Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to four counts of murder in Idaho killings
Sitting in a dress shirt and tie, Bryan Kohberger admitted Wednesday to fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in their off-campus rental home in 2022.
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler asked.
“Yes,” Kohberger responded.
As part of a plea agreement, the former Washington State University student pleaded guilty at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, avoiding a monthslong trial previously scheduled for next month – and potentially a firing squad.
The agreement calls for Kohberger to serve four consecutive life sentences for each count of murder. Kohberger cannot appeal the sentence, under the agreement.
The defense, led by Anne Taylor, cannot argue for a lesser sentence than the one agreed upon with prosecutors. Kohberger also waived his right to appeal the future sentence.
Hippler is not bound by the plea agreement. He said he can impose a different “lawful” sentence, which in this case could only be a lesser sentence than the maximum punishment described in the agreement.
Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene; Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington, were stabbed to death in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
On Wednesday, Kohberger stood, raised his right hand and was sworn in to give truthful testimony.
Kohberger, who appeared calm and composed, then sat down and provided “yes” and “no” responses to Hippler’s questions.
Kohberger confirmed his plea was voluntary, in his best interest and that he was thinking clearly without the impairment of drugs and alcohol.
When Hippler asked if Kohberger entered the 1122 King Road home to commit murder, Kohberger said “yes.” Hippler then read each murder count and the victim’s name associated with it before asking Kohberger whether he killed them. Kohberger provided four “yes” answers.
Kohberger was studying criminal justice at WSU in Pullman at the time of the killings. Authorities arrested Kohberger in Pennsylvania, where he is originally from, after a seven-week, multiagency manhunt. He was brought back to Moscow to face murder charges, but a judge moved the trial late last year to Boise, where Kohberger has been jailed.
Hippler last week denied a request from Kohberger’s defense team to delay the trial. The defense wanted more time to prepare and protect Kohberger’s constitutional rights. Prosecutors intended to seek the death penalty against Kohberger if a jury convicted him.
Katie Blackshear, Mogen’s aunt, provided The Spokesman-Review with a statement from Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, and his family, ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.
“Our family continues to ache for Maddie and we have spent well over two years grieving and focusing on healing from the trauma of losing her,” the statement said. “The plea deal the prosecution has proposed is one that punishes the perpetrator of this horrendous crime, protects the public from further harm and allows all of us who knew and loved these four young people the time to grieve without the anxiety of the long and gruesome trial, years of appeals and potential for mistrials along the way.
“We thank (Latah County Prosecuting Attorney) Bill Thompson and his team for their dedication and painstaking work that forced the perpetrator to admit his guilt,” the statement continues. “May we all protect our peace in whatever way possible, unite in community and focus on joy. Please do an act of kindness in Maddie’s honor this week so a glimmer of Maddie’s light may live on.”
The Goncalves family posted several times on Facebook this week voicing their frustration with the plea agreement and the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office. The family wrote it met with the prosecution last week and Monday about the possibility of a plea deal, but the family said it still pushed for the death penalty.
They said in a post Wednesday morning before the court hearing that Thompson “betrayed” the family and that Thompson “robbed us of our day in court.” They called on Hippler to “make it right.”
One family member, 18-year-old Aubrie Goncalves, wrote in a post Monday they “had faith in the system. But at this point, it is impossible not to acknowledge the truth: the system has failed these four innocent victims and their families.” She called the plea deal weeks before the trial “shocking and cruel.”
“Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world,” she wrote. “Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims’ pasts.”
Kristi Goncalves, mother to Kaylee, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
News outlets cited a letter sent to families of the victims this week stating Kohberger intended to accept a plea agreement.
Thompson called the agreement their “sincere attempt to seek justice” in the letter distributed to family members, according to a copy obtained by the Idaho Statesman.
“We cannot fathom the toll that this case has taken on your family,” Thompson wrote in the letter. “This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family. This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals.”
Moscow Mayor Art Bettge wrote in a statement shortly after Wednesday’s hearing that he has faith the prosecutor’s office “carefully weighed how justice is best achieved, in consideration of the myriad factors involved in a case of such significance and complexity.”
He said he hoped the resolution can provide “a small measure of closure” for the families and the city.
“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,” Bettge said in the statement. “This was a horrific and tragic event that shocked our close-knit community to its core, one that still reverberates today.”
In a statement obtained by NBC, the Kohberger family asked members of the media for “privacy, respect, and responsible judgment during this time.”
“We will continue to allow the legal process to unfold with respect to all parties, and will not release any comments or take any questions,” the statement said. “We ask that you respect our wishes during a difficult time for all those affected.”
Hippler started Wednesday’s roughly 45-minute hearing saying he had received calls from members of the public trying to influence his decision-making in the case, which has been extraordinarily disruptive for court staff.
“It’s also highly inappropriate,” he said.
