Latest news with #SteveGoncalves
Fox News
11 hours ago
- Fox News
Father of slain college student urges Bryan Kohberger to explain himself
Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four Idaho college students murdered by Bryan Kohberger, says he just wants to know what happened to his daughter on 'The Will Cain Show.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Furious father of Bryan Kohberger victim reveals 'weird porn fetishes' that may have driven killer's rampage
The father of one of the University of Idaho murder victims revealed that Bryan Kohberger 's 'weird porn fetishes' may provide insight into the motive behind the 2022 killings. Steve Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee was among the four students murdered, voiced his frustration over the lack of public disclosure about Kohberger, a criminology graduate student at Washington State University. Kohberger's motive remains the biggest mystery in the case, and one that prosecutors had been unable to determine after a nearly-three-year-long investigation. But Goncalves made the explosive claim on Thursday, revealing that sources close to the investigation had shared disturbing details about Kohberger's online activity. 'People were so outraged by what was happening in that courtroom, they'd call us and say, "This is what's on Bryan's phone. This is what he was searching. This was sexually motivated,"' Steve Goncalves told NewsNation's Ashleigh Banfield. Goncalves' comments came after Kohberger's plea hearing on July 2, where he admitted to the murders as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. During the hearing, Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson dismissed a sexual motive for the brutal slayings of the three girls and one male student. 'I will state for the record that there is no evidence there was any sexual component or sexual assault on any of the victims,' Thompson said. 'I want to make that clear so there's no speculation.' But Goncalves, now speaking publicly after a gag order was lifted, says he doesn't believe that. 'I don't care what Thompson said,' he stated. The grieving father claimed Kohberger had a disturbing digital history, which he dubbed 'weird porn fetishes,' that included searches for 'drunk passed out girls and gagging girls.' 'Those are two things that were part of that crime scene,' Goncalves said. 'So for Thompson to say that there was no sexual assault… Of course, there wasn't. He didn't have enough time. Somebody came up there,' the distressed dad alleged. That 'somebody,' Thompson previously suggested, may have been Xana Kernodle -who possibly encountered Kohberger while moving between floors in the Moscow house before she was killed alongside her boyfriend Ethan Chapin. Goncalves also revealed that Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt told him Kaylee had injuries around her mouth, indicating someone tried to silence her. 'There was some damage around her mouth,' he said during the on-air interview, using his hand to demonstrate. 'Like somebody had pressed in and tried to keep her quiet.' Kohberger (pictured) will be sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday under the terms of the plea agreement Despite the lifting of the gag order, Goncalves says families still don't have a full picture of what happened. He believes this lack of transparency has robbed them of the chance to deliver fully informed victim impact statements ahead of Kohberger's sentencing. 'You only got one time to be able to be a victim's advocate and say what you need to say and to address the courtroom and everyone in Idaho, and they're not going to let us know exactly what happened,' he said. 'It's just terrible.' Kohberger, 30, will be sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday under the terms of the plea agreement. Goncalves, who has been vocal in his opposition to the deal, said he will not be attending. 'Why are you defending somebody who just killed four people, you know?' he said. 'We're just glad to be done with it. We're glad to move on.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Bryan Kohberger victim's father shares harrowing new details of her final moments and brutal injuries
The father of one of Bryan Kohberger 's victims has revealed shocking new details about his daughter's final moments, as he hit out at the secrecy that continues to shroud the case. Steve Goncalves told NewsNation Thursday his 21-year-old daughter Kaylee Goncalves had 'damage around her mouth' indicating that her killer tried to gag and silence her while stabbing her to death. Steve said Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt, who conducted the victims' autopsies, said her injuries were 'like somebody had pressed in and tried to keep her quiet' during the vicious attack. The harrowing new details emerged as the Goncalves family prepares to deliver victim impact statements at Kohberger's sentencing next week - but voiced frustration at being in the dark about some of the details of the murders. 'You only got one time to be able to be a victim's advocate and say what you need to say and to address the courtroom and everyone in Idaho, and they're not going to let us know exactly what happened,' Steve said. 'We want to make sure everything we say is exactly truthful.' Kohberger is set to be sentenced on July 23 for the murders of Goncalves, her 21-year-old best friend Madison Mogen and 20-year-old couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The 30-year-old killer - who had spent years studying criminology -finally confessed to the murders in a stunning turn of events earlier this month. Kohberger 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 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 Thursday, but refused to immediately unseal all records related to the case. In an appearance on CBS Mornings Friday, Goncalves' parents Kristi and Steve Goncalves blasted the ongoing secrecy in the case which they claim protects the man who murdered their daughter and her friends. 'I think by hiding the truth we are protecting our killers,' Steve told Gayle King. 