Former criminology student Bryan Christopher Kohberger has pleaded guilty to the 2022 murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen.
On Wednesday (local time), Kohberger, now 30, confessed to the brutal killings of four University of Idaho students at their off-campus share house, officially sparing him from the death penalty.
Prior to the daming admission, the former student initially pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and burglary charges.
“Did you, on November 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?” Judge Steven Hippler asked, before the accused replied, “Yes”, CNN reports.
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” the judge asked.
“Yes.”
After confessing to the gruesome crimes, Kohberger was charged with four counts of murder, with prosecutors claiming he snuck into the Moscow, Idaho home and stabbed the four students to death, sparing two others.
According to ABC News, if the plea is accepted, Kohberg will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in prison and waive his right to appeal or seek changes to the sentence.
What happened to Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen?
On November 13, 2022, Goncalves (21), Chapin (20), Kernodle (20) and Mogen (21) were stabbed to death while they slept in their share house in Moscow, Idaho.
Two female housemates were left unharmed in the incident.
Per Al Jazeera, prosecutors claimed that one of the survivors claimed to have heard a cry from one of the victims’ rooms. When she opened the door, she claimed to have seen a man, dressed in all black, walk past her and out of the share house.
The gruesome murders sent shockwaves across the globe, with some netizens coming up with theories on how the murders happened. One theory even resulted in a lawsuit, in which a University of Idaho professor sued a TikTok psychic for accusing her of being a part of the massacre.
But six weeks after the horrific incident, Kohberger, 28 at the time, was arrested at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania after authorities linked him to the incident via DNA evidence and cellphone data.
The families of the victims respond to Kohberger’s confession
Prior to Kohberger’s admission, Goncalves’ family said the idea of a plea deal was a “hard no from our family”.
“I would like to clarify a couple of things…we DID talk to the prosecution on Friday about the POSSIBILITY of a plea deal and it was a HARD NO from our family,” the family wrote on Facebook, July 1.
“We met with prosecution AGAIN today to reiterate our views on pushing for the death penalty. Unfortunately, all of our efforts did not matter. We DID OUR BEST! We fought harder than anyone could EVER imagine.”
On Wednesday, a lawyer for the Goncalves’ family reiterated their disdain for the plea deal, claiming it was a “secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families”, Al Jazeera reports.
In a Facebook post, the family said that Kohberger’s confession “ain’t justice”.
However, in a statement to the publication from a lawyer for Mogen’s family, they said they “100 per cent” support the plea agreement, adding that it gave them “closure”.
A formal sentencing for Kohberger is set for July 23.
Image source: Getty Images
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