A 30-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing four Idaho college students in 2022 pleaded guilty on Wednesday as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, admitting to the quadruple murder in the small college town.
Bryan Kohberger , a PhD criminology student, had been scheduled to stand trial in August for the brutal killings that shocked the US.
At a courtroom in Boise, Idaho, he pleaded guilty to all charges, accepted four consecutive life sentences, and waived his right to appeal. During the hearing, Judge Steven Hippler detailed the terms of the plea deal and chose not to reject the agreement, despite it being a source of division among the victims’ families.
Kohberger remained motionless and showed no emotion as the court read the victims’ names. The judge asked him whether he had carried out the murders “willfully, unlawfully, deliberately, with premeditation and malice aforethought.”
He responded, “yes”.
Judge Hippler said he will formally be sentenced on 23 July.
The plea agreement guarantees that Kohberger will not face trial, originally scheduled for August, and removes the possibility of a death sentence for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The gruesome nature of the killings, the young age of the victims, and the suspect’s criminology background drew widespread public attention to the case.
The four University of Idaho students were discovered fatally stabbed in their off-campus rental home on November 13, 2022. Kohberger, who was studying criminal justice at a nearby university at the time, was arrested weeks later in Pennsylvania, where his family resides.
The plea agreement has caused division among the victims’ families.
Outside the courtroom, Kaylee Goncalves’ father, Steve, said he felt “pretty let down,” adding that the state “made a deal with the devil,” according to newsagency Reuters.
His family had hoped for a full confession, including information about where the murder weapon was hidden and confirmation that the defendant acted alone. The family claimed that prosecutors rushed into the plea deal without consulting the victims' families.
"After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details," the family said.
However, Madison Mogen's father, Ben, told CBS that he felt relieved by the outcome and welcomed the deal because it enables his family to move forward with their lives and avoid a trial that would require revisiting the entire case in detail.
“We can actually put this behind us and not have these future dates and future things ... that have to do with this terrible person,” he said. “We get to just think about the rest of lives and have to try and figure out how to do it without Maddie and the rest of the kids,” he added.
Kohberger, a student at nearby Washington State University, was charged in January 2023. Until now, he had maintained his innocence, and prosecutors have not disclosed a motive. It is believed that he did not know the victims personally.
Bryan Kohberger , a PhD criminology student, had been scheduled to stand trial in August for the brutal killings that shocked the US.
At a courtroom in Boise, Idaho, he pleaded guilty to all charges, accepted four consecutive life sentences, and waived his right to appeal. During the hearing, Judge Steven Hippler detailed the terms of the plea deal and chose not to reject the agreement, despite it being a source of division among the victims’ families.
Kohberger remained motionless and showed no emotion as the court read the victims’ names. The judge asked him whether he had carried out the murders “willfully, unlawfully, deliberately, with premeditation and malice aforethought.”
He responded, “yes”.
Judge Hippler said he will formally be sentenced on 23 July.
The plea agreement guarantees that Kohberger will not face trial, originally scheduled for August, and removes the possibility of a death sentence for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The gruesome nature of the killings, the young age of the victims, and the suspect’s criminology background drew widespread public attention to the case.
The four University of Idaho students were discovered fatally stabbed in their off-campus rental home on November 13, 2022. Kohberger, who was studying criminal justice at a nearby university at the time, was arrested weeks later in Pennsylvania, where his family resides.
The plea agreement has caused division among the victims’ families.
Outside the courtroom, Kaylee Goncalves’ father, Steve, said he felt “pretty let down,” adding that the state “made a deal with the devil,” according to newsagency Reuters.
His family had hoped for a full confession, including information about where the murder weapon was hidden and confirmation that the defendant acted alone. The family claimed that prosecutors rushed into the plea deal without consulting the victims' families.
"After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details," the family said.
However, Madison Mogen's father, Ben, told CBS that he felt relieved by the outcome and welcomed the deal because it enables his family to move forward with their lives and avoid a trial that would require revisiting the entire case in detail.
“We can actually put this behind us and not have these future dates and future things ... that have to do with this terrible person,” he said. “We get to just think about the rest of lives and have to try and figure out how to do it without Maddie and the rest of the kids,” he added.
Kohberger, a student at nearby Washington State University, was charged in January 2023. Until now, he had maintained his innocence, and prosecutors have not disclosed a motive. It is believed that he did not know the victims personally.
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