U.S. News What to know about Kohberger agreeing to plead guilty to murdering 4 University of Idaho students
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger is expected in court Wednesday to plead guilty to murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty.
Here’s what to know about the case and the recent developments: Who were the victims and who is the suspect?
Kohberger, 30, is accused in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen at a home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times.
Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
What has happened so far in the case?
Kohberger has been charged with four counts of murder in the stabbings. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
When initially asked to enter a plea in 2023, Kohberger stood silent, prompting the judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
The northern Idaho farming community of about 25,000 people was rocked by the killings and hadn’t seen a homicide in about five years. The trial was scheduled to move to Boise after the defense expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn’t get a fair trial where the killings occurred.
What do we know about the plea deal?
Kohberger’s trial was set to start in August and was expected to last more than three months. But after his attorneys failed to have execution stricken as a possible punishment, he agreed to the plea deal.
An attorney for the family of Goncalves confirmed that families of the victims received news of the plea deal in a letter from prosecutors Monday.
“We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho,” Goncalves’ family wrote in a Facebook post. “They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.”
The prosecutors said they met with available family members last week, including some members of the Goncalves family, before deciding to make Kohberger an offer.
A spokesperson for the family of Chapin said they support the deal, while an attorney for Mogen’s mother and stepfather, declined to give their views before Wednesday’s hearing.
What did prosecutors plan to show at trial?
Court filings have shown that prosecutors intended to introduce evidence including Kohberger’s “click history” at Amazon.com with the purchased of a Ka-Bar knife — a military-style, fixed-blade knife — along with a sheath and sharpener months before the killings. A Ka-Bar knife sheath was found next to one of the victims.
Prosecutors had also said they also intended to introduce what appears to be a self-portrait Kohberger took on his phone just hours after the killings. In it, he is smiling and giving a thumbs-up gesture.
A roommate who was in the home that morning, sleeping and intoxicated, told police she woke up and saw a man she didn’t know — someone with “bushy eyebrows” who was wearing a face mask, prosecutors have said.
No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home at the time. Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims’ neighborhood at least a dozen times before the four students were slain.
In a court filing, Kohberger’s lawyers said he was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. What’s next?
A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday in Boise, where the case was moved due to pretrial publicity in northern Idaho. If Kohberger pleads guilty as expected, he would likely be sentenced in July.
Judges may reject plea agreements in Idaho, though such moves are rare. If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea.
The court has issued a gag order that has largely kept attorneys, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial.
Re: U.S. News What to know about Kohberger agreeing to plead guilty to murdering 4 University of Idaho
I understand Goncalves' family's reaction. But prosecutors represent the state, not the victim. Accepting a plea deal will save the state a good deal of money - no trial.
What a monstrous crime. He turned the Moscow house into a slaughter house. I wonder how long he will last in prison - hopefully not long.
Steve Goncalves was constantly violating the gag order. I’ve paid very close attention to this case and court documents through J. Embree, YouTube. After 500 plus of his nuanced learned videos, I’m satisfied of the innocence. As for going to a regular old prison, he won’t be. Part of the “hidden” deal is he will be incarcerated at a campus style Idaho mental health facility. It’s rather cushy in comparison. I suggest you look up the Innocent Project. A litany of railroaded individuals. The legal industrial complex is a cold soulless operation. So long as the codes and case law are followed the prosecution does not give a shite about innocence. Often they hide the exculpatory evidence…..as in this case.
"I understand Goncalves' family's reaction. But prosecutors represent the state, not the victim. Accepting a plea deal will save the state a good deal of money - no trial."
Under Idaho law, the court has the option to accept or reject a plea deal.
This deal saves the state lots of time and money. I believe it is a strong motivator for the acceptance of the deal. Also, Kohberger who pleaded guilty to everything, would be ineligible for parole - combine that with congruent life sentences and his ability to get out is just about non-existent.
Even so, this is a nightmare of the worse kind for the families.
The plea deal saves the state their culpability in its failing to
provide security for the daughters of the snitch parents. This is a nightmare for Kohberger and HIS family. And the state forcing the false guilty plea was about covering their framing of Kohberger. All the hidden camera images, annd the two lying surviving roommates. All the prosecutors had was an outhouse load of erroneous circumstantial ’evidence’. Sleazy manipulation of timelines, myriad Elantras, and ‘white’ vehicle that was actually green. The list of lies is astounding. It’s not over. The forced plea deal can be appealed under certain limited conditions such as exposing the three known killers the state and FBI would like to never see the public light of day. And a claim of coercion, though he stated he was not, the latter, in and of itself coerced, is grounds.
You have provided no supporting evidence for your claims.
Kohberger is innocent. Framed. Put into an impossible petition by the crooked State of Idaho. The State has zero evidence. No hard facts. All circumstantial fiction fantasized by the Moscow PD, Prosecutor Bill Thompson, with Fed Josh Hurwit as the crowning deal maker. Judge Hippler was shamelessly biased and in the states corner. Kohberger was trapped. Not by evidence, but by the threat of the death penalty. Mainstream sensationalists like Ashleigh Banfield, Dateline, Blum and a plethora of lazy minds made it impossible for selecting an untainted jury pool. The reality seems to be that the murders were a revenge hit to get even with three of the victims’ parents for snitching on a drug cartel. These confidential informant had CI witness protection. But their kids in Moscow were unprotected. This case has many very deep rabbit holes. Kohberger is not the first (nor last) unconvicted innocent to be forced to do a soul destroying plea. The State will seal everything to prevent the exculpatory evidence from seeing public daylight. Indeed, that has been the MO from the gitgo. They know Kohberger did not do the dirty deed. Redact, and seal. Idaho law enforcement and their legal industry has a lot to hide.
