30-year-old man accused of brutally killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, Bryan Kohberger, has agreed to a plea deal that spares him the death penalty and could bring a close to the prolonged legal saga surrounding the case.
As confirmed to CNN by a source familiar with the matter and Shanon Gray, attorney for the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves, the agreement involves Kohberger pleading guilty to four counts of murder.
In return, prosecutors will not seek capital punishment. A court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, ahead of what was supposed to be Kohberger’s August trial, during which prosecutors had initially intended to pursue the death sentence.
News of the plea was delivered to victims’ families via a letter, as first reported by the Idaho Statesman and affirmed by the Goncalves family.
In a Facebook post reacting to the news, the family expressed deep disappointment and anger, “They have failed us. Please give us some time.”
In a separate statement shared with CNN, the Goncalves family criticized the way the plea was communicated, “We weren’t even called about the plea; we received an email with a letter attached.” They further lamented the lack of transparency and inclusion in the process: “After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details.” The statement also claimed that the families had been “treated as opponents from the outset.”
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Gray, the family’s lawyer, noted the limited time families were given to respond. “The issue is they are trying to cram the plea for July 2, only giving the families a day to get to Boise.”
Years of Delays and Legal Maneuvering
Kohberger’s legal team has recently faced mounting setbacks. Just last week, a judge rejected their request to delay the trial and dismissed an attempt to present an “alternate perpetrator” theory, stating the claims were based on “rank speculation.”
The defense was also barred from submitting an official alibi, as no evidence could place Kohberger elsewhere at the time of the murders.
The trial had been postponed multiple times due to procedural disputes over evidence and witnesses. It was eventually moved from Latah County to Boise.
A not guilty plea had been entered on Kohberger’s behalf, but the lengthy delays frustrated the families of the victims. Last year, the Goncalves family referred to the process as a “hamster wheel of motions, hearings, and delayed decisions.”
According to the Idaho Statesman, the letter detailing the deal states that Kohberger will likely receive a life sentence without parole and waive his right to appeal.
“We cannot fathom the toll that this case has taken on your family,” wrote Moscow Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson in the letter. “This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family. This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals.”
A Chilling Case That Gripped the Nation
Kohberger, who was a criminology PhD student at Washington State University at the time of the killings, was arrested in January 2023. A
uthorities allege that on the early morning of November 13, 2022, he fatally stabbed Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Madison Mogen, 21, inside their off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho.
His arrest in Pennsylvania came over a month after the killings, following forensic testing of trash recovered outside his family’s home.
Investigators say DNA from a knife sheath left near Mogen’s body matched Kohberger through investigative genetic genealogy.
Kohberger’s attorneys had argued that he has autism and claimed he was driving alone during the time of the killings, hoping to prevent the imposition of the death penalty.
Survivors’ Harrowing Accounts
The chilling details of the crime came to light through accounts from two surviving roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, who were expected to testify at trial.
Mortensen told police she awoke to strange noises and spotted a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” inside the house.
When they couldn’t reach their roommates the next morning, the survivors dialed 911 around noon. In the call, which captured sounds of crying and heavy breathing, one of them said, “Something has happened in our house, we don’t know what.”
They also reported Kernodle as “unconscious,” believing she was unresponsive due to alcohol: “She’s not waking up,” one of them said.
When officers arrived, they discovered Chapin and Kernodle deceased on the second floor. Goncalves and Mogen were found upstairs, both having suffered fatal stab wounds.
Mourning and Demands for Justice
Following the announcement of the plea deal, Kaylee Goncalves’ sister, Aubrie, released a heartfelt message on Facebook, “They were sons, daughters, siblings, and friends, real people with real dreams.” She added, “They deserve to be remembered for who they were in life, not only for the tragedy of their deaths. But before that can truly happen, they deserve justice.”
Despite the potential end to the court case, the pain lingers for the families of the victims, many of whom feel sidelined by the very system that promised them justice.