Hippler said he would never take into account public sentiment in making an opinion about case decisions and will always make judicial decisions based on facts and the law. He said he did not read or listen to the “numerous voicemails” sent to him and his staff and that all were forwarded to security and, where appropriate, law enforcement.
Hippler said the prosecutor, lead by Thompson in the Kohberger case, is the sole authority in what charges to pursue and penalties to request. The court cannot force Thompson to seek the death penalty, he said.
The Goncalves family posted on Facebook this week that if “you feel called or moved to try to make a difference, please contact the Ada County Courthouse to express your thoughts or feelings.” It listed Hippler’s phone number.
Hippler offered his apologies to the families of the victims and Kohberger for the short notice of Wednesday’s hearing. Hippler said he learned of the plea agreement Monday afternoon and had no “inkling” of it beforehand. He said he believed the case was heading to trial and he and his staff were preparing for potentially 10,000 Ada County residents to answer jury questionnaires later this month.
He said he wanted the change of plea hearing to take place quickly so if the plea “fell through today” they would still be on schedule for trial.
The Goncalves family was upset about the short notice of the plea hearing, leaving just one day to appear in Boise, according to one of its Facebook posts this week.
“After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details,” the family said.
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State’s evidence
Thompson provided an overview of the evidence it would have presented at trial to prove the burglary and murder charges against Kohberger had Kohberger proceeded to trial.
Thompson said Kohberger was residing at his parents’ Pennsylvania home in March 2022 when he used an Amazon gift card to purchase a KA-BAR knife and sheath, the same brand of sheath law enforcement found at the crime scene. At the end of June that year, Kohberger moved across the country to pursue a Ph.D. in criminal justice at WSU.
Starting July 9, Kohberger’s cellphone started connecting to a cell tower serving the victims’ King Road home. From July 9 to Nov. 7, 2022, Kohberger’s phone connected to the tower in late-night and early morning hours about 23 times. Thompson said evidence does not show whether Kohberger had direct contact with the house or the occupants.
On the morning of the murders, Kohberger left his Pullman residence, subsequently turned off his phone at about 2:54 a.m. and the phone remained off until about 4:48 a.m., which was shortly after the killings.
Surveillance footage showed Kohberger’s 2015 white Hyundai Elantra in the neighborhood of the King Road home. At about 4:05 a.m., Kohberger parked behind and above the victims’ home.
Evidence shows Kohberger entered the residence through the kitchen sliding door on the back of the home, which has since been demolished. He then went to the third floor and stabbed Mogen and Goncalves, leaving a knife sheath next to Mogen’s body.
Kernodle, whose room was on the second floor, was still awake and waiting for a DoorDash order. Kohberger, who was coming down the stairs or leaving the home, encountered Kernodle and killed her, Thompson said. The fourth victim, Kernodle’s boyfriend Chapin, was asleep in their room and Kohberger killed him.
Thompson said there was no evidence of a “sexual component” with any of the assaults.
Two other roommates were asleep in the home, and one of them awoke and looked out her door when she saw Kohberger dressed in black. She saw him leave through the glass door, according to Thompson.
At about 4:20 a.m., or about 15 minutes after parking, Kohberger’s Elantra was seen on surveillance from a residence next door leaving at a high rate of speed. Thompson said Kohberger almost lost control as he took a corner.
Thompson said evidence shows he drove south of Moscow using back roads, not nearby U.S. Highway 95, which has cameras and would have spotted Kohberger’s vehicle. Kohberger then turned on his phone at about 4:48 a.m. south of Moscow. His phone is tracked back to Pullman where he arrived at 5:30 a.m. at his apartment.
Kohberger returned to the area of King Road at about 9 a.m. and then went back to his Pullman residence. At 9:30 a.m., Kohberger took a photo of himself with a “thumbs up” in the bathroom of his apartment, Thompson said.
Investigators then tracked Kohberger’s phone to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. The knife was never recovered, but Thompson mentioned Wednesday the Clearwater and Snake rivers running through the LC Valley, appearing to identify the rivers as a possible place the knife was dumped.
Following the murders, records showed Kohberger started searching for KA-BAR knives and a KA-BAR knife sheath believed to replace the one found at the scene of the murders, according to Thompson.
Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home, and a DNA sample taken from him matched the DNA found on the knife sheath next to Mogen’s body.
Nothing of “evidentiary value” was found when investigators searched Kohberger’s apartment and WSU office weeks after the killings. His car was also suspiciously clean, Thompson said.
“The defendant’s car had been meticulously cleaned inside,” said Thompson, pointing to Kohberger’s plan to covering up evidence.
He said Kohberger studied crime and later wrote a detailed paper on crime scene processing.
“He had that knowledge and skill,” Thompson said.
Thompson said Kohberger entered the King Road home that morning with an intent to kill. He said he wasn’t sure if Kohberger intended to kill all four students, but that’s what he did. Thompson’s voice appeared to break when stating the victims’ names.
Sentencing is set for 9 a.m. July 23 in Boise.
Reporter Nick Gibson contributed to this story .