Convicted murderer Bryan Kohberger’s grim first meal inside ‘hellhole’ prison
Bryan Kohberger has just spent his first night in “one of America’s worst prisons” – and the food is as awful as the conditions.
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Bryan Kohberger has just spent his first night behind bars in a “hellhole prison” after being sentenced to life for the gruesome murder of four students as they slept.
Kohberger was given four consecutive life sentences after he snuck into the shared home of Idaho State University students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20 and Ethan Chapin, 20 in Moscow, Idaho.
All four were stabbed to death in their beds by Kohberger, now 30, at around 4am on November 13, 2022.
Two other flatmates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, were unharmed, despite Kohberger being seemingly aware they were there.
Kohberger agreed to a plea deal on July 2 that saw him admit to the murders and waive his right to appeal in exchange for not getting the death penalty.
After being ordered to spend the rest of his life in jail on Wednesday, US time, he was subsequently transferred to the notorious Idaho Maximum Security Institute (ISMI), known as “one of America’s worst hellhole prisons”, according to the New York Post.
Conditions are said to be extremely tough at the jail, which was reportedly opened in 1989 to confine the state’s “most disruptive male residents”, with inmates given little access to home comforts.
Kohberger’s first meal in notorious prison
Prisoners have access to basic food services at the unit, including various selective diets, such as vegetarian menus and a “healthy choice” option.
For vegan inmates like Kohberger, vegan barley casserole, baked beans and canned fruit are on offer.
On Wednesday night, the day of his arrival, the menu included hotdogs, salad and Jello pie, a prison official told the New York Post.
A photo shared on the Idaho Department of Correction of a meal served at IMSI shows a red tray, featuring a main meal, a side, as well as a salad and dessert along with a drink.
Kohberger, who was previously being held at the Ada County Jail in Boise during his trial, is now expected to live out his days at IMSI — the state’s only max security prison.
Inside the ‘hellhole’ prison
The IMSI is reportedly “tucked away in a desolate area on the outskirts of the state’s capital” and has earned a grim reputation for its harsh conditions.
In the past the prison has seen allegations of abusive guards, experienced violent brawls, and is said to have had complaints from inmates over its faeces-covered recreation “cages” and a dirty ventilation system described as being “biohazard”.
Two of Idaho’s most notorious serial killers — Gerald Pizzuto and Thomas Eugene Creech — are also serving time there, along with doomsday cult killer Chad Daybell.
‘Sit up straight when I talk to you’
His time alongside some of the most hardened criminals comes after he faced a series of scathing victim impact statements in court, one of which came from Kaylee Goncalves’ sister Alivea.
“I won’t stand here and give you want you want. I won’t offer you tears. I won’t offer you trembling,” she said while staring down the killer in court this week.
“Disappointments like you thrive on pain, on fear and on the illusion of power. And I won’t feed your beast.
“Instead, I was call you what you are: Sociopath. Psychopath. Murderer,” she said. “Sit up straight when I talk to you.”
Alivea then confronted Kohberger with a series of questions, but there was a hidden meaning behind her decision to include these in her victim impact statement to the court.
Some of the many things she wanted answers to included, “How was your life right before you murdered my sisters?,” “Did you prepare for the crime before leaving your apartment?” and “How does it feel to know the only thing you failed more miserably at than being a murderer is trying to be a rapper?”
Alivea also called for him to reveal where he hid the murder weapon and begged to know Kaylee’s last words before telling Kohberger what she really thought of him.
“If you were really smart, do you think you’d be here right now?” she said.
“What’s it like needing this much attention just to feel real? You’re terrified of being ordinary, aren’t you? Do you feel anything at all, or are you exactly what you always feared? Nothing.
“If you’re so powerful, then why are you still hiding? Defendant, you see, I’m here today as me, but who are you?”
Kohberger’s motive has never been revealed and during his sentencing, he “respectfully declined” to comment.
Alivea went on to call Kohberger was “a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser”.
“Lurking in the shadows made you feel powerful because you were nothing in the light,” she said.
“The truth is, the scariest part about you is how painfully average you turned out to be. The truth is, you’re as dumb as they come, stupid, clumsy, slow, sloppy, weak, dirty.
“Let me be very clear. Don’t ever try to convince yourself you mattered just because someone finally said your name out loud.
“I see through you.
“You want the truth? Here’s the one you’ll hate the most: If you hadn’t attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night like a paedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your f***ing ass.”
‘Perpetual incarceration’
Judge Hippler, presiding over the case, poured scorn on Kohberger in his sentencing remarks, calling him a “faceless coward” who “senselessly slaughtered” the four.
“There is no reason for these crimes that could approach anything resembling rationality,” he said.
“In my view, the time has now come to end for Mr Kohberger’s 15 minutes of fame.
“It’s time that he be consigned to the ignominy and isolation of perpetual incarceration.”
The judge added: “Even if I could force him to speak, which legally I cannot, how could anyone ever be assured that what he speaks is the truth?”
The sentence breaks down as 10 years in prison for one count of burglary and four life sentences without the possibility of parole to be served consecutively for each murder.
Kohberger will also have to pay a $US50,000 fine and a civil penalty of $US5000 to the family of each victim.
‘Big Ds in prison’
Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee’s mum, was colourful in her condemnation of Kohberger.
“Your fellow inmates will be awaiting your arrival,” she said.
She then read a message from her youngest daughter.
“You may have received As in school,” it read. “But in prison you’ll be getting Big Ds.
“A dead killer doesn’t kill again, so while I’m disappointed the firing squad won’t get to take their shots at you, I’m confident that the men in prison will have their way with you in more ways than one.
“You will finally get what you wanted: physical touch”.
‘Moved in ways I can’t verbalise’
The Goncalves family’s blistering address of the killer in court has been widely praised online.
“This probably impacted him the most,” noted one on a video of the moment shared to TikTok.
“Now that’s a big sister!” agreed another.
As one noted: “’Don’t ever try to convince yourself that you mattered just because someone finally said your name out loud’, that was powerful.”
“Her words couldn’t have been more perfect,” said someone else.
While one declared: “WOW THATS THE BEST F**KING SPEACH EVER EVER.”
“I have been moved in ways I can’t verbalise, that was just perfect,” another added.
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