A former criminology student charged with murdering four Idaho college students in 2022 has agreed to plead guilty in a move that would spare him the death penalty.
US media reported the development, citing a letter from the victims’ families.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, was charged with four counts of murder, with prosecutors saying he snuck into a home in Moscow, Idaho and fatally stabbed Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves on November 13, 2022.
Bryan Kohberger is a PhD student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the neighbouring Washington State University. (Reuters: Mark Makela)
Two other roommates, who have not been named for privacy reasons, survived.
Mr Kohberger initially pled not guilty and the quadruple murder trial was due to start in August.
If the plea is accepted, he will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and waives all right to appeal.
The family of one of the victims has expressed outrage at the deal, saying Mr Kohberger should face the death penalty.
Here’s what we know.
‘The rest of his life in prison’
In the letter to families cited by US news outlet ABC, prosecutors said Mr Kohberger’s lawyers approached them seeking to reach a plea deal.
Madison Mogen (left), Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle (far right) were devoted friends. (Instagram: Kaylee Goncalves/Xana Kernodle)
The prosecutors said they met with available family members last week before deciding to make Mr Kohberger an offer.
“This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,” the letter said.
“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.
“Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice.”
‘Very unexpected’
Shanon Gray, a lawyer representing the family of Ms Goncalves, said prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that the families were upset.
The Gonclaves family said in a social media post that they told the prosecution the possibility of a plea deal was a “hard no from our family”.
“Sunday night we received an email that sent us scrambling,” they wrote.
“We immediately jumped into panic mode and started making phone calls and sending emails.
“We met with prosecution AGAIN today to reiterate our views on pushing for the death penalty. Unfortunately all of our efforts did not matter.”
Earlier, the family wrote: “We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.”
A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday, local time, but the family has asked prosecutors to delay it to give them more time to travel.
The sister of Ms Gonclaves, Aubrie, wrote the introduction of a plea deal was “shocking and cruel”.
“Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world,” she wrote.
“Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honouring the victims’ pasts.
“The justice system was created to serve and protect — not to retraumatize grieving families.”
In the state of Idaho, judges may reject plea agreements.
If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea.
Members of Kaylee Gonclaves’s family leave the courthouse following Mr Kohberger’s extradition to Idaho in January 2023. (Reuters: Young Kwak)
On Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defence lawyers would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Mr Kohberger’s trial.
The defence subpoenas were granted regarding a boxing trainer who knew Mr Kohberger as a teenager, a childhood acquaintance of Mr Kohberger’s, and a third man whose significance was not explained.
A gag order has largely kept lawyers, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial.
What happened?
Autopsies showed the four students, aged in their early 20s, were all likely asleep when they were attacked.
Some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times.
The killings rocked the small farming community of about 25,000 people, and in the days and weeks following, theories about what happened swirled online and in the international media.
A six-week investigation culminated in the dramatic arrest of Mr Kohberger, who was taken into custody at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania 4,000 kilometres away.
In the aftermath of the deaths, police found a litany of evidence including footage of a white sedan and the DNA of an unknown male found on the sheath of the murder weapon left in one of the victim’s beds.
Police found small but important clues at the crime scene that would lead them to their suspect. (The Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP: Zach Wilkinson)
Police seized phone data that placed the prime suspect in the vicinity of the share house at least a dozen times before the night of the killings.
In a court filing, Mr Kohberger’s lawyers said he was on a long drive by himself around the time of the killings.
From video footage, police concluded the white sedan likely headed to the southern edge of town, then across state lines into Washington.
The road they believe the driver took leads to Pullman, another college town, roughly 16 minutes away by car.
It is home to Washington State University, where Mr Kohberger was a PhD student in criminology.
On December 27, Pennsylvania agents took the rubbish from the Mr Kohberger’s family home and sent it to the Idaho state laboratory for testing.
The next day, the lab confirmed the DNA taken from the knife sheath and the genetic material on the rubbish were a near-definitive match for biological father and son.
Mr Kohberger was arrested two days later.
ABC/wires
Accused Idaho college killer to plead guilty to murders
