Murders and attempted murders

Man Who Murdered Four Students in Idaho Changes Plea to Avoid Death Sentence

Published JUL 3 2025

Story

Above: Bryan Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022, appears for a hearing at the Ada County Courthouse on July 2, 2025 in Boise, Idaho. Image credit: Kyle Green/Getty Images

The Facts

Bryan Kohberger, the 30-year-old Ph.D. student of criminology who murdered four University of Idaho students at an off-campus home in 2022, changed his plea on Wednesday after accepting a deal from prosecutors that spared him the death penalty for his crimes.
CNN
ABC News
Kohberger's guilty plea follows 30 months of court proceedings following the stabbings of Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, alongside Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, both 20, in Moscow, Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022.
FOX News
Al Jazeera
It was a white Hyundai Elantra seen on security footage circling the area around the victims' house that first led detectives to Kohberger, then a student at nearby Washington State University, before his arrest on Dec. 30 of that year.
New York Post
Daily Mail
Newsweek
Since then, police said that DNA samples from a sheath of a knife that was discovered at the scene were a match to that of Kohberger, adding that his Amazon purchase history showed he bought a Ka-Bar knife with the same sheath before the attack. Additional evidence, including a university ID card of one of the victims, tied him to the scene.
New York Post
Idaho Statesman
Following his extradition to Idaho, when he was arraigned on four felony counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in May of 2023, Kohberger chose to "stand silent," meaning he did not enter a plea and as a result, Judge Steven Hippler entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
FOX News
BBC News
Since then, defense lawyers fought Kohberger's corner, attempting to limit the evidence prosecutors could use at trial. However, Hippler ruled to admit most of it, making it an uphill battle for his defense if the case were to proceed. While Kohberger's acceptance of a plea deal spares him the death penalty, he will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years for the burglary.
New York Post
ABC News
BBC News

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

For 30 months, lawyers for Kohberger pleaded his innocence until he accepted a plea deal that spared him the death penalty for his crimes. For the parents of this horrific crime, their emotions are torn. Some viewed the deal as an opportunity to avoid the pain and spectacle of a trial and focus on healing instead, while others felt they wanted answers about the murder of their loved ones.

CNN

Narrative B

This is a terrible outcome for the families of these horrendous crimes. While it is a big wound to open, parents of the victims have too many questions about what happened that night and they deserve to have that respected. This plea deal robbed them of that opportunity.

New York Post