The brutal Idaho 4 murder case has been under trial for weeks now, with the accused, Bryan Kohberger, and his legal team doing their damndest to prove him innocent despite the mounting evidence against him. Finally, the fruitless efforts to ensure he walks away from the massacre he left behind on Nov. 13, 2022, have ceased as Kohberger has accepted that escaping justice was never an option.
Despite extensive investigation in the case, no motive has been established; it remains unclear why Kohberger attacked and killed four students—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin— in their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, or chose to spare the two other roommates. His defense attorneys attempted to suppress evidence built on genetic genealogy and search warrants, arguing constitutional violations. Also, they attempted to shift suspicion of the murder to alternate perpetrators, but that move too was shut down by the judge.
This left Kohberger with two options – either go to trial and risk the death penalty by the jury – or plead guilty to all the murders and get a life sentence. As you can guess, he has picked the latter option. As per a letter sent to victims’ family members, procured by ABC News, he has accepted a plea deal, and if it is confirmed at the July 2 hearing, he will formally enter guilty pleas to first-degree murder and one count of burglary. Technically, he is dropping his right to a jury trial (as well as his appeals right) and is instead accepting four consecutive life sentences. This is excluding the 10 years the burglary charges can add to his prison time.
Are the families of the victims okay with Bryan Kohberger probably escaping the death penalty?
To put it in their words, they are “beyond furious.”
Kaylee Goncalves’ family took to Facebook to slam the “unexpected” deal, adding that the State of Idaho has failed the victims. In a chat with NewsNation, Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, expressed his disappointment in the system, stressing “people need to stand up to these monsters and stop fricking bowing down to them and giving them child care. I mean, prison is nothing but adult child care.”
Originally, Kohberger was supposed to undergo a jury trial in the next two months. But with this new plea deal, his sentencing can happen as early as this month. It remains to be seen whether the anger of the victims’ families and the public will affect the now-seemingly confirmed direction of the case.
