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The convicted killer of four University of Idaho students is again in the news — though this time it’s for what he’s experiencing while incarcerated. Bryan Kohberger, the 30-year-old former Ph.D. student in criminology who was arrested and ultimately convicted of the grisly 2022 murders, has sent a number of handwritten grievances to prison officials in recent weeks, pleading that he’s being threatened daily by other inmates at Idaho’s Maximum Security Institution.

In documents obtained by People, Kohberger requested to be transferred from J Block, which contains units that house Idaho’s highest-profile and high-risk inmates, including the state’s death row, to B Block, a less busy part of the facility. Kohberger wrote that he has been the victim of “minute by minute verbal abuse” and that he’s received graphic threats of sexual assault from other inmates.

In the complaint, Kohberger noted that the abuse began just two days after he was placed in J Block. Less than a week after being placed there, Kohberger again wrote in a letter to the institution that he was having problems after hearing one inmate yell “I’ll b— f— you,” and another telling him, “The only a– we’ll be eating is Kohberger’s.” The prison guards who responded to the first inmate’s statement noted in the letter that they “could hear incoherent, vulgarities directed at” Kohberger but could not remember the exact words.

“As I continue the SPI phase, I wish to discuss if I may be transferred to another ad-seg setting,” Kohberger wrote, referring to prison slang for “administrative segregation,” a type of protective housing meant to shield an inmate from threats made by others. “Tier 2 of J Block is an environment that I wish to transfer from if possible. I request transfer to B Block immediately. I wish to speak with you soon.”

Kohberger’s letter also suggested he has not engaged in flooding or “striking” to protest his living conditions. Flooding can refer to a disciplinary act by inmates in which they plug toilets or sinks to cause water damage or flooding. “Striking” usually refers to acts like refusing to do work or other assigned duties or becoming violent and disruptive, according to law enforcement experts.

State prison officials have not confirmed that they would move Kohberger, who had another interview with the investigator over the threats on Wednesday. As of Wednesday, Kohberger was in J Block, according to state prison records.

Inmate Was Targeted in Jail, Too

Kohberger has long been the target of inmates, even before he was convicted and sentenced. In the months Kohberger was in jail, there were reports of inmates in the same facility taunting Kohberger, often while on video chats with his mother. In one video call, a man made comments, calling Kohberger a “f—ing weirdo” and then in another call said, “If there weren’t any repercussions I would have tore your f—ing a– up.”

Criminal justice experts point to Kohberger’s well-documented awkward social skills and his distinctive “piercing stare” described in court documents, noting that he has likely made himself a target for other inmates. Given his personality and the notoriety of his crime, experts say Kohberger was bound to have a target on his back. “High-profile offenders nearly always have a target on their back,” said one prison consultant, who added that Kohberger’s personality only “makes him more noticeable in prison.”

Since being sentenced, Kohberger has changed visibly, with many sources saying he has lost weight over his last two and a half years of confinement. Kohberger is in Idaho’s highest-security facility for its high-risk inmates, which also houses one of the state’s most high-profile inmates, death row inmate Chad Daybell.

Kohberger is also likely to be compared to other high-profile inmates like Jeffrey Dahmer, who suffered years of taunting and was ultimately beaten to death in his prison cell in 1994. Some prison consultants worry that unless Kohberger’s complaints are taken seriously, the same thing could happen.

But for now, Kohberger is set to spend the rest of his life without parole in J Block. Idaho prison officials have declined to comment on his security classification and general conditions of confinement, citing safety protocols. But Kohberger’s letters suggest he is not only haunted by his crime, but also feels under pressure from his fellow inmates.