Donald Trump intervenes in Bryan Kohberger case to demand answers over unexplained Idaho murders

Daily Mail​

5 hours ago

Donald Trump has intervened in the Idaho murders case and said that quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger should be forced to explain why he committed the atrocities.
The 30-year-old killer finally confessed to the murders in a stunning turn of events earlier this month, but has not offered a motive or explanation for his crimes.
Trump demanded that the judge require Kohberger to give an explanation for his heinous crimes during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday after taking the plea deal.
'Bryan Kohberger, who was responsible, in Idaho, for the deaths of four wonderful young souls, has made a plea bargain deal in order to avoid the Death Penalty. These were vicious murders, with so many questions left unanswered,' the president said on Truth Social Monday.
'While Life Imprisonment is tough, it's certainly better than receiving the Death Penalty but, before Sentencing, I hope the Judge makes Kohberger, at a minimum, explain why he did these horrible murders.
'There are no explanations, there is no NOTHING. People were shocked that he was able to plea bargain, but the Judge should make him explain what happened. Thank you for your attention to this matter!'
Kohberger admitted to the murders of 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, her 21-year-old best friend Madison Mogen and 20-year-old couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
He confessed that he broke into a student home in Moscow, Idaho, in the dead of the night on November 13, 2022, and stabbed the four victims to death.
He was arrested around six weeks later but spent more than two years fighting the charges.
Just weeks before his trial was slated to begin in August, Kohberger struck a controversial deal with prosecutors, changing his plea to guilty on all four counts of murder and one count of burglary.
Under the terms of the deal, he will be spared from the death penalty and will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, while waiving all rights to appeal.
The Goncalves family vehemently opposed the plea deal, with father Steve protesting outside the change of plea hearing in Ada County Courthouse in Boise on July 2.
With Kohberger no longer facing trial, Judge Steven Hippler lifted a sweeping gag order, but refused to immediately unseal all records related to the case.
To this day, the parents said they still don't know what the motive for the murders was.
Kohberger has not revealed a motive for the attack and there is no known connection between him and his victims.
During the change of plea hearing, it was revealed that Kohberger bought a Ka-Bar knife and sheath from Amazon in March 2022 - months before the killings.
In June 2022, he moved from his parents' home in Pennsylvania to Pullman, Washington, where he enrolled on the criminal justice PhD program at Washington State University.
From the following month onwards, his cell phone pinged close to the victims' home at 1122 King Road - indicating that he likely stalked or surveilled at least one of the women who lived there.
At around 4am on November 13, 2022, Kohberger broke into the three-story home and went straight up to Mogen's room on the third floor, where he murdered Mogen and Goncalves.
On his way back downstairs or on leaving the property, the prosecutor said he encountered Kernodle on the second floor, who had just received a DoorDash food order.
He attacked her with the knife and then also murdered Chapin who was sleeping in her bed.
Kohberger then left through the back sliding door on the second story of the property, passing roommate Dylan Mortensen who had been woken by the noise and peeked around her bedroom door.
Mortensen and roommate Bethany Funke - whose bedroom was on the first floor - were the only survivors.
Prosecutors believe Kohberger did not intend to kill all four victims that night - but did enter the home intending to kill and had planned his attack for some time.
He was tracked down, after he left a Ka-Bar leather knife sheath next to Mogen's body at the scene. Through Investigative Genetic Genealogy, the FBI managed to trace DNA on the sheath to Kohberger.
Kohberger will return to Ada County Court for his sentencing on July 23, where the families of the victims will be given the opportunity to deliver impact statements.