Bryan Kohberger was studying for a Phd in criminology in 2022 when he was accused of butchering four University of Idaho students in their sleep.

When the autistic 30-year-old pleaded guilty to the brutal murders on Wednesday, his former professor questioned whether her module on serial killers may have served as inspiration.

“I have to look at the framework of what I taught and wonder, did I inspire him in some way?” Dr Katherine Ramsland, a psychologist at Pennsylvania’s DeSales University, told NewsNation.

Dr Ramsland, who taught Kohberger during his undergraduate degree said she never observed any “red flags” about her former student, but conceded psychopaths might be drawn to her area of study.

“Unfortunately, in this field, that’s what we live with,” she said.

It’s a compelling explanation to a case that sent shockwaves through the remote farming community of Moscow, grabbed headlines around the world and set off a nationwide manhunt that lasted for weeks, ending in the arrest of Kohberger.