Bryan Kohberger admits murder of Idaho student to avoid death penalty

A 30-year-old man admitted to murdering four roommates in a small college town in Idaho in 2022 as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

Bryan Kohberger, a PhD major in criminology, will be trialled in August for an attack that shocked the United States.

At a hearing Wednesday, Judge Steven Hippler read details of the agreement, including Kohberger’s waiver of his right to appeal or seek leniency in the case.

Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were killed in November 2022 at an off-campus residence in Moscow City.

“Did you plead guilty because of your guilt?” Judge Shippler asked the defendant.

“Yes,” Koberg replied.

Before the lawsuit began, the judge said his office received numerous messages and voicemails from the public that were intended to “influence my decisions.”

He said he did not read or listen to anything and urged people to stop sending them.

The judge then read out the charges against Kohberger – one burglary, with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, four counts of first-degree murder, and each sentence of maximum sentence of prison.

He pleaded guilty to all charges.

Judge Shippler said he will be sentenced on July 23. He is expected to spend the rest of his life.

As the victim’s name was read out, some in the court seemed to have torn apart. Koberg showed no emotion, including his confession to killing four victims.

The cruel nature of the murder, the age of the victims and the background of the suspect in criminology have sparked strong concerns about the case.

The plea agreement separates the victim’s family.

Kaylee Goncalves’ father Steve said outside the court that he felt “very good”.

He said the country “concludes an agreement with the devil.”

The family wanted to confess in full, including details about the location of the murder weapon and confirm that the defendant acted alone.

However, Madison Mogen’s mother and stepfather said outside the court that they supported the plea agreement.

In a statement read by the lawyer, they expressed their gratitude to everyone who supported them and the “successful results.”

“We support plea agreements 100%” the attorney wrote.

“We have gone from tragedy and mourning to the light of the future. We have been closed,” he said.

Kohberger, a student at nearby Washington State University, was indicted in January 2023. He had to keep his innocence, and the prosecutor did not explain his motivation. Don’t believe he knows the victim himself.

The defendant was arrested at his Pennsylvania family residence just weeks after investigators said they found DNA evidence of “leather scabbards” at the crime scene. He was indicted by a grand jury in May 2023.

While searching for Kohberger’s family home, police recovered a knife, Glock pistol, black hat and black mask.

His defense team questioned the accuracy of DNA evidence and successfully relocated the trial site after arguing that his client would not accept a fair hearing from local jurors.

However, after citing Kohberger’s autism diagnosis, they failed to use the death penalty as a sentence option.

Idaho is one of the 27 states that allow the death penalty, but has not been executed since 2012, according to the Death Penalty Information Center database.