Bryan Kohberger to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students
The man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death has agreed to plead guilty to the murders, in a move that would spare him from the death penalty.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings in November 2022.
He was accused of sneaking into the rented home in Moscow, Idaho, which is not far from the university campus, and attacking Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, but is now set to be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and waive all rights to appeal.
The family of Ms Goncalves spoke of their fury at the reported plea deal.
In a statement after media reports about the deal, they said: "It's true! We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support."
Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Two other women in the house at the time survived.
Investigators matched Kohberger's DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
A letter from prosecutors to the victims' families, obtained by US media, said Kohberger's lawyers had approached them to seek a plea deal.
"This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family," the letter said.
"This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals."
In Idaho, judges can reject plea agreements - but such incidents are rare. Defendants do have the right to withdraw their guilty plea if this happens.
A change of plea hearing has been set for tomorrow, with the victims' families asking for it to be delayed so they can travel to the courthouse.
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Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to Idaho killings in bid to avoid death penalty
Former student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to stabbing to death four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors. Kohberger, 30, was pursuing a doctoral degree in criminal justice at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, about 8 miles (13 km) across the border from Moscow, Idaho, where the four victims attended the University of Idaho. In a case that drew national attention, Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges. The three young women, who had been room-mates, and a young man, who was the boyfriend of one of the women, were fatally stabbed in an off-campus house where the women lived on November 13, 2022. Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the victims, confirmed that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that his clients were upset about it. '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.' Citing a letter from prosecutors to victims' families, ABC News said Kohberger agreed to four consecutive life sentences and has waived his right to appeal. The letter said prosecutors expect Kohberger to be sentenced in late July if he enters the guilty plea as planned at a hearing on Wednesday. 'This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,' the letter said, according to ABC News. 'This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals.' Kohberger's trial was expected to start on August 18. His attorney and the Idaho attorney general's office did not immediately comment. A court administrator had no information to release. The crime stunned the small college town of Moscow. Kohberger was arrested weeks later in Pennsylvania, where he was visiting his family, and flown to Idaho to face charges. The victims - Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho - all suffered multiple stab wounds.
The Independent
39 minutes ago
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Bryan Kohberger to plead guilty to murder in Idaho student stabbings to avoid death penalty
Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, an attorney for one victim's family said. Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, confirmed Monday that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that his clients were upset about it. '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.' A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday, but the family has asked prosecutors to delay it to give them more time to travel to Boise, Gray said. Kohberger's trial was set for August in Boise, where it was moved following pretrial publicity in rural northern Idaho. Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, early 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. At the time, Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, about 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) west of the University of Idaho. He was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, weeks later. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene. No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home. Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims' neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings. The murders shocked the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years, and prompted a massive hunt for the perpetrator. That included an elaborate effort to track down a white sedan that was seen on surveillance cameras repeatedly driving by the rental home, to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect through the use of genetic genealogy and to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings through cellphone data. In a court filing, Kohberger's lawyers said he was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. In the letter to families, obtained by ABC News, prosecutors said Kohberger's lawyers approached them seeking to reach a plea deal. The defense team had previously made unsuccessful efforts to have the death penalty stricken as a possible punishment, including arguing that Kohberger's autism diagnosis made him less culpable. The prosecutors said they met with available family members last week before deciding to make Kohberger an offer. 'This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,' the letter said. 'This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals. Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice.' In a Facebook post, the Goncalves family wrote that Kaylee's 18-year-old sister, Aubrie, had been unable to attend the meeting with prosecutors. But she shared her concerns in a written statement. 'Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world,' Aubrie Goncalves wrote. 'Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims' pasts.' In Idaho, judges may reject plea agreements, though such moves are rare. If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea. Earlier Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defense attorneys would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial. The defense subpoenas were granted regarding a boxing trainer who knew Kohberger as a teenager, a childhood acquaintance of Kohberger's and a third man whose significance was not explained. A gag order has largely kept attorneys, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial. ___
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
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EXCLUSIVE FIVE horrifying Idaho murder questions that may never be answered: Agonizing final blow for victims' families after Bryan Kohberger plea deal
For more than two years the families of four murdered University of Idaho students have wrestled with questions about their loved ones' brutal deaths. On Monday, it appeared one of the most urgent had been answered by reports prime suspect Bryan Kohberger was to accept a plea deal.
