The Educated Killer Playbook: What Kohberger and McKee Reveal About Premeditated Murder
The Educated Killer Playbook: What Kohberger and McKee Reveal About Premeditated Murder  
Podcast: Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Published On: Fri Jan 30 2026
Description: Two men. Two elite educations. Two alleged murder sprees months apart. Bryan Kohberger—criminology PhD, studied crime scene processing at the doctoral level—pled guilty to killing four Idaho students in November 2022. Michael McKee—vascular surgeon with more than a decade of surgical training—stands charged with murdering his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer in December 2025. The methods allegedly used in both cases reveal a chilling pattern.Both men allegedly turned off or abandoned their phones during the murder window. Both allegedly surveilled their targets beforehand—Kohberger's phone pinged near the victims' house 23 times over four months; McKee allegedly spent hours on the Tepe property during a reconnaissance visit while the family was out of town. Both allegedly used vehicles that became key evidence despite countermeasures. And both allegedly believed their intelligence made them exceptions to the rule.The indictment against McKee includes a six-year specification for using a firearm suppressor. A silencer. That's why no neighbors heard shots. That's why no one called 911 until Spencer didn't show up for work the next morning. If the allegations are true, this was equipment procurement for murder. Professional-grade planning for a deeply personal crime.Kohberger left DNA on a knife sheath. McKee allegedly left a ballistics match through NIBIN. The smartest thing either could have done was the one thing obsession wouldn't allow: nothing. This episode breaks down the pattern of educated killers—what they get right, where they fail, and why intelligence becomes its own trap.#HiddenKillers #BryanKohberger #MichaelMcKee #TepeFamily #IdahoMurders #EducatedKillers #Premeditation #CriminalPsychology #TrueCrimePodcast #DomesticViolenceJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.