Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the quadruple stabbing murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022, breaking months of suspense before his August trial date was set. Under the plea agreement, he will evade the death penalty in return for four consecutive life terms without possibility of appeal.
Kohberger, who was a graduate student in criminal justice at Washington State University during the slayings, pleaded guilty to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen at a campus-area rental house in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022. Autopsies on the victims indicated all four had been stabbed several times, some with evidence of defensive wounds.
Prosecutors outlined how Kohberger murdered Mogen and Goncalves first, then came across Kernodle who was still awake and then stabbed her and her boyfriend, Chapin, who was sleeping.
The victims’ family members started to get emotional during the hearing when each of the charges was read out. Kohberger was expressionless as he essentially admitted his guilt in front of the judge. The official sentencing has been scheduled for July 23.
The case attracted global attention and was followed by a national manhunt that culminated in Kohberger’s arrest in Pennsylvania. Surveillance videos, cellphone records, and genetic genealogy were used to identify him. DNA from a knife sheath recovered at the crime scene matched Kohberger’s, and online records indicated he had bought the weapon months before.
While no discernable motive or connection to the victims has been found, records indicate that Kohberger had stopped by the neighborhood several times prior to the attack.
Some families were in favor of the plea deal, but others, such as the Goncalves family, were disappointed and desired a complete confession and the return of the murder weapon.
The guilty plea brings hope for many that it is the start of closure to a tragedy that captured the attention of the country.