Kohberger Big Breakdown – Katherine Ramsland & The Witness List
Before the case ever reached a plea deal, there was one name on Bryan Kohberger’s defense witness list that raised every eyebrow in true crime: Dr. Katherine Ramsland.
Ramsland isn’t just any expert. She’s a forensic psychologist, bestselling author, and was Kohberger’s criminology professor at DeSales University. She also worked directly with the BTK killer, Dennis Rader. Her inclusion signaled that the defense was preparing to lean into Kohberger’s background in criminal psychology—maybe even to argue a behavioral or diminished-capacity angle.
But here’s the twist: Ramsland publicly distanced herself. She said she never expected to be a witness, and never saw violent tendencies in Kohberger. That raises the question—why was her name there in the first place?
In this episode, we break down what her inclusion says about the defense’s early strategy. Were they gearing up to humanize Kohberger? Paint him as a misunderstood academic? Use his background in criminal behavior as a shield instead of a sword?
We explore how the plea deal cut off any courtroom appearance by Ramsland—and why that might have been intentional. This is the psychological warfare of trial strategy: what you signal, what you threaten, and what you never have to prove. Her name may never be called, but it says a lot about the narrative they wanted in play.