(The Center Square) – Bryan Kohberger, the man accused in the Nov. 2022 stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, is due in Latah County Court in Idaho on Wednesday after accepting a deal to plead guilty and avoid the death penalty.
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed at an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. All four were repeatedly stabbed in their beds in the early morning hours.
In December 2022, Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University at the time, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania. According to prosecutors, DNA matching Kohberger’s was found on a knife sheath by one of the victim’s bodies.
Kohberger, 30, has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of murder in exchange for the prosecution dropping the death penalty. Per the deal, Kohberger will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has waived his right to appeal.
The accused had previously maintained his innocence. His trial was set to occur next month, with opening arguments on Aug. 18.
A Tuesday morning Facebook post from the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves detailed their outrage at being blindsided by the plea deal.
“The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office’s treatment of our family during this process is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” the family stated. “We questioned decisions early in the investigation: Why was the mayor commenting on the case? Why was the coroner speaking to families? Why was an officer with less than two years’ experience leading the investigation? Why was the University of Idaho involved when they declared it an isolated off-campus incident? Why was the University permitted to write a book about the incident while others were silenced under an overly broad order? We weren’t even called about the plea; we received an email with a letter attached. That’s how Latah County’s Prosecutor’s Office treats murder victims’ families. Adding insult to injury, they’re rushing the plea, giving families just one day to coordinate and appear at the courthouse for a plea on July 2.”
The entire statement from the family can be read here.
Ann Bremner, a trial attorney and one of the nation’s most recognized legal analysts, has followed the case from its beginning. She spoke with The Center Square late Monday.
“It is astonishing that an agreement was reached because the case is strong, and there was no bargaining about the plea or about the death penalty that we’d ever heard about publicly,” she said. “There’s a gag order in the case, so we don’t know everything, but this certainly came as a surprise to me, and at least one of the families is saying they were blindsided and that they weren’t consulted.”
Bremner said she’ll be watching to find out what Kohberger says on Wednesday and if prosecutors publicly explain how they came to the decision to offer a plea deal taking the death penalty off the table.
“Just come out and say it and don’t hide behind written statements,” she said. “They need to stand up and say exactly why this decision was reached, when it was reached, who was consulted, and what happens from here.”
