> At a Glance
> – Mel Kohberger told The New York Times her family never suspected her brother’s guilt
> – She texted Bryan to “be careful” of the “psycho killer” after the Nov. 13, 2022 murders
> – Online harassment forced her to quit her mental-health job and still haunts the family
> – Why it matters: It reveals the collateral damage mass-crime fame inflicts on relatives
Three years after Bryan Kohberger admitted to stabbing four University of Idaho students, his older sister Mel has given her first public interview, describing shock, lost jobs, and cyber-stalking.
The Tip-Off That Wasn’t
Mel says she learned of the killings on the news and immediately warned her brother, then a Washington State criminology Ph.D. student, to stay safe while a “psycho” was at large.
> Mel Kohberger recalled:
> > “Bryan, you are running outside and this psycho killer is on the loose.”
He replied he’d be careful; she had no clue police already had him in their sights.
Raid Night & Aftermath
Dec. 30, 2022, Mel was asleep when Amanda, their sister, called:
> “I’m with the F.B.I.; Bryan’s been arrested.”
Mel thought it was a prank-until nausea hit.
Fallout Highlights
- Left her new mental-health-counselor post after employers were flooded with calls
- Trolls resurfaced Amanda’s 2011 horror film and dissected it
- A fake book appeared under “Melissa J. Kohberger”, trading on her name
Growing Up With Bryan
Mel remembers her brother as socially awkward and argumentative yet never violent-once restraining her hands to stop a sibling fight rather than throw a punch.
Their parents, Maryann and Michael, preached loyalty and self-sacrifice; the family celebrated Bryan’s academic rebound after past heroin use and bullying.
> “We were all so proud of him because he had overcome so much.”
Life Under Public Scrutiny
The family now grieves that Bryan, sentenced to four consecutive life terms without parole in 2025, can’t share holidays.
Those thoughts quickly pivot to the victims’ relatives:
> “The idea is making me so emotional that I can barely speak to you about it.”
Mel, once a true-crime consumer, believes the genre needs guardrails:
> “We should try and come together for a true-crime culture that is way more protective and empathetic to the families of the victims.”
Key Takeaways
- Mel insists she would have turned her brother in had she known
- Online harassment cost both sisters their professional peace
- The interview underscores how high-profile crimes ripple beyond the courtroom
Her account adds a rare family-lens view to one of the decade’s most followed murder cases.
