The District Court of the Fourth Judicial District in Ada County published a notice of hearing on July 1, officially scheduling a hearing for Wednesday, July 2, at 11 a.m. MST.
News broke on Monday that Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November of 2022, planned to accept a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
Kohberger is being prosecuted for the first-degree murders of UI students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, as well as one count of burglary.
The victims’ families were informed of the plea deal through a letter from prosecutors, according to ABC News.
With this sudden change in the case, those involved have been divided. The Goncalves family has posted multiple times on their Facebook page since Monday, confirming the news and expressing their frustration with the state of Idaho.
“We stand strong that it is not over until a plea is accepted. We will not stop fighting for the life that was stolen unjustly,” the Goncalves family wrote on Facebook. “While we are cognizant that some may have wanted the plea, the prosecution relayed to us it was NOT a majority vote that was the deciding factor in offering this plea.”
In a post titled “Goncalves Family statement,” the family shared their discontent with how the case has been handled.
“The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office’s treatment of our family during this process is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” they wrote. “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.”
The family mentioned that they had questioned many of the decisions made throughout the investigation: why the mayor was commenting on the case, why the coroner was speaking to families, why an officer with less than two years of experience was leading the investigation, why UI was so involved despite initially categorizing the crime as an off-campus incident. “As a result, we were branded adversaries,” the Goncalves family wrote.
According to the Goncalveses, prosecutors “vaguely mentioned” a potential plea deal on June 27 before presenting the agreement on June 29.
“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 Goncalves family wrote.
Aubrie Goncalves, the 18-year-old sister of Kaylee Goncalves, wrote on the family Facebook page, “Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world. Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever.”
The Goncalves family had asked prosecutors to require a full confession, full accountability, details of the murder weapon, confirmation that the defendant acted alone and an account of the night of the murders. “We deserve to know when the beginning of the end was,” they wrote.
Dakota Steffen can be reached at [email protected].