Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty in University of Idaho slayings, avoiding the death penalty

BOISE, Idaho (TCN) -- Bryan Kohberger, the criminal justice doctorate student and man accused of fatally stabbing several University of Idaho students in 2022, recently pleaded guilty to the killings, sparing him from the death penalty.

According to court documents, Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty on July 2 to burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin at an off-campus house. Kohberger faces 10 years for burglary, as well as consecutive life sentences for the first-degree murder charges.

Kohberger reportedly stabbed and killed Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle, and Chapin in the early hours on Nov. 13, 2022. The four victims were found dead in the home Goncalves, Mogen, and Kernodle shared with two other roommates on King Road in Moscow.

According to The Associated Press, lead prosecutor Bill Thompson presented the evidentiary summary, arguing that Kohberger’s cellphone began connecting with cell towers near the crime scene several months before the brutal stabbings. Investigators reportedly obtained surveillance footage showing that Kohberger’s vehicle was also in the neighborhood.

On the night of the stabbings, Kohberger allegedly parked behind the rental house and gained access through a back door before fatally stabbing Mogen and Goncalves while they slept. The Associated Press reports that Kohberger left behind a knife sheath with the victims’ blood. Officials later identified Kohberger as the suspect after finding a male’s DNA on the sheath.

One of the other victims, Kernodle, allegedly ordered something through DoorDash, and Kohberger killed her with a large knife as he was leaving. The defendant also killed Kernodle’s boyfriend, Chapin, who was sleeping in her room at the time.

Two individuals in the house survived, including one who was going to testify. She allegedly saw an intruder with "bushy eyebrows" wearing black clothing and a ski mask drive away.

Following the stabbings, Kohberger reportedly drove to his home in Washington and changed his vehicle registration from Pennsylvania to Washington state. According to The Associated Press, he also concealed evidence and cleaned his apartment and office.

A break in the case came when investigators reportedly found a Q-tip in the trash. Thompson said DNA from the Q-tip matched "the father of the person whose DNA was found on the knife sheath that was found by Madison Mogen’s body on the bed."

Authorities arrested Kohberger on Dec. 30, 2022, at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.

According to The Associated Press, Kohberger’s motive remains unknown. He was reportedly working on his Ph.D. in criminal justice at Washington State University, but officials don’t yet know why Kohberger targeted the house or the four victims.

MORE: