Latest news with #StateofIdaho
San Francisco Chronicle
02-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Latest: Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty in University of Idaho stabbings
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder in the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students in 2022. He agreed to the plea deal just weeks before his trial was to begin to avoid the death penalty, which prosecutors had said they intended to pursue. Kohberger, 30, has been charged with killing Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. 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. Here's the latest: The father of one of the victims left the courtroom before the hearing started Kaylee Goncalves' father, Steve Goncalves, left the courthouse shortly after arriving on Wednesday, before Kohberger entered the courtroom. He appeared frustrated. 'I'm just getting out of this zoo,' Goncalves said in a video posted on X. The Gonclaves family had previously said in a Facebook post that they were 'beyond furious at the State of Idaho' for offering Kohberger a plea. As he walked out of the courthouse on Wednesday, he told a reporter that the rest of the Goncalves family felt it was important to be in the courtroom, but that he had no plans on going back. The hearing has adjourned ___ Kohberger remained expressionless as he entered the guilty plea As Kohberger pleaded guilty, some of the victims' loved ones looked down while others craned to see him. The judge will sentence Kohberger at 9 a.m. on July 23. Documents in the court file won't be unsealed until after sentencing. Bryan Kohberger formally pleads guilty to killing four University of Idaho students in a plea deal to avoid the death penalty ___ Prosecutor describes the evidence they had built against Kohberger Prosecutor Bill Thompson mapped out how police were able to map Kohberger's movements using data from his cellphone, and provided a precise timeline of the stabbings. Kohberger slipped through the sliding back door where the four victims were staying, Thompson said. He first killed Madison Mogen. He then killed Kaylee Goncalves. Kohberger stabbed Xana Kernodle, who was collecting a DoorDash order, as he was leaving Goncalves' room. He also killed Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was asleep in bed, with a long-blade knife. Kohberger left a sheath from his knife in Mogen's room. Thompson emphasized that there was a 'single source' of male DNA that matched Kohberger's left on the sheath. There is no evidence that any of the victims were sexually assaulted The prosecutor said he wanted to emphasize that point so that members of the public would not speculate about whether there was a sexual component to the crimes. Bryan Kohberger tells judge he is guilty of killing 4 University of Idaho students The hearing is ongoing and the admission is not the formal plea. Loved ones cry as the victims' names are read As the judge read the names of those Kohberger is accused of killing, people in the section for families teared up. One wiped their eyes with the back of their hand. Others cried into their tissues. Kohberger remained unemotional as he confirmed to the judge that he stabbed the four victims almost three years ago. Kohberger confirms he understands the plea agreement and the consequences he is facing Judge Hippler addressed Kohberger, wearing a gray shirt and dark tie, directly to explain the possible penalties to the crime that he is set to plead guilty to. 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. The families maintained stoic expressions across the courtroom from Kohberger as he gave his short, affirmative answers to the judge. The judge says he learned of the guilty plea on Monday, just like everyone else The judge wasted no time to address the controversy around the decision to offer Kohberger a plea to avoid the death penalty -- a decision that one victim's family has vehemently opposed. 'This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to do that,' Hippler said. He also addressed criticisms that the families were not given time to weigh in on the plea deal. '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.' Judge admonishes those who have tried to contact the court and influence his decision Judge Steven Hippler said his court received numerous emails and phone messages ahead of the hearing, during which Hippler can accept or reject the plea agreement. He said the efforts by members of the public were inappropriate and also said that no external opinions would influence his decision. '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,' the judge said. Kohberger watched without reaction as the judge issued his warning. The victims' families sit together as they wait for the hearing to begin They waited with somber, quiet expressions. At least 100 people were in attendance in the courtroom, and nearly 12,000 people tuned in to watch a livestream of the proceeding. The victims' families arrive at court About an hour before Kohberger was set to plead guilty, the family of Ethan Chapin, a 20-year-old freshman killed that night, walked into the courthouse. Ethan's mother, Stacy Chapin, and father, Jim Chapin, support the plea deal, their spokesperson said Tuesday. Family members of the other slain students, including relatives of victim Kaylee Goncalves, began filing in afterward. ▶ More about the victims Dozens of reporters gather outside the courthouse Long before the sun rose on Wednesday morning, television reporters from across the country quietly set up cameras outside the courthouse in Boise, Idaho, sipping energy drinks and greeting one another. Reporters and true crime enthusiasts seeking a place in the courtroom began to trickle in as early as 2 a.m. MT — nine hours before the hearing would actually begin. The group grew to some 40 people by 8 a.m., when they were let into the building, chattering about the case. The hearing is set to begin at 11 a.m. local time. ___ This item has been corrected to show that the hearing is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. local time, not 11 p.m. Victims and their families have limited input on how crimes are prosecuted The family of Kaylee Goncalves says it opposes any deal that would take the death penalty off the table. Prosecutors stressed in a letter to victims' families, obtained by ABC News, that they had met with available family members last week before extending the offer. Idaho, among other states, guarantees crime victims the right to communicate with prosecutors. This right largely means being kept informed and participating as a case proceeds — but it does not give victims or their families the final say in how prosecutors try a case or whether they can offer or approve a plea agreement. There is no appeals process for victims or families who disagree with a prosecutor's decision, but that doesn't mean there isn't recourse if a victim believes their rights have been violated. Locals share relief and anger over the plea deal Moscow resident Luke Brunaugh, who said he lives less than a mile from where the killings happened, didn't like that a deal would mean the death penalty option would go away, saying that should be the punishment for murder. 'I think it's just unfair to the families,' said Brunaugh. 'It allows him to hide. He never had to really go to trial. He is answering to his crimes, but not to the fullest extent in my opinion.' Heidi Barnett said she felt trepidation when her son chose the University of Idaho as his college three years ago. Visiting him in Moscow on Tuesday, Barnett said a long trial would have been very emotional for the families. 'I would think life in prison sometimes would be harder, so I kind of looked at it that way,' she said. 'I'm not the parent, but I would be happy with that.' Kohberger decided to ac cept a plea deal only after failed efforts to strike the death penalty failed His attorneys tried to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty on an array of grounds — that it would violate standards of decency or flout international law, that prosecutors had failed to provide evidence properly, that their client's autism diagnosis reduced any possible culpability.
