PhD vs. Surgeon: Why Educated Killers Make the Same Mistakes

Bryan Kohberger studied crime for a living. Michael McKee allegedly studied his ex-wife's home for hours before he came back to kill her. Both believed preparation was protection. Both were wrong.

Kohberger—the criminology doctoral student who pled guilty to the Idaho student murders—turned his phone off during the killings but created a traceable return route when it came back online. McKee allegedly achieved a 17-hour phone blackout by leaving his device at the hospital where he worked. On paper, that's smarter. In practice, police tracked his vehicle arriving in Columbus before the murders and leaving afte...