'We have to show the ugliness of what this person did.' Steve said the family feels the need to know all the details about how their daughter died in order to prepare to confront Kohberger in court. 'We're writing our victim impact statements and we don't even know what the impact is as they've hid the impact from all of us,' he said. 'I need to know the facts. How many times was my daughter stabbed? Was she choked? What happened? 'And that should be party of our victim impact statement. They're robbing us. And they're protecting he killer still.' Kristi added that the victims' families don't know 'any more than pretty much everybody else' about the murders and the case as a whole. She said she hopes that 'with this gag order being lifted it will allow us to know more about what happened to our daughter.' To this day, the parents said they still don't know what the motive for the murders was. A gag order of some sorts - known as a non-dissemination order - has been in place since the early days blocking law enforcement, attorneys for both sides and other officials from speaking publicly about the case. The order - together with the broad sealing of records and evidence by the court - has restricted what information the public and the victims' families have had access to throughout the almost three-year-long proceedings. Throughout the years-long proceedings, the court found it necessary to protect Kohberger's right to a fair trial. During the July 2 change of plea hearing, Judge Hippler said the gag order would remain in place through sentencing, prompting a coalition of media organizations - including the Daily Mail - to file a motion calling for it to be lifted. 'There is no possible set of circumstances under which Mr. Kohberger will ever face a jury to determine his guilt or to determine whether the death penalty should be imposed,' the coalition argued. 'No trial will occur. Thus, there is no need to preserve Mr. Kohberger's 'right to a fair trial' because he has already admitted guilt.' In a brief court hearing Thursday, the judge agreed, saying that 'the rights of the public to information in this case is paramount given the fact that a plea has been entered in this case.' Dressed in a burgundy t-shirt, Kohberger looked on over Zoom from Ada County Jail - the first time he has been seen in public since he admitted to the murders. While lifting the gag order, Judge Hippler said he was 'denying outright' a separate motion to unseal all records in the case, calling it 'premature.' Instead, he said that, after sentencing, the court will begin the process to review all the records in the case to determine what can be unsealed and what should remain sealed. 'That process is going to take time - I'm not talking days, I'm probably not talking weeks... patience will be required,' he said. Despite Kohberger's guilty plea, a lot of information about the murders remains a mystery. The 30-year-old 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, Thompson 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.
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Daily Mail
New anguish for Idaho victim Kaylee Goncalves' family that's left her dad 'looking as bad as the prosecutor'
The grieving family of an Idaho murder victim is trying to return more than $85,000 of trial travel donations after killer Bryan Kohberger entered a plea deal many deemed unjust. Kaylee Goncalves ' father wants to give back every penny raised for his family - saying he would never cheat generous donors as Latah County prosecutors cheated his family out of a trial. The heartbroken father, Steve Goncalves, told TMZ people have urged him to keep the money because they are also frustrated Kohberger entered a merciful plea deal. But Steve confirmed to the outlet he will not 'bait and switch these beautiful people like [lead prosecutor] Bill Thompson did to our family.' The fundraiser, started in September 2024, was created for the Goncalves family to be able to attend Kohberger's trial. 'We are looking to find an Airbnb or a house for rent that will house all 10 Goncalves family members as well as their small pets for at least those three months,' the page reads. The fundraiser was closed before the quadruple-murder entered a plea deal on Wednesday. This means the family has to independently return the money and cannot do so through GoFundMe. As per the agreement Kohberger made with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to brutally stabbing University of Idaho students Kaylee, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, Maddie Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20 inside their off-campus residence. In exchange for his admission, the 30-year-old was spared the death penalty and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. The deal has sparked outrage from the young victims' families, who do not believe this was an adequate for the extent of his heinous crimes. 'He deserved life on death row,' Kaylee's mom, Kristi Goncalves, wrote ahead of his sentencing, which is set for later this month. 'People say that the Goncalves don't want justice, they want vengeance.' She added: '[Kohberger] did not show Kaylee ANY tell us we should be happy with life in prison without parole as he will never get out (how is that not a win they ask) well the death penalty also means life on death row. 'We knew it would be decades before he ever would face the firing squad. We knew that his execution was not going to happen anytime soon, BUT his life on DEATH ROW while serving his time would have been much worse than serving his time as life in prison.' The Goncalves, who have been particularly vocal about their dissatisfaction with Kohberger's legal fate, have even called upon the public to hold Judge Steven Hippler responsible for the ruling. Hippler, the judge who made the controversial call, has been slammed with angry calls and voicemails ever since. Angry observers also lashed out at the Latah County Prosecuting Attorney's office, leaving one-star reviews in protest of the deal. '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 will be sentenced for the November 13, 2022 murders on July 23 at Ada County Court.
