Kristi Goncalves says she wrestles with forgiving Bryan Kohberger as he tries to undo his guilty plea.
The mother of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves, 21, spoke out on “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” alongside her husband Steve Goncalves about their spiritual struggle with forgiveness.
“According to the Bible, we need to forgive him,” Kristi Goncalves told Hannity. “But Steve said he’s never asked for forgiveness. He’s never showed an ounce of remorse. He’s claiming that he didn’t do this. So, what, do we forgive him?”
Kohberger, 31, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in a deal that spared him the death penalty.
He received four consecutive life sentences without parole plus 10 years for burglary.
Now the convicted killer has filed a petition for post-conviction relief in Ada County District Court seeking to withdraw that plea.
The Goncalveses described Kohberger as soulless and demonic.
“He [Kohberger] entered that house with intent to kill… and I’m struggling with forgiving that,” Kristi Goncalves told host Sean Hannity.
“I envision what took place in that house that night, and I feel like he is a demon. I feel like he is… the devil himself,” she added.
Kristi Goncalves said her daughter was unrecognizable after suffering severe facial injuries.
Steve Goncalves described the brutal killings as the fulfillment of Kohberger’s sick “fantasy.”
“There is something very non-human about him,” Kristi Goncalves said. “And I know that from my impact statement, looking at him, the way he looked at me… I don’t know if he’s human at all.”
Kristi Goncalves said she talks to God “a lot” about forgiving her daughter’s killer.
“I say, ‘God, I know I’m supposed to forgive him, but how? How do I forgive him? He did such horrible things,'” she said.
“Am I supposed to forgive a demon? Am I supposed forgive the devil?” She added.
Kristi Goncalves said that she is disgusted by Kohberger’s efforts to withdraw his guilty plea after putting the victims’ families through years of trauma.
Steve Goncalves expressed similar frustrations.
“If anybody wants to entertain this appeal… I will blast this case through the roof,” he said.
The family said in a statement Monday that Kohberger admitted his guilt in his plea and “chose not to leave his fate — or the facts of the case — to a jury.”
“We would have preferred a death-penalty trial; we believe fully in the evidence,” the family said. “Instead, [Kohberger] received exactly what he asked for: a deal that spared his life. Know this — he hates that life. He wants another chance to roll the dice.”
In the viral moment that launched this case, Kohberger fatally stabbed Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, after entering the home through a sliding glass door in Moscow, Idaho.
His DNA was found on a knife sheath left at the crime scene that once carried the weapon he used to kill the four young college students.
Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 at his parents’ Pennsylvania home after investigators linked him through cellphone data showing his phone near the victims’ house at least 12 times before the murders.
He is currently representing himself in the petition to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming he had “ineffective assistance of counsel” and was “convinced to falsely confess.”
Kohberger now maintains that he is innocent and wants the plea withdrawn, reversing the position he took when he admitted in court to killing the four students.
He claims his lawyers told him to give a “false plea” and that he pleaded guilty due to bad legal advice and “false promises.”
At his July 2025 guilty plea hearing, Judge Steven Hippler asked Kohberger whether he was pleading guilty because he was guilty.
“Yes,” Kohberger replied.
Hippler found that the plea had been made freely, voluntarily and intelligently.
Kohberger said nothing at his sentencing other than “I respectfully decline” when given a chance to speak.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said in a statement Monday, “My heart goes out to the families of Madison, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan, who have already endured unimaginable loss and now must face today’s deeply painful news. My office stands ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out.”
A Netflix documentary, “The Idaho Murders: College Nightmares,” premiered Wednesday.