Suspect pleads guilty in murders of University of Idaho students

(CN) — A former criminology doctoral student admitted Wednesday that he murdered four University of Idaho students in 2022, accepting a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table.

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to killing college students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Gonclaves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were found stabbed to death in an off-campus apartment in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022.

As part of a plea agreement with the state of Idaho, Kohberger faces up to four consecutive life terms in prison for each murder charge and 10 years on a burglary charge. The mandatory minimum of each murder charge is at least 10 years in prison, plus fines and restitution.

Ada County District Court Judge Steven Hippler asked Kohberger a series of questions, including whether he killed the students and whether he was pleading guilty because he is guilty.

“Yes,” Kohberger replied.

The state has evidence that Kohberger bought a knife and accompanying sheath online when he was living at his parents house in Pennsylvania in 2022 that matched the one found at the crime scene. Prosecutors also offered DNA evidence linked to Kohberger during the state’s recitation of evidence that would have been presented at trial.

Prosecutors also planned to present surveillance video of Kohberger’s car and cellphone data of where his phone connected to local cell towers that they say showed him in the vicinity of Moscow on the day of the killings.

“The defendant has studied crime, in fact he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his predoctorate degrees and he had that knowledge and skill,” said Bill Thompson, an attorney from Latah County’s prosecutor’s office regarding evidence that Kohberger meticulously cleaned his getaway car and his apartment before it was searched by law enforcement.

Kohberger initially pleaded not guilty in May 2023. The trial was originally set for October in Latah County, where the murders occurred, but it was moved to Boise after Kohberger’s defense team successfully argued there would be a strong possibility for bias among potential jurors.

The court was gearing up to bring in 10,000 people for the juror selection process, Hippler said. He learned about Kohberger’s desire to change his plea on Monday like everyone else, he added.

Idaho is one of 27 states in the country that allows the death penalty, though six of those states have put executions on hold for various reasons.

Last year, Kohberger implored the court to strike the death penalty, arguing that the state is ill-prepared to carry out the punishment that he said is unconstitutional.

“There have been calls by some for the public to contact me and my office in an attempt to influence my decision making in this case,” Hippler said. “The court is not supposed to, and this court will never, take into account public sentiments in making an opinion regarding its judicial decision in cases.”

Prosecutors are the only ones who can pursue charges and their penalties, including the death penalty — not judges, he added.

Kohberger’s sentencing hearing is set for July 23 at 9 a.m. Hippler ordered Kohberger to remain in jail until his sentencing and said he not be allowed to wear civilian clothes at his sentencing hearing.