Bryan Kohberger Believed in Death Penalty, College Classmate Claims

Bryan Kohberger was once a firm believer in the death penalty ... this according to one of his fellow Ph.D. classmates.

Idaho State Police released hundreds of pages of documents last week ... including an interview with a person who was in one of Kohberger's post-grad classes at Washington State University. The woman's name is redacted.

This individual peeled back the curtain on her alleged interactions with the murderer ... telling authorities he was the only student in class who believed in the death penalty.

She says he used a hypothetical when expressing why he supported the death penalty ... asking her what she would want done if her 12-year-old was raped and murdered. It's unclear if this fellow student has a child or if this was just a random question.

Of course, Kohberger's apparent support of the death penalty carries particular significance ... 'cause many family members of the victims -- Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin -- wanted the prosecutors in Latah County, Idaho to take him to trial and go for the death penalty.

The Latah County District Attorney's Office ultimately agreed to a deal where BK pled guilty to the four murders and received four consecutive life sentences instead going to death row.

Before he was facing capital punishment himself, it sounds like Kohberger may have pushed for the death penalty if he were on the outside looking in -- at least if you believe the account of this classmate. The revelation will almost certainly add to the families' ire. We've reached out to the Latah County D.A. for more info.