Kaylee Goncalves (bottom left) and Madison Mogen (top left), Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle (Law&Crime Network file photos), (right) Bryan Kohberger (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool, File)
Bryan Kohberger, the suspect charged with stabbing four University of Idaho students to death, has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of murder.
In exchange for the guilty pleas, prosecutors will remove the death penalty as a possible sentence for the 30-year-old Kohberger, who will receive four consecutive life terms, according to a letter sent to the victims” families.
A hearing is scheduled for July 2. Kohberger has reportedly waived all rights to appeals.
Kohberger had been preparing to go to trial later this month for the November 13, 2022, murders of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The four were stabbed to death in a house in Moscow near the U of I’s campus. Some were sleeping when they were stabbed.
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The defendant was arrested a month later, in December 2022.
The family of Kaylee Goncalves expressed disappointment at the plea agreement in a post on their Facebook page.
“It’s true! We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support,” the post stated.
Kohberger’s defense team had sought to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment for some time leading up to the agreement. His attorneys argued that forcing inmates to wait for years on death row and the methods available for prisoners to be executed in Idaho both constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Attorneys also argued Idaho’s death penalty laws violate an international treaty banning the torture of prisoners.
