By Bill Pan
Contributing Writer
Bryan Kohberger, the former criminal justice doctoral student charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022, on Wednesday entered a guilty plea deal that would spare him the death penalty.
Kohberger, 30, had been scheduled to stand trial starting on Aug. 18. Instead, he accepted a plea agreement from prosecutors, agreeing to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murders, in addition to 10 years for a burglary charge. He also waived his right to appeal.
As part of the deal, Kohberger admitted to killing Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21, at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, during the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. He was arrested six weeks later at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvania.
The hearing at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise began shortly after 11:15 a.m. local time. Judge Steven Hippler noted that the court is not legally bound to accept the sentencing terms of the plea agreement, but also clarified that Kohberger may not ask for a different sentence.
When asked by the judge whether he was pleading guilty because he was guilty, Kohberger replied, “Yes.” He then answered “Yes” again as the judge read the names of each of the four victims and asked whether Kohberger had murdered them.
Family members of the victims could be seen crying in the courtroom during the proceedings.
Kohberger is due to be sentenced on July 23.
Families React to Plea Deal
Reactions from the victims’ families were mixed. A video posted on X showed that Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves, apparently left the courthouse in frustration before Kohberger arrived.
The Gonclaves family is calling on Hippler to impose a death sentence regardless. The family had also expressed strong disappointment at the prosecutors’ offer of a plea deal, saying in a Facebook post that they were “beyond furious at the state of Idaho.”
According to the Goncalves family, prosecutors “vaguely mentioned a possible plea” to them on June 27, and formally presented it just two days later without seeking their opinion.
“Four wonderful young people lost their lives, yet the victims’ families were treated as opponents from the outset,” they wrote on Facebook. “We weren’t even called about the plea; we received an email with a letter attached.”
Ben Mogen, father of Madison Mogen, expressed a different sentiment.
In an interview with CBS News, he said he supported the plea as a way to bring closure and relief.
“We can actually put this behind us and not have these future dates and future things that we don’t want to have to be at, that we shouldn’t have to be at, that have to do with this terrible person,” he said, referring to Kohberger. “We get to just think about it for the rest of our lives and have to try and figure out how to do it without Maddie and the rest of the kids.”
Martin Souto Diaz, an attorney for the Kohberger family, released a statement to multiple media outlets requesting privacy.
“In light of recent developments, the Kohbergers are asking members of the media for privacy, respect and responsible judgment during this time,” the statement reads.
“We will continue to allow the legal process to unfold with respect to all parties, and will not release any comments or take any questions.”
The Murders: Timeline and Evidence
At the time of the murders, Kohberger was a criminology graduate student at Washington State University. Prosecutors said they used Kohberger’s cellphone location data to map out his movements on the night of the killings.
According to investigators, Kohberger entered the victims’ home through a sliding back door and first killed Madison Mogen, followed by Kaylee Goncalves. He then encountered and fatally stabbed Xana Kernodle, who was collecting a DoorDash delivery. Finally, he killed Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was asleep in bed.
Although no murder weapon was found at the scene, investigators found a Ka-Bar knife sheath on Mogen’s bed with Kohberger’s DNA on it. Prosecutors also presented evidence from his Amazon purchase history, which showed he had ordered a Ka-Bar knife and later deleted the transaction record.
