Kohberger judge whines about public backlash as furious families and fans reject merciful plea deal

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

The judge who granted Bryan Kohberger a plea deal which will allow him to avoid the death penalty has slammed members of the public for trying to sway his decision.
Kohberger finally admitted to killing Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, in their home as they slept in November 2022.
He made the concession in order to be spared the death penalty, agreeing instead to spend the rest of his life in prison without any opportunity for parole or appeal.
The plea deal divided the victims' families and the publi c, and Judge Steven Hippler revealed on Wednesday his office had been inundated with calls and voicemails from furious members of the public.
Judge Hippler told the court he had not listened to any of the voicemails left for him at his office, describing the constant calls as 'incredibly disruptive.'
'It is not appropriate and not something I would take into account when deciding a case like this,' he said.
'Court is not supposed to, and this court will never, take into account public sentiment in making an opinion regarding its judicial decisions in cases. I always will make decisions based on where the facts and the law lead me, period.'
Kaylee Goncalves' father had earlier in the week encouraged anyone who knows Judge Hippler to contact him and express dissatisfaction with the deal as he railed for it to be rejected.
Instead, he wanted Kohberger to be tried and to face the death penalty.
'My role is to ensure the defendant's plea is given voluntarily,' Judge Hippler said.
He revealed he only first heard of the plea deal on Monday afternoon, which is when it was made known to the public.
Prior to that, he was under the impression the case would 'head to trial' and had instructed his office to begin making preparations to vet 10,000 Ada County citizens as potential jurors to sit on the case.
'This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to do that,' Hippler said.
'I, like everyone else, learned of this plea agreement Monday afternoon and had no inkling of it beforehand. Once I learned of the defendant's decision to change his plea in this case it was important that I take the plea as soon as possible.'
The defense had argued it would be a tedious process trying to select an impartial jury given the high profile nature of the case.
Angry observers have also lashed out at the Latah County Prosecuting Attorney's office for allowing Kohberger to avoid the death penalty through the plea deal.
Members of the public flooded the office's website with one-star reviews in protest against the controversial move, which saved the killer from the firing squad.
'Horrible Horrible people work here!! They all need to be fired for what they did, no justice for any of the 4 college students,' one reviewer wrote.
'What part about Bryan Kohberger needs to die do you not understand?' another fumed.
'I had a traffic ticket and the prosecutor went after me harder than you went after Kohberger,' a third person said.
Kohberger, 30, spoke calmly, answering 'yes' as he was asked plainly whether he murdered the four students.
Judge Hippler accepted Kohberger's plea and said he will be sentenced at Ada County Court on July 23 at 9am local time (11am EST).
'The trial will be vacated and the jury commissioner will get words to those who were summoned that they won't be required to attend,' Judge Hippler added.
Documents in the court file won´t be unsealed until after sentencing.
There's still no hint of a motive for the shocking crime and Kohberger may never reveal why he did it.
Kohberger confirmed to the judge that he was pleading guilty 'freely and voluntarily' because he was, in fact, guilty, and not because he had some other incentive.
Madison Mogen's father Ben Mogen hung his head and his legs shook as the judge asked Kohberger if he admitted to stabbing his daughter to death.
He wiped his eyes with a hanky after his daughter's killer pleaded guilty to the heinous crime.
Kaylee Goncalves' mother Kristi Goncalves, who was flanked by several family members, cried as the judge asked Kohberger if he had murdered her daughter and Kohberger replied in the affirmative.