Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to murder in stabbings of 4 Idaho students to avoid death penalty

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday in the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022 that terrified the campus and set off a nationwide search, which ended weeks later when he was arrested in Pennsylvania.

Kohberger, who was a criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University, admitted to the killings before entering a formal guilty plea in a deal with prosecutors that allows him to avoid the death penalty, though the motive remains unclear. He had been set to go to trial in August.

The small farming community of Moscow, in the northern Idaho panhandle, had not seen a homicide in about five years when Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were found dead at a rental home near campus on Nov. 13, 2022. Autopsies showed each was stabbed multiple times and some had defensive wounds.

Kohberger first killed Mogen and Goncalves together and then ran into Kernodle, who was still awake, Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson said at the hearing Wednesday. He then stabbed Kernodle and her boyfriend, Chapin, who was still asleep, Thompson said. There were no signs of sexual assault, he said.

Family members became increasingly emotional as Idaho Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler explained each charge to Kohberger, naming each victim individually. Some cried into tissues, while other wiped tears with their hands. Kohberger remained impassive as he confirmed to the judge that he stabbed the four victims.

As he pleaded guilty, some in the family section looked down and others craned to see him.

Kohberger told the judge he understood the terms of the plea deal, which stipulates he will serve four life sentences and won’t be able to appeal. The judge set the official sentencing for July 23.

Hippler said as the hearing began that he would not take into account public opinion when deciding whether to accept the agreement.

“This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to do that,” he said.