Death penalty avoided but life term after murder guilty plea

The man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in 2022 has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors that spares the former criminal-justice doctoral student from the death penalty.

Under the plea agreement, Bryan Kohberger, 30, will serve four consecutive life terms in prison for a rampage that stunned the small college town of Moscow, Idaho, and drew national media attention. He also waived his rights to appeal or seek a sentence review.

The plea deal left unanswered lingering questions that a trial might have explored, such as Kohberger's motives.

Formal sentencing was tentatively set for July 23, the week when jury selection would have begun in the case. Kohberger had previously pleaded not guilty.

Relatives of at least two of the victims attended today's hour-long hearing in Idaho's Fourth Judicial District Court in Boise, the state capital. The families were divided about the plea deal.

Asked by Judge Steven Hippler how he pleaded to each of the charges, Kohberger, wearing a shirt and tie and seated beside his lawyers, answered, "guilty" in a steady voice, exhibiting no visible emotion.

Kohberger also said under questioning that he was entering his plea freely, he believed it to be in his best interests, was satisfied with his legal counsel and understood the consequences.

At the time of the murders, Kohberger was pursuing a doctorate degree in criminal justice at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, a short distance from Moscow in northwestern Idaho.

Authorities have not suggested a motive for the murders, which occurred during the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, in an off-campus house shared by five women.

Three of the roommates - Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho - were found slain inside the house along with Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington.

All suffered multiple stab wounds from a hunting knife, according to authorities.

'SEXUAL COMPONENT' RULED OUT

Outlining the prosecution's case, Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson told the court Kohberger planned the violence and purchased the knife online about eight months before the killings. The knife's sheath was recovered, but the murder weapon was never found.

Thompson said there was no evidence of sexual assault among the victims or a "sexual component" to the killings.

As evidence Kohberger sought to cover up his crimes, Thompson said investigators found he had meticulously cleaned the inside of his car, which he used as the getaway vehicle.

"The defendant had studied crime," Thompson said. "He had done a detailed paper on crime-scene processing. ... He had that knowledge and skill."

Kernodle and Chapin had attended a party the night before, while best friends Mogen and Goncalves had visited a local bar and food truck. All four returned to the house before 2am. Their bodies were found hours later that morning.

Two other women in the house at the time survived unharmed.

According to prosecutors, a surviving roommate told investigators she heard someone crying in one of the victims' bedrooms and opened her door to see a man, clad in black, walk past her and out of the house.

Authorities said they linked Kohberger to the murders using DNA evidence, cell phone data and video footage. He was arrested weeks after the killings in Pennsylvania, where he was visiting family, and was returned to Idaho to face charges.

The family of Goncalves criticized the plea agreement as a "secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims' families," according to a statement.

Her father, Steve Goncalves, said outside the courthouse today the four life sentences did not represent justice.

But Mogen's mother and some other family members said in a statement they "support the plea agreement 100%" as "the best possible outcome for the victims, their families and the state of Idaho".