Brian Kohberger originally pleaded not guilty and was expected to go to trial next month for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. Prosecutors expressed their determination to seek the death penalty. However, District Court Judge Steven Hippler approved a deal allowing Kohberger to plead guilty and waive his right to appeal to avoid a death sentence. Now, he faces four consecutive life sentences for each murder victim and 10 years for the burglary charge.
The Idaho College Murders
At a plea change hearing earlier this month, all the evidence against Kohberger was laid out. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson described how the state found Kohberger’s phone pinging off a tower near the victims’ off-campus home 23 times before the killings. They believed he went to their home in the early morning and slipped through the sliding door in the kitchen.
Thompson believes Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were killed first with a knife, and the sheath left behind was connected to Kohberger through DNA testing. After the first stabbing, he ran into Xana Kernodle, who was grabbing her DoorDash order, and stabbed her. Lastly, he found Ethan Chapin asleep in bed and killed him. As he left the home, two other roommates saw him leave with a ski mask on.
His car was caught on camera fleeing the surrounding area at a high speed. Further evidence the state presented against Kohberger included online purchases of a knife and sheath, and a Q-tip taken from his parents’ home to match the DNA recovered from the sheath.
Kohberger’s Sentencing Hearing
Kohberger 30, appeared in the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, at 9 a.m. local time. His sentencing hearing was expected to run all day, hearing statements made by the victims’ families and others involved in the case. Kohberger’s defense lawyers and family members were also in attendance. Ultimately, he was granted the opportunity to address the court before his sentencing, but he declined to speak.
Friends and families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were allowed to provide victim impact statements during Kohberger’s sentencing hearing. Mogen and Goncalves’ families appeared, but the Chapins expressed that they did not wish to attend the hearing. They explained that after three years without explanation or a motive, they no longer need it and would rather spend the day with their family.
Surviving Roommates Impact Statements
Bethany Funke, a surviving housemate, wrote a statement to be read in court by a friend. She wrote, “I hated and still hate that they are gone, but for some reason, I am still here, and I got to live. I still think about this every day. Why me? Why did I get to live and not them? For the longest time, I could not even look at their families without feeling sick with guilt.”
Dylan Mortensen, the second surviving roommate, described Kohberger as “a hollow vessel, something less than human.” She recounted her life after the murders and how difficult it was for her. “He may have taken so much from me, but he will never get to take my voice,” she said. Now, Mortensen lives for the friends she lost that night, and will honor them that way.
Mogen’s Family’s Statements
Mogen’s stepfather, Scott Laramie, said he and his family were in favor of the plea deal. He spoke directly to Kohberger and said, “As for the defendant, we will not waste the words, nor will we, nor will we fall into hatred and bitterness. Evil has many faces, and we now know this, but evil does not deserve our time and attention.”
When Mogen’s father, Ben, read his victim impact statement, Kohberger’s mother, Maryann, began to cry. Maddie was the “only great thing I ever really did, the only thing I was ever really proud of,” Mogen said. “I thought we would have the rest of our lives together.” He finished his emotional statement with, “I’ll never be able to replace her. I wrote a bunch of stuff. I don’t, I just don’t know what to say right now. I just miss her so much.”
Image from KTVB 7 via YouTube
Goncalves Family Statements
The Goncalves family read their statements, verbally brutalizing Kohberger and his actions. Goncalves’ father Steve, faced him and said he was a “complete joke,” adding that “Nobody cares about you. You’re not worth the time, the effort to be remembered. In time, you will be nothing but two initials, forgotten to the wind, no visitors, nothing more than initials on an otherwise unmarked tombstone.”
Goncalves’ sister Alivea, addressed Kohberger directly as well, stating, “Disappointments like you thrive on pain. I won’t feed your beast. Instead, I will call you what you are. Sociopath. Psychopath. Murderer.” Later, she added that he did not win, “You just exposed yourself as the coward you are. You’re a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser who thought you were so much smarter than everybody else.“
Goncalves’ mother, Kristi, called Kohberger a loser and said, “You will be forgotten, discarded, used and erased.” She made a suggestive joke about him entering prison that got a laugh out of the people in the courtroom and ended her statement with, “When those prison doors slam shut behind you, I hope that sound echoes in your heart for the rest of your meaningless days.”
The Kernodle Family Speaks
Xana Kernodle’s family was the last to provide statements. She had a huge presence in the courtroom, accompanied by her sister, father, aunt, uncle, stepfather, and mother, who spoke on her behalf. They described her as a beautiful blessing, and they miss her every single day.
Kernodle’s mother, Cara Northington, was the last to speak, and she told Kohberger, “I pray that you come to the end of yourself. That before this life is over, that you ask our Lord and Savior in your heart to forgive you. I do pray for that, but after today, I wash my hands of you, and you are no longer a thing.”
Kohberger Evades Death Penalty
Shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time in Boise, Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Kohberger to 10 years in prison for one count of burglary and four life sentences to be served consecutively for each count of first-degree murder involving the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin. This sentence was expected considering the plea deal, but it did not change the impact on people in the courtroom.
The families may never know the motive for Kohberger’s actions and the senseless murders of their loved ones, but at least they know he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Hippler advised against people trying to understand, although he shares that desire. “There is no reason for these crimes that could approach anything resembling rationality,” he said.
He further explained that Kohberger’s actions were senseless, and the pain he has inflicted has caused more than just death. “In my view, the time has now come to end Mr. Kohberger’s 15 minutes of fame,” Hippler said. “It’s time that he be consigned to the ignominy and isolation of perpetual incarceration.”