The Advertiser
01-07-2025
- The Advertiser
Man to plead guilty to killing US university students
Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty, multiple media outlets are reporting. The news was delivered to families of the victims in a letter from prosecutors, according to ABC News. Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Goncalves' family expressed outrage in a Facebook post: "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected." Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at 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. In a court filing, his lawyers said Kohberger was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. The killings shook the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years. The trial, which was scheduled to begin in August, was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defence expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn't get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred. 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 on Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defence lawyers would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial. The defence 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 lawyers, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial. Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty, multiple media outlets are reporting. The news was delivered to families of the victims in a letter from prosecutors, according to ABC News. Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Goncalves' family expressed outrage in a Facebook post: "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected." Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at 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. In a court filing, his lawyers said Kohberger was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. The killings shook the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years. The trial, which was scheduled to begin in August, was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defence expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn't get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred. 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 on Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defence lawyers would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial. The defence 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 lawyers, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial. Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty, multiple media outlets are reporting. The news was delivered to families of the victims in a letter from prosecutors, according to ABC News. Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Goncalves' family expressed outrage in a Facebook post: "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected." Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at 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. In a court filing, his lawyers said Kohberger was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. The killings shook the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years. The trial, which was scheduled to begin in August, was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defence expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn't get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred. 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 on Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defence lawyers would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial. The defence 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 lawyers, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial. Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty, multiple media outlets are reporting. The news was delivered to families of the victims in a letter from prosecutors, according to ABC News. Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Goncalves' family expressed outrage in a Facebook post: "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected." Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at 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. In a court filing, his lawyers said Kohberger was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. The killings shook the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years. The trial, which was scheduled to begin in August, was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defence expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn't get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred. 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 on Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defence lawyers would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial. The defence 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 lawyers, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial.
Perth Now
30-06-2025
- Perth Now
Man to plead guilty to killing US university students
Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty, multiple media outlets are reporting. The news was delivered to families of the victims in a letter from prosecutors, according to ABC News. Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Goncalves' family expressed outrage in a Facebook post: "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected." Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at 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. In a court filing, his lawyers said Kohberger was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. The killings shook the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years. The trial, which was scheduled to begin in August, was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defence expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn't get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred. 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 on Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defence lawyers would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial. The defence 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 lawyers, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial.
Reuters
15-04-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Idaho judge relaxes abortion ban in cases where woman's life at risk
April 14 (Reuters) - Idaho's abortion ban does not prevent doctors from performing abortions when a pregnant woman's life is in danger, even if her death is "neither imminent nor assured," a judge has ruled, a victory for four patients and two doctors who sued the state to expand the ban's narrow exception for medical emergencies. District Judge Jason Scott in Ada County state court on April 11 said that an abortion is allowed if, in the doctor's "good faith medical judgment," the patient faces "a non-negligible risk of dying sooner" without one. Scott said the exception did not extend to cases where the danger arises from a risk of self-harm due to mental health issues. He ruled that the method of abortion must be one that, without further endangering the woman, "best facilitates the unborn child's survival outside the uterus, if feasible." The judge also rejected the women's argument that abortion should be allowed in case of a lethal condition which would mean the fetus would not survive long after being born. All four patients in the lawsuit were denied abortions in Idaho despite carrying fetuses which had lethal conditions and were forced to travel out of the state to have abortions, according to their 2023 lawsuit, opens new tab. Scott did not explain his reasoning in the brief order, opens new tab, which is his final judgment in the case. The state can appeal it. "Pregnant Idahoans whose health is in danger shouldn't be forced to remain pregnant, and we are glad the court recognized that today," Gail Deady of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. "But this decision leaves behind so many people, including some of the women who brought this case.' The office of Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Idaho's strict abortion ban had also faced a legal challenge under Democratic President Joe Biden from the federal government, which had alleged that the exception for preventing a pregnant woman's death was too narrow and conflicted with a federal law requiring hospitals to stabilize patients facing medical emergencies. Republican President Donald Trump's administration last month dropped that case, but Idaho's largest hospital system is continuing with its own similar lawsuit and has won a preliminary order blocking enforcement of the ban in medical emergencies. Idaho passed its near-total abortion ban, which includes an exception for saving the mother's life, in 2020 as a so-called "trigger law". It was set to take effect when the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, its landmark decision that had established abortion rights nationwide, which it did in June 2022. The case is Adkins et al vs. State of Idaho et al, District Court of the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Idaho, in and for the County of Ada, No. CV01-23-14744. For plaintiffs: Gail Deady of the Center for Reproductive Rights, Leah Godesky of O'Melveny & Myers and others For the state: James Craig of the Idaho Attorney General's office
