BOISE, Idaho – Before following a plea deal and sentencing Bryan Kohberger to consecutive life terms in prison, an Ada County judge acknowledged the deep grief felt by the victims’ families and Kohberger’s errors that led to his arrest.
Kohberger admitted to killing Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen while the four were students at the University of Idaho in 2022.
He entered the plea shortly before he was scheduled to stand trial.
“Due to the defendant’s incompetence… the person who slithered through that sliding door… sits before this court, unmasked,” Judge Hippler said.
“No parent should ever have to bury their child,” Judge Hippler said. “Parents who brought their children to college with moving boxes had to bring them home in hearses lined with coffins.”
Judge Hippler also acknowledged the courage of the families who spoke in court at the sentencing and the two surviving roommates, who he says should be known as survivors going forward.
“I share the desire expressed by others to understand the ‘why’ – but by continuing to focus on why, we continue to give Mr. Kohberger relevance,” he said. “By relying on Kohberger to give the reasons, it gives him the power which he appears to crave.”
“The more we try to extract a reason, the more power we give to him,” he said.
“It’s time to end Mr. Kohberger’s 15 minutes of fame.”
Judge Hippler recognized a veteran Idaho judge who tried to find something good to say about Kohberger.
“I’m unable to come up with anything redeeming about Mr. Kohberger,” he said. “His actions have made him the worst of the worst.”
Judge Hippler sentenced Kohberger, as the plea agreement was laid out, to four consecutive life sentences without parole and a 10-year sentence for burglary for breaking into the home to commit the murders.
Final statements
Before Judge Hippler handed down the sentence, attorneys for both sides had a chance to make a final statement to the judge.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson reminded the judge that Kohberger pleaded guilty to all of the charges against him.
Thompson said the first time the defense approached the state about a plea deal was in mid-June, after the defense lost several key rulings about evidence in the case.
Thompson acknowledged that the families had differing opinions about the plea deal and said “all of [the family members] are entitled to their thoughts and opinions.”
The state said the only way they would accept the deal is if Kohberger admitted to all five charges and waived appeals. By the end of that weekend, Thompson said, Kohberger agreed to the terms.
As Thompson read the charges and sentencing recommendations, he showed pictures of each victim as he read their names. He asked for the life sentences to be served consecutively “to respect the individuality of each of these young people whose lives were taken – brutally and for no reason.”
Thompson noted that the sentence “can never undo the horror” of what took place on King Road in November 2022.
“From today forward, our memories should be focused on these innocent victims whose lives were taken – on their families, their friends and their communities,” Thompson said.
The veteran prosecutor choked up as he shared the last picture the victims took, along with the two surviving roommates “barely 12 hours before four of them would be brutally murdered.”
“They were and remain a special family that I think we should all recognize,” he said.
Thompson asked the judge to, through the life sentences, “sentence the defendant to die in prison.”
The defense declined to make a final statement and no one spoke on Kohberger’s behalf.
When asked if he would like to address the court, Kohberger said “I respectfully decline.”
Throughout the nearly three-hour hearing, Kohberger never changed expression, even as emotional family members addressed him directly.
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