Bryan Kohberger stared coldly at the families of his victims and even appeared ‘relaxed’ as they shared their grief at his sentencing on Wednesday, a body language expert says.
The quadruple killer sat in an orange jumpsuit and was the only person in the courtroom unmoved by harrowing victim impact statements.
‘The raw grief and distress displayed by the relatives of the victims was an impossible watch for almost everyone in the courtroom, apart from, emphatically and remarkably, Kohnberger,’ body language expert Judi James told Daily Mail.
‘Sitting looking relaxed in his chair with his elbows splayed out on the arm of the chair in a gesture of confidence and desired visibility, the opposite body language ritual of a desire to hide, which would include crossed arms, self-diminishing behaviors and eye cut-offs, he appeared to listen with what looked like a detached but forensic interest.
‘Kohberger’s eyes watched the relatives like a fascinated hawk. His eyes appeared to soak up every sob and every signal of distress.’
It comes as the surviving roommates from Kohberger’s rampage that killed four of their friends issued gut-wrenching statements during his sentencing hearing.
Dylan Mortensen sobbed as she addressed the 30-year-old killer, and described him as ‘less than human.’
Bryan Kohberger stared coldly at the families of his victims and even appeared ‘relaxed’ as they shared their grief at his sentencing on Wednesday
Kohberger pleaded guilty to murdering Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle
James continued: ‘There was no flinching or glancing away here, apart from during the end of one address and the start of another, when he tilted his chair forward and looked down, returning with the same cold stare once the next person started to speak.
‘Bizarrely Kohberger seemed to be performing micro-nods in some places as though agreeing with the points being made, like one mention of a relative suffering from anxiety and grief from the tragedy.
‘It looked like a mimicry of empathy that might have come from anyone but him in that moment.
‘Words used to describe him or the crimes, like ‘evil’ brought no visible response, as though perhaps illustrating one comment about him being an ’empty vessel.”
Although Kohberger sat emotionless, many in the courtroom wept as the harrowing victim impact statements were read on Wednesday.
Benjamin Mogen, father of Madison Mogen speaks at the sentencing hearing of Bryan Kohberger on Wednesday
Dylan Mortensen, one of the surviving roommates, weeps at the sentencing
In a dramatic move, Kaylee Goncalves’ dad turned the lectern to face his daughter’s killer and force him to look at him head-on.
Steve Goncalves said that Kohberger united everyone ‘in our disgust, in our love for these children.’
‘Today, you have no name because when this all started, even the media just called you BK. That’s all you are,’ he said.
‘A Master’s degree? You’re a joke, a complete joke. But we took this disaster and we did what we could.’
Goncalves’ sister Alivea then delivered a searing statement, demanding he explain himself and tearing him down.
She demanded Kohberger ‘sit up straight’ while she spoke and called him a ‘delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser.’
‘The truth about Kaylee and Maddie is that they would have been kind to you…. In a world that rejected you, they would have shown mercy,’ Kaylee Goncalves’ sister Alivea began as she spoke to Bryan Kohberger directly.
Kohberger watched Alivea intently, showing no emotion or flicker of expression.
Body language expert Judi James added of this moment: ‘Her comment ‘sit up straight when I talk to you’ brought no change of pose or movement from Kohnberger but it did point up his rather relaxed pose to the courtroom and hinted at the effect it was having on the relatives.’
Goncalves’ sister Alivea (pictured before the hearing) delivered a searing statement, demanding he explain himself and tearing him down as ‘Stupid, dumb… weak, dirty’
‘I wont stand her and give you what you want, I won’t give you tears… instead I will call you what you are: sociopath, psychopath, murderer,’ she declared.
She then hit him with the very same questions that Kohberger posed in a survey on Reddit as part of his criminology degree at DeSales University.
She went on to blast Kohberger’s past and all his failings, saying: ‘You thought you were so much better than everyone else.’
‘The truth is you’re basic,’ she continued. ‘You’re a textbook case as insecurity disguised as control. You spent months preparing and still all it took was my sister and a sheath.’
‘You’re as dumb as they come. Stupid, dumb… weak, dirty.’
In a damning conclusion, she told Kohberger: ‘If you hadn’t attacked them in your sleep like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your f****** a**.’
The courtroom erupted in clapping at the end of Alivea’s statement.
