When the Night Comes Falling

Content Warning: This text and the guide discuss murder.

Bryan Kohberger, the main suspect in the four real-life slayings in When the Night Comes Falling, was, coincidentally or not, an avid student of forensic psychology. This hybrid of psychology and criminology uses the scientific method to study the human mind as it relates to crime, punishment, and the justice system in general. During his graduate studies, Kohberger came to idolize one of his professors, Dr. Katherine Ramsland, a forensic psychologist with a special focus on the psychology of those who kill. Kohberger’s connection to and interest in forensic psychology—more specifically, Ramsland’s serial killer-specific research—placed him in close contact with information that helped him evade discovery long after his crime and gave him the confidence to initially kill. The subject is emphasized throughout the book because of the interests/careers of Bryan, Ramsland, and the author, Howard Blum.

One aim of forensic psychology involves criminal profiling, i.e., inferring, from crime scene evidence, a psychological and behavioral “sketch” of the (unknown) perpetrator that can be used to narrow the police’s search. In her work, Ramsland cautions that serial killers display a wide spectrum of personality types: There is no universal psychological profile. Still, her in-depth interviews with convicted killers suggest some common traits; for instance, “organized” murderers (like the one responsible for the Moscow college slayings) are likely to have an above-average IQ and to display signs of psychopathology, that is, a callous indifference to others’ rights and feelings. In childhood, warning signs include what Ramsland calls “the triarchic model”: “callousness, cruelty and disinhibition,” as well as “unmotivated lying” (Cassick, Callie. “Serial Killer Traits: Forensic Psychology Expert Details Key Criminal Patterns.” Fox News, 26 April 2024).

Adjacent to profiling, forensic psychologists like Ramsland also seek to unravel, from the murderer’s psyche, the (often elusive) motive for their crimes. For his graduate work in criminology, Bryan Kohberger compiled a list of probing questions for criminals, some of which sought to decipher the pleasure principle at work in the predatory mind: “Why did you choose that victim or target over others? […] After committing the crime, what were you thinking or feeling?” (36-37). This survey, which his professor thought very insightful, was designed to excavate deep-seated motives of which the criminal himself might be unaware. Ironically, a weakness in the case against Kohberger is the lack of a clear motive; indeed, no evidence has emerged that he even knew the four victims. However, many studies, including Ramsland’s, show that “organized” serial killers can be icily impersonal in their motives, driven more by narcissistic fantasies than personal grievance.

The topic of forensic psychology is explored in a broader sense as Blum examines its relation to the public and students—for example, Ramsland’s efforts to decode the twisted logic and motivations of the darkest of minds resonated with Bryan Kohberger, who patterned his own studies and interests after her work. Like his mentor, Blum writes, Kohberger hoped to “open formidable doors concealing dangerous secrets” (39), an assumed segue to his eventual crime. In his book, Blum hints that forensic psychologists in training who lack basic empathy might, in their lonely passion, take their study of the criminal mind a little too far. As he quotes Ramsland: “Fantasy also builds an appetite to experience the real thing” (37). Further, Blum addresses the public’s fascination with crime and ability to interfere in investigations, complicating the legal process. The exploration of criminal minds is thus a captivating, multi-faceted topic that both brings criminals to light and, sometimes, creates unwanted consequences.