Idaho student killer to be sentenced, but the mystery in this case remains

Bryan Kohberger made a shocking decision after he was tried a few weeks after he claimed his innocence – he pleaded guilty.

The 30-year-old faces death penalty for four students at their home in Moscow, Idaho, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen in November 2022.

The plea deal saved his life – but the sudden ending made the victim’s relatives feel conflicted, and many questions were unanswered.

On Wednesday, Koberg was Four murders have been sentenced to four consecutive life imprisonment.

Kaylee Goncalves’ father Steve told reporters before the sentencing that the state had reached a deal with the devil. Like everyone else, he has ongoing questions about the mysteries around the case, including motivation.

Koberg chose not to speak Wednesday, with only the victim’s family and friends describing the traumatic effects of his crime.

For Madison’s father, Ben Mogen, the deal marks a closed moment, with the family facing a hard trial after years of focus.

“It’s a nightmare in our minds,” Mogan told the New York Times.

It’s a typical Saturday night for four young college students near their Idaho campus weeks before Thanksgiving break.

Xana Kernodle, 20, attended a party with her boyfriend Ethan Chapin at his fraternity. Meanwhile, best friends, Madison Mogen and 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves, went to a bar and returned to campus around 02:00 local time before visiting a bar.

A few hours later, in the early morning of November 13, 2022, a masked attacker parked his car behind his home on Kings Road and entered through a sliding glass door. He would climb up the stairs to the third floor, roam from bedroom to bedroom, stabbing four young students while leaving the other two in the house.

The killer leaves a sad scene where one of the two surviving roommates on the wall was found in a ski mask by one of the two surviving roommates on the glass door and then sprinkled the wall with blood.

For more than a month, the public has no idea who has committed such a terrible and violent crime. The mystery — and the national attention it attracted — left the small town of Idaho rolling up while obsessed amateur internet detectives try to fill the gap.

Finally, on December 30, after weeks of unresolved issues, police announced that they had arrested the suspect Kohberger hundreds of miles away in Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania.

About three years later, there was no public explanation as to why Koberg murdered the four students, and he didn’t know their connection.

Kohberger himself provided no reason to sign a guilty plea in court to plan and perform stabbing.

Journalists and the public have sought answers, delving into Koberg’s past, and found online old books about depression, his lack of remorse and former heroin addiction.

He was fascinated by criminals, studying under the leadership of real crime writer and forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland, who was shocked to say that a person she was seen as polite and respect could commit such a crime.

“I thought, ‘They have to get it wrong,'” she Tell The New York Times. “I know it’s not Brian Koberg.”

Kohberger will eventually earn a PhD in criminology from Washington State University, where he was fired as a teaching assistant to make students evaluate their students too harshly.

Newly released documentaries and books – including one by thriller novelist James Patterson – speculates on his motivations, showing that he is angry about his refusal of romance, and even he is trying to emulate it Miso-loving killer Elliot Rodger.

The gag in the case stopped people close to the investigation from shouting. But last week, an Idaho judge filed an order saying the public’s right to information was “most important, given that a plea has been entered.”

Judge Steven Hippler said: “As described, the media madness will continue.”

In the weeks following the murder, the University of Idaho students were on the verge of awaiting answers and were arrested in the deaths of four peers.

As the killers remained loose, many fled the tree-lined town of 25,000 residents and had not murdered for five years.

As police officers haven’t named suspects or even murder weapons for weeks, an online community (the frustrated answer) forms and begins investigation.

Thousands of amateur crime detectives have been brought to Tiktok and other social media sites to screen for clues. A private Facebook team about the case received more than 30,000 members.

Relatives and friends of the victim were bombarded by news, and some people blamed – without any evidence – grieving roommates and others with the victims suspected of murder.

Some landed in small college towns and tried to enter the boarding house, surrounded by warning tape. Crazy thwarted local law enforcement.

“There is speculation, without factual support, inspires fear in the community and spreads false facts,” the Moscow Police Department said at the time.

Behind the scenes, investigators are combing through thousands of tips for public, cell phone recording and video surveillance.

Several pieces of evidence helped them finally piece together the puzzle.

A white Hyundai Elantra car captured in videos near the crime scene matches Koberg’s vehicle. During the murder, cell phone records left the 30-year-old near his home outside Moscow and suggested that he repeatedly drive towards the house before his roommate learnt about the horrible scene.

Perhaps the most important evidence comes from the key item left behind: a scabbard with DNA that matches the garbage in the home of Copperberg, Pennsylvania, which officials eventually tracked down during holiday breaks.

At 1122 King Road, just a few streets from the center of the University of Idaho campus, the gray three-story house no longer sits on the slope.

A year after the murder, the school decided to demolish off-campus houses where four students were killed, calling it a “severe reminder.”

“[I]“T is the time to dismiss and allow collective rehabilitation in our community to continue,” the university said at the time.

Now that he has confessed to Kohberger’s confession, Mogen’s family agrees, it’s time to transform from “tragedy and mourning” to “light of the future.”

Her father said marketing students were “known for their ability to make others smile and laugh.”

Relatives said Mogen’s good friend Goncalves was her family’s “defense and protector” and “absolutely did everything she set.”

Chap’s mother said her son was a triplet, “the party life” and “the kindest person.”

Her father said the kernel was a strong-willed student and her friends “always were.”

To commemorate their memories, last year’s college students built a circular steel structure engraved with four student names, where visitors came to lay bouquets of flowers, stones, candles and notes to remember their lost friends.

Nestled in a memorial garden in grass, the top of the night structure lights up, the only sign of a tragedy that shocked the small town of Idaho.