Kerri Rawson Wiki

                      Kerri Rawson Biography

Kerri Rawson, the daughter of Rader, better known as the BTK killer, said it was “possible” there had been letters between her father and Bryan Kohberger.

The 28-year-old was arrested Friday and charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony robbery.

It comes after a search of more than a month for the killer behind the brutal deaths of Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, in Moscow, Idaho.

Serial Killer

Kohberger, a graduate doctoral student, had previously studied with a professor in Pennsylvania known for his expertise on serial killers and was studying criminology at Washington State University at the time of the murders, just minutes from the crime scene.

Rawson told NewsNation that he fears Kohberger may have been in contact with his father after finding out that Dr. Katherine Ramsland had taught him while he was at DeSales University.

Ramsland has declined to comment on the arrest, but she spent decades investigating serial killers and mass murderers, writing both “The Mind of a Murderer” and “How to Catch a Murderer.”

Relationship with serial killer Dennis Rader

She is best known for developing a close relationship with serial killer Dennis Rader, known as BTK.

Rawson said: “My first reaction was that my stomach turned and I literally became physically ill. I’ve been quite interested in the Idaho case, and was surprised to see that there was a connection to Ramsland and my father.

‘Potentially there is a connection to my father, but we’re going to have to wait and see. Kohberger may have had communication with my father.

Criminal record

It is very common for criminal justice students and more generally the true crime community or fans to contact my father via mail and occasionally speak on the phone.

“Knowing how personally connected Ramsland is to my father, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kohberger at least tried to write to him.

‘If he has contacted my father, there would be letters in his house and in my father’s jail cell. It’s hard being this guy’s son and living with this.

‘And then I see someone else do this and I wonder if your father had a hand in this. Did my dad talk to him?

‘Was he studying my father outside of academics?

Am I ever going to get answers to that? I do not know.

Rawson also said he believes the Kohberger family is “going through hell” after his arrest, noting that there is currently “no reason to suspect they knew.”

Investigators have yet to outline a motive in the killings of the four students, but those who knew Kohberger say he had a deep interest in the psychology of criminals.

High school friends claim that he battled heroin addiction in his youth, but he seems to have moved on.

Kohberger earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from a community college in 2018, before studying psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University.

A student in Kohberger’s criminology class said he “often interrupted” Ramsland, “as if he knew more about the subject than she did,” according to Law and Crime.

Federal and state investigators are now reviewing his background, financial records and electronic communications as they work to identify a motive and build the case.

Investigators are also interviewing people who knew Kohberger, including those at Washington State University.

Another former professor of hers from Washington State University told DailyMail.com that she was “shocked as shit” by her arrest.

Investigators were able to match the genetic evidence to a member of the suspect’s family using genealogy databases, CNN reported, citing a source.

Kohberger may face the death penalty in the state, where his family cannot afford to hire a lawyer to fight.

Investigators are still trying to locate the murder weapon more than six weeks after the murders, which they believe was a large knife.

Charged

Kohberger has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of federal robbery, and Moscow Police Chief James Fry said he broke into the student house with the “intent to commit murder.”

Police seized a white Hyundai Elantra, the same model Moscow police had been searching for after being spotted near the crime scene, from outside Kohberger’s home.

Kaylee and Madison were found on the top floor of their Moscow, Idaho, home. College lovers Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were found in a second-floor bedroom while survivors Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke slept on the first floor.

She had been home for the holidays after her father flew 2,000 miles from Pennsylvania to Idaho to drive with her son.

It is not clear if Kohberger’s father, who went bankrupt in 2010, or the rest of his family knew about the murders.

Law enforcement officials confirmed that her DNA was found at the crime scene, although she has no criminal record, which would put her DNA on file.

Family

Kohberger’s family addressed the charges Sunday and asked people to refrain from prosecution.

Moscow Police Chief James Fry refused to rule out that the killer had an accomplice.

Details of the killings and motive for them have not yet been released, and police say a sealed arrest affidavit will be released once Kohberger is extradited to Idaho.

Friday’s arrest is the first major break in the case, with Kohberger asking if “anyone else was arrested” when he was taken into custody. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

He is currently in custody at the Monroe County Jail in Pennsylvania until a hearing on January 3.