Families of the murdered Idaho college students told Bryan Kohberger that they are “united in their disgust” for him as they confronted the quadruple killer at his sentencing hearing.
Kohberger, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs, appeared emotionless as he listened to heartwrenching statements in the courtroom in Boise, Idaho.
On Nov. 13, 2022, Kohberger broke into the home of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in the small town of Moscow during the middle of the night and stabbed the students to death as most of them slept.
Through tears and rage, the families told Kohberger of the agony his crimes have inflicted upon them and what they have endured over the last few years.
Steve Goncalves, the father of Kaylee Goncalves, turned to face Kohberger head-on to deliver his powerful impact statement.
“Today you’ve lost control. Today we are here to prove to the world that you picked the wrong families,” Steve Goncalves told the killer.
“You tried to plant fear, you tried to divide us. You failed. You united everyone in their disgust for you.”
Bryan Kohberger appeared in the courtroom in Boise, Idaho, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs. He is being sentenced for the murders of the four Idaho college students. (AP)Kaylee’s sister, Alivea Goncalves, unleashed on Kohberger, calling him a “Psychopath.”
“Disappointments like you thrive on pain. I won’t feed your beast,” she said calmly. “Instead, I will call you what you are. Sociopath. Psychopath. Murderer.”
Dylan Mortensen, one of the two roommates who survived the killings, told Kohberger he was “evil” as she defiantly told him he would “never take away” her voice.
Through tears, Mortensen told Kohberger that he was “a hollow vessel, something less than human.”
The other surviving roommate, Bethany Funke, whose statement was read aloud by a friend, revealed that she slept in her parents’ bedroom for a year after the murders.
Funke also expressed regret over not calling 911 sooner.
Dylan Mortensen, comforted by a loved one in the court, told Kohberger that he was “a hollow vessel, something less than human.” (AP)Madison Mogen’s stepfather, Scott Laramie, said that the family “will grow old without our only child” in an emotional statement.
“We are ordinary people but we lived an extraordinary life thanks to Maddie,” Laramie added.
Chapin’s family is not at the hearing, but his mom, Stacy, shared a picture of her son as a child to her Instagram story with a blue love heart.
True crime fans, members of the public and the media were camped out all night to ensure they get a glimpse of the killer inside the Ada County Courthouse.
For more than two years, Kohberger maintained his innocence. His long-awaited trial was just weeks away and scheduled for August 18, but in a bombshell twist, he pleaded guilty on July 2.
The sudden plea deal took the death penalty off the table.
The families of Kohberger’s victims have been longing for an answer to one simple question: Why?
His motive remains a mystery— and there is no guarantee he will reveal the answer at Wednesday’s sentencing.
Kohberger broke into the home of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in the small town of Moscow during the middle of the night and stabbed the students to death. (Instagram)Kohberger will be given the chance to speak in what’s known as an allocution, but he doesn’t have to say anything — and the judge can’t force him to.
Defendants might use their statement to express remorse, ask for mercy or to say whatever else they think the court should hear before sentencing.
But because the U.S. Constitution’s 5th Amendment guarantee of the right to remain silent remains in effect during sentencing hearings, they can choose not to speak at all.
Kohberger’s team of defense attorneys, led by Anne Taylor, announced last week that they won’t be releasing any statements after the sentencing.
President Donald Trump weighed in Monday, posting on Truth Social: “I hope the Judge makes Kohberger, at a minimum, explain why he did these horrible murders. There are no explanations, there is no NOTHING.”
Kohberger, pictured at the plea-deal hearing on July 2, will be given the chance to speak in what’s known as an allocution, but he doesn’t have to say anything — and the judge can’t force him to. (AP)The murders shook the small town of Moscow in November 2022.
For weeks, only scant details about the carnage that night were revealed as the community reeled from the tragedy and grappled with fears of a murderer on the loose. Kohberger, a graduate student at Washington State University at the time of the murders, wasn’t arrested until six weeks later, on December 30, 2022.
At the plea-deal hearing earlier this month, Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson outlined chilling details of the night of the murders.
He told the court how Kohberger broke into the six-bedroom three-storey house and headed to the third floor, where he killed Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves first.
Then, he killed Xana Kernodle after encountering her while she was picking up a DoorDash delivery, before stabbing her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was asleep in their bedroom.
Two others, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, were the only roommates to survive the killings, with Mortensen coming face to face with Kohberger at one terrifying moment.
The selfie Kohberger took at his home in Pullman, Washington state, just hours after carrying out the murders, the prosecution said. (Latah County Prosecutor’s Office)After fleeing the scene, prosecutors said that Kohberger took a selfie that morning at his Pullman residence in Washington state, approximately 9.5 miles from Moscow, with his thumbs up.
The leather sheath from the knife Kohberger used to murder Goncalves and Mogen was discovered on the bed, but the weapon itself has never been found.
Six weeks later, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.
Kohberger was linked to the crime through cellphone location records, police said, and security video of a white Hyundai Elantra, a similar model of the car seen near the murder home around the time of the murders. Kohberger changed the license plates on his Hyundai Elantra just days after the murders.
After changing his plea to guilty, both sides in the case agreed to a proposed sentence of four consecutive life sentences without parole, in addition to 10 years for the burglary charge.
Kohberger waived his right to appeal any issues in the case, without the possibility of parole.
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