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Daily Mail
My daughter was brutally murdered along with three college friends - I wanted her killer dead but he got away with an 'adult daycare' plea deal
The father of one of the four Idaho students brutally murdered by Bryan Kohberger has said he will spend life in 'adult daycare' prison after avoiding the death penalty. Kohberger, 30, last week admitted to the world that he did murder Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, as well as Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, on November 13, 2022. His plea deal was a shock to the victims' families, some of whom are furious that it was ever offered to him. He took the deal to avoid the death penalty - accepting instead a life without parole sentence - after years of delays and stalling. Following the news, Steve Goncalves, the father of Kaylee, appeared on ITV 's This Morning on Monday, hitting out at the decision. He joined hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard via video link to discuss the case as he remembered his young daughter. Steve told them: 'I feel like we worked our tails off for two-and-a-half years for a certain moment and time in court and anything less than our peers being able to judge what happened was let down. 'We're trying to wrap our head around how one individual was able to determine what this justice was, call us naive but we grew up in a school system that told us that our juries, our peers would be the ones to decide what was guilty and what was innocent and that's not how it works.' Reacting to the fact his daughter's killer won't face the death penalty, Steve said: 'It's pathetic, cause in America, prison is daycare. It's daycare for adults and my daughter deserves everything that I can give her, every bit of rage and power. Everything I could do to fight for her I was doing.' He added: I didn't want to be this guy, I didn't want to fight, I didn't want to do all this stuff, but I have no choice. I am who I am. 'I said "if you don't give my daughter the most respect, the most justice then I can't support that" and that's all I've done.' Steve said the plea deal was 'out of left field' as the families were not aware of it prior to it being made public and claimed 'there's something going on about silencing'. He went on: 'Everything was sealed. I mean, the gag order - why are we doing a gag order? He pleaded guilty, we're still doing a gag order? 'It's worse than closure, people. What is going on is, without him saying he is the sole person responsible for this, he can portray this victimisation of himself, he can make a book.' Steve also claimed that Kohberger is working on a book with the help of his sister, though This Morning's crime expert David Wilson later clarified under American law he wouldn't be able to benefit from the sale of the book. 'We're just living this nightmare over and over and some of the families that get it, they were just trying to get out of this nightmare which I want to be done with it as well, but there's a right way and a wrong way. 'We've been sold in America and for me to pretend this is justice is beyond me, I can't do that. 'I can't wake up in the morning and be the same person I am and not say that this right or this is wrong, I'm going to stand up and thank God for media and thank God for you guys who can say "hey, not everyone's on board let's talk about it, let's hash this out let's get to some kind of agreement". 'They tried everything to keep me talking from the media, and that's one reason why they were upset with me, it was just because I was going to talk to the media and I said "I'm going to talk to the media because they've been more fair to me than you guys have," so here I am. 'We're at the end, but thank God to your audience and thank God to other people that they're interested because without that, we absolutely have no chance of justice.' There's still no hint of a motive for the shocking crime and Kohberger may never reveal why he did it. Judge Steven 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,' Hippler added. This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
