” when asked if he understood the charges.
“His eyes are detached, showing fixation as seen in an intense stare,” Constantine said. “Fixation is seen in killers.”
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