Bryan Kohberger plea deal means he won’t have to explain why he ‘slaughtered 4 Idaho college students
By Priscilla DeGregory
Bryan Kohberger likely will not have to explain why he slaughtered four University of Idaho students when he enters a guilty plea — leaving the victims’ families with unanswered questions.
Kohberger reached a shocking deal with prosecutors Tuesday –- just weeks ahead of the highly anticipated quadruple homicide trial.
The plea will spare him from the possibility of death by firing squad, but will see him spend the rest of his life in prison.
Bryan Kohberger in an orange jumpsuit at a court hearing.
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Bryan Kohberger appears at a hearing in Latah County District Court on Jan. 5, 2023.
Getty Images
A hearing has been scheduled in his case for 11 a.m. Wednesday, and one local expert says he’ll likely plead guilty then.
The former PhD criminology student will have to admit to his crimes, but likely won’t explain his motive, Idaho defense attorney Edwina Elcox told The Post.
He will have to establish the elements of the crime like the dates and locations, and acknowledge that he committed the killings.
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But “he wouldn’t have to say why he did it — just that he did it,” Elcox explained.
She added: “There is no requirement that he says why for a plea.”
Two and a half years after the Nov. 13, 2022 murders in Moscow, Idaho, there is still no clear explanation for why the four students were hacked to death with a military-style Ka-Bar knife.
Photo of four University of Idaho students hours before their deaths.
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The University of Idaho victims (clockwise from bottom left): Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20.
A trial — with troves of evidence introduced and argued over — may have brought the families closer to understanding the reason behind the murders of Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20 and Madison Mogen, 21.
Kohberger had been attending Washington State University in Pullman, Washington roughly 10 miles from the victims’ school. A knife sheath with Kohberger’s DNA allegedly on it was found near Mogen’s body.
The Goncalves’ family said they “are beyond furious at the State of Idaho” for agreeing to the deal. “They have failed us.”
A snow-covered house in Moscow, Idaho, with police tape and a police vehicle in the driveway.
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The Moscow, Idaho, home where the students were found dead.
Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
Elcox said prosecutors wouldn’t have made the deal lightly, knowing the impact it would have on the victims’ families.
Still, she explained there are other benefits of Kohberger taking a plea deal, such as ensuring a conviction, since “you never know what will happen at trial.”
Since Kohberger agreed not to appeal the conviction and sentencing, “then it’s done. It gives everyone a sense of finality,” the lawyer said.
Close-up of Bryan Kohberger.
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The plea will spare Kohberger from the possibility of death by firing squad.
Courtey of Dateline
On the other hand, with a trial, there are usually “decades of appeals and rehashing everything,” Elcox said. “It gets to a resolution that ensures that he will never be out in the community again.”
The hearing Wednesday could go on for about an hour, since the judge will likely want to ensure that everything is done correctly.
Sentencing likely won’t take place for weeks, Elcox said.
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