Details continue to emerge regarding the Idaho murders as Bryan Kohberger has agreed to a contentious plea arrangement.
The criminology graduate faces sentencing next month, following charges of four counts of first-degree murder and one burglary count.
In 2022, University of Idaho students Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, aged 21, and 20-year-olds Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were killed.
Kohberger, now 30, is reportedly accepting a judge’s plea deal which stipulates four consecutive life sentences and a maximum ten-year penalty for burglary. Initially, Kohberger pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
This plea deal spares him from the death penalty, a decision that has upset the victims’ families, especially the Goncalves family. They have criticized the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office for hastily handling the case, claiming it was ‘mishandled’.
As of now, the motive behind the murders remains unknown.
Shortly after the murders, a neighbor of Kohberger from Washington State University’s Pullman campus shared with CBS News that Kohberger had asked if they had heard about the murders.
The neighbor recalled: “And then he said, ‘Yeah, seems like they have no leads. Seems like it was a crime of passion.'”
“At the time of our conversation, it was only a few days after it happened, so there wasn’t much details out.”
Here is a timeline of events and what is expected to happen as the case moves forward…
On the evening of November 12, 2022, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin attended a Sigma Chi fraternity party close to the King Road house.
Meanwhile, Kaylee Goncalves posted Instagram photos with friends, captioning them: “One lucky girl to be surrounded by these ppl everyday.”
Madison Mogen and Goncalves went to the Corner Club sports bar in downtown Moscow around 10 pm.
At about 1:30 am, Goncalves and Mogen were seen on a food-truck livestream ordering late-night snacks.
By 1:45 am on November 13, Kernodle and Chapin returned to the three-story King Road house, with Goncalves and Mogen arriving by car at 1:56 am.
At 11:58 am, surviving housemates Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen called 911 to report an ‘unconscious person.’ They were unharmed but found their roommates fatally stabbed.
Initially, police stated there was no ongoing risk to the community. However, after revisiting the scene, they warned that the suspect remained unidentified and at large.
Moscow PD and Idaho State Police, backed by the FBI, confirmed the four victims were likely attacked with a large knife while sleeping.
The autopsy revealed multiple stab wounds and defensive injuries. Detectives searched nearby dumpsters for evidence, questioned local businesses about knife sales, and stressed it was a targeted attack.
A vigil took place on November 30 at the University of Idaho, where families vowed to ‘get our justice’.
Shortly afterward, Funke and Mortensen, the survivors, released letters expressing their grief.
On December 30, 2022, at approximately 3 am in Pennsylvania, police approached the Kohberger residence and arrested the 28-year-old on a fugitive warrant.
At the time, Kohberger had just finished his first semester as a Ph.D. teaching assistant in Criminology at Washington State University’s Pullman campus. This location was only a 15-minute drive from Moscow, where he lived in an on-campus apartment and office that WSU Police searched under a warrant.
Evidence, including a knife sheath with DNA and cellphone-tower data, connected Kohberger to the crime scene.
Between January 3 and 5, 2023, Kohberger waived extradition and was transferred to Idaho. At his initial court appearance, he was held without bail on four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary.
Pretrial motions and venue changes
On June 30, Kohberger agreed to a plea approved by a judge, resulting in four consecutive life sentences and up to 10 years for the burglary charge, thus avoiding the death penalty.
The victims’ families criticized the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office for what they called a ‘secretive,’ rushed process. They learned of the plea only a day before the scheduled July 2 hearing and without prior consultation.
The families are now preparing to appeal the sentence.
As a result, the jury selection initially scheduled for July 30 and the trial start set for August 18 will be canceled. Formal sentencing hearings and the appeal by the families will outline the future proceedings.