Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to all counts in the killings of four Idaho college students sparing him from the death penalty, according to a letter sent to victims’ family members.
Kohberger will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and waives all right to appeal. A court hearing is scheduled for July 2.
Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho.
Ted S. Warren/AP
The plea comes just weeks before Kohberger’s trial was set to begin. Jury selection was set to start on Aug. 4 and opening arguments were scheduled for Aug 18.
Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in connection with the killings of roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. The four victims were all stabbed to death in the girls’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
Two roommates inside survived, including one roommate who told authorities in the middle of the night she saw a man in black clothes and a mask walking past her in the house, according to court documents.
The shocking quadruple killings shook the small college town of Moscow and launched a nearly seven-week manhunt.
In December 2022, Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University at the time, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
