LOS ANGELES: Bryan Kohberger, the suspect charged with the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, is expected to plead guilty this week in a deal that spares him the death penalty, according to the family of one victim.
Kohberger, 30, a former criminology student, was set to stand trial in August for the stabbing deaths that shocked the small town of Moscow and drew national attention. The victims—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin—were found dead in their off-campus home hours after the attack.
The Goncalves family confirmed the plea deal in a statement shared by their lawyer, Shanon Gray. “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,“ they wrote.
The family had pushed for the death penalty and supported a new Idaho law allowing execution by firing squad. On social media, they expressed frustration, calling the deal “shocking and cruel.”
Kohberger was arrested after investigators linked his DNA to a knife sheath found at the crime scene. Surveillance footage also placed a car resembling his near the victims’ home around the time of the killings.
Despite the case’s high profile, prosecutors have not disclosed a motive, and Kohberger has remained silent throughout legal proceedings.
