Bryan Kohberger admitted to killing four University of Idaho students in 2022 at a hearing today in Boise. He will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors can no longer pursue the death penalty for Kohberger. The maximum sentence available will be one consecutive life term for each count of first-degree murder, totaling four consecutive life sentences, and the state maximum of 10 years for the count of burglary. The defense is not free to argue for a lesser sentence at the sentencing, but the prosecution may offer one. Kohberger may also be required to pay restitution to the victims of the crimes.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 23 at 9 a.m. MDT, with space to continue until July 24 if necessary. The victims’ families will be allowed to give statements at sentencing.
UI students Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were murdered at 1122 King Rd. in Moscow, the morning of Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania as a suspect on Dec. 30, 2022.
News broke Monday that Kohberger intended to plead guilty to the charges to avoid the death penalty.
Multiple parties criticized the court for the short notice. However, Judge Steven Hippler explained that jury summons had already been sent out in anticipation of the Aug. 4 jury selection date, and in the interest of canceling the summonses, the plea deal needed to be discussed as soon as possible.
Hippler also shared that his office had received “numerous messages and numerous voicemails” from members of the public, and that he had chosen not to read or listen to any of them. “This is not something I will take into account in a case such as this,” he said.
Plea deal offers are at the discretion of the prosecution, Hippler said. The judge’s role is to ensure the deal is sound and that the defendant accepts it in good faith.
Hippler asked Kohberger versions of the following questions multiple times:
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?”
“Given your choices, do you believe it’s in your best interest to plead guilty?”
“Did you, on Nov. 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?”
“Did you, on Nov. 13, 2022, in Latah County, state of Idaho, kill or murder Madison Mogen, a human being? And did you do that willfully, unlawfully, deliberately and with premeditation and malice of forethought?”
Hippler then asked Kohberger the same question regarding Goncalves, Kernodle and Chapin. Kohberger replied yes to each question.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson outlined what the state would have presented if the case had gone to trial, explaining that cell phone records and video surveillance of his car show Kohberger was in the vicinity of the King Road House during the time of the murders, estimated to have occurred at 4 a.m. Nov. 13, 2022. Thompson also said DNA evidence on a knife sheath left behind at the scene matched Kohberger’s DNA.
The Goncalves family had previously shared that they were not in favor of the plea deal. According to KTVB, the Mogen and Chapin families were in support of the plea deal and were hopeful that this would help them “move on”.
Moscow Mayor Art Bettge wrote about the plea deal in a press release on July 2. “I don’t think it will ever be possible for us to comprehend the senseless murder of four young people in the prime of their lives, and the impact it had, and continues to have, on their families and friends,” he wrote. “This was a horrific and tragic event that shocked our close-knit community to its core, one that still reverberates today.”
The prosecution and the defense alike asked Hippler to maintain the non-dissemination order, also known as the “gag order”, until sentencing. Hippler agreed to do so.
Dakota Steffen can be reached at [email protected].
Lacy
"Hippler then asked Kohberger the same question regarding Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin. Kohberger replied yes to each question." Should say 'Goncalves, Kernodle and Chapin.'