Bryan Kohberger given four life sentences in killings of University of Idaho students

Victims’ families and friends share emotional impact statements, as Kohberger declines to explain motive.

Bryan Kohberger appeared Wednesday at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, for his sentencing hearing. Photo: Kyle Green/Press Pool/WSJ

Friends and family of four murdered University of Idaho students took turns addressing the man who confessed to the killings through emotional testimony Wednesday before he was sent to prison for the rest of his life.

Just weeks ago Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the November 2022 murders of Xana Kernodle, 20 years old, Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21. In a Boise, Idaho, courtroom Wednesday, Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole in the murders and an additional 10 years for a burglary charge.

“I’m unable to come up with anything redeeming about Mr. Kohberger, because his grotesque acts of evil have buried and hidden anything that might have been good or intrinsically human about him,” Idaho Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler said before delivering the sentence. “His actions have made him the worst of the worst.”

When Hippler asked Kohberger whether he wished to make a statement before he was formally sentenced, Kohberger replied: “I respectfully decline.” Kohberger will be sent to Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, Idaho, the state attorney general’s office said.

Friends and family of the victims spoke through both tears and anger as Kohberger, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, sat in court and stared straight ahead. The students’ loved ones detailed the impact of their murders and the personalities of those they lost.

Dylan Mortensen gets a hug after speaking at the sentencing hearing of Bryan Kohberger on Wednesday. Photo: Kyle Green/Press Pool/WSJ

The slain students’ two roommates who survived the attack at their off-campus home shared how they have grappled with questions over why they were able to survive — and how they now live their lives in their friends’ honour.

“He didn’t just take them from the world. He took them from me. My friends. My people who felt like my home,” said Dylan Mortensen, one of the roommates who survived. “What he did shattered me in places I didn’t know could break.”

The killing of the four college students in Moscow, Idaho, drew national attention, becoming the subject of books, podcasts, documentaries and widespread speculation on social media and questions over Kohberger’s motive. The victims were stabbed to death at their home after they enjoyed a Saturday night out.

Kohberger originally pleaded not guilty to four state felony charges of first-degree murder and burglary and was expected to stand trial this summer. He pleaded guilty in early July as part of a last-minute agreement with prosecutors, avoiding a possible death penalty.

In addition to the life sentences, Kohberger was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for each of the five charges and $5,000 to each of the victims’ families.

Kohberger waived his right to appeal his sentence, according to the agreement.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson projected images in the courtroom of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, appearing to choke up as he asked the judge to sentence Kohberger to life in prison for each of their murders.

“The door will close behind him forever. That is the closure that we seek,” Thompson said before Kohberger was sentenced. “That all of these people — these loving friends and family — deserve, so that we can move forward.”

Without a trial, the sentencing hearing marked a long-awaited day in a court for friends and family still searching for answers. They remembered their children, grandchildren and friends — sharing in their statements their humour, energy and love for one another. Benjamin Mogen, the father of Madison Mogen, one of the students who was killed, read aloud a Father’s Day card she wrote him. Her grandmother told the courtroom about the angel wing tattoo she got in her memory.

The plea agreement was a source of emotion and controversy for some members of the public — and at least one of the victim’s family. At the beginning of a July court hearing, Hippler said his office received calls from people who sought to sway his decision-making in the case. The family of Kaylee Goncalves has criticised the handling of the case. They minced no words addressing Kohberger Wednesday.

“You didn’t win. You just exposed yourself as the coward you are,” said Alivea Goncalves, Kaylee Goncalves’s older sister, during her statement. “You’re a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser who thought you were so much smarter than everybody else.”

The family of Madison Mogen have said they support the plea deal.

“As for the defendant, we will not waste words — nor will we fall into hatred and bitterness,” Scott Laramie, Madison Mogen’s stepfather, said. “Evilness does not deserve our time and attention. We are done being victims. We are taking back our lives.”

“Any one of us would have given our own light to have been outshone by hers,” said Karen Laramie, her mother, in a statement read by her lawyer in court Wednesday.

The family of Ethan Chapin didn’t testify during the sentencing hearing.

Kim Kernodle, Xana Kernodle’s aunt, took a softer tone with Kohberger, addressing him by his first name and pleading for more answers.

“I no longer could live with that hate in my heart — and for me to become a better person, I have forgiven you,” she said. “And anytime you want to talk and tell me what happened, get my number. I’m here, no judgment, because I do have questions that I want you to answer. And I’m here, I’ll be that one that’ll listen to you.”

Hippler, who also appeared to choke up while delivering the sentence, said looking for answers from Kohberger would likely be futile.

“The more we struggle to seek explanation for the unexplainable, the more we try to extract a reason, the more power and control we give to him,” he said. “In my view, the time has now come to end Mr. Kohberger’s 15 minutes of fame. It’s time that he be consigned to the ignominy and isolation of perpetual incarceration.”

Wall Street Journal