The murder trial against Kohberger was set to begin in August
By Ben Brachfeld
Bryan Kohberger has reportedly accepted a deal to plead guilty to all counts in the murders of four students at the University of Idaho.
Kohberger is expected to plead guilty to four counts of first degree murder and one count of burglary for the Nov. 2022 slayings of Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin, according to a letter sent to victims’ family members cited by ABC News.
Should he officially enter the guilty plea as expected at a hearing on July 2, Kohberger will waive his right to a jury trial, where he could have faced the death penalty if convicted, and accept four consecutive life sentences.
He will also waive his right to appeal the verdict, per ABC.
Kaylee Goncalves’ family responded on Facebook to the plea, writing they were “beyond furious at the State of Idaho” for the “unexpected” deal, and contending the state had “failed us.”
Kohberger was charged with the brutal stabbing deaths of the quartet at a home in Moscow, Idaho, near the University of Idaho, where they were all students. Goncalves, Kernodle, and Mogen were roommates and Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend.
Two other roommates survived the attack, one of whom gave a description of someone they claimed to see in the home that night.
Kohberger, a PhD student at Washington State University, was arrested after police connected him to the crime using DNA from a knife sheath as well as pings from his cell phone.
Originally published at ABC
