Bryan Kohberger plea hearing: Idaho murders suspect pleads guilty
Bryan Kohberger enters guilty plea in Idaho court
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday in the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022, avoiding the death penalty in exchange for multiple life sentences.
BOISE, Idaho - Bryan Kohberger, pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022. His trial was set to begin next month but earlier this week, he agreed to a plea deal.
The backstory:
Kohberger is accused of killing Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, on Nov. 13, 2022. He was arrested months later at his parents' home in eastern Pennsylvania.
A split photo showing the crime scene and the victims, University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital | Instagram | @xanakernodle/@kayleegoncalves)
On Monday, Kohberger accepted a plea deal in the quadruple-murder case. He avoids the death penalty and will instead serve four life sentences.
Fox News Digital reported that Kohberger may not have to explain the crime as part of the plea agreement.
Below are live updates from the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho on Wednesday, July 2, 22025:
11:15 a.m.: Sentencing date for Bryan Kohberger
The judge will sentence Bryan Kohberger on July 13.
11 a.m.: Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday in the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022 that stunned and terrified the campus and set off a nationwide search, which ended weeks later when he was arrested in Pennsylvania.
10:50 a.m.: Prosecutor describes evidence
Prosecutor Bill Thompson listed a timeline of the stabbings and Kohberger’s movements.
10:45 a.m.: Bryan Kohberger tells judge he is guilty
Judge Steven Hippler addressed Kohberger directly to explain the possible penalties to the crime that he is set to plead guilty to. Kohberger tells Hippler he is guilty in the murders.
10:25 a.m.: Judge Steven Hippler speaking about the plea deal
Judge Steven Hippler said his court received numerous emails and phone messages ahead of the hearing, during which Hippler can accept or reject the plea agreement.
"Court is not supposed to, and this court will never, take into account public sentiment in making an opinion regarding its judicial decisions in cases. I always will make decisions based on where the facts and the law lead me, period," the judge said.
10: 15 a.m.: Hearing begins
The plea hearing is underway in Ada County.
Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger plea deal hearing
For more than two and half years, the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle have been waiting for justice. And just a month and a half before the trial was scheduled to start, the man accused of killing the four University of Idaho students accepted a plea deal.
Victims' families react to plea deal
The news of the plea deal has drawn varied reactions from the victims' families.
The families of Mogen and Chapin have expressed support for the agreement. However, the Goncalves family stated they were "furious" with the State of Idaho, feeling it "failed" them as they had hoped for Kohberger to face a jury and potentially the death penalty.
An aunt of Xana Kernodle said she didn't want a possible plea deal in the case, claiming she rejected an offer from prosecutors to "spare the families" the pain of a trial, TMZ reported.
The trial was expected to start in August, and an Idaho judge previously ruled that prosecutors could seek the death penalty against Kohberger if he was convicted.
Kohberger is a former criminology Ph.D. student attending Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. He was living about 10 miles away from the crime scene when the murders took place.
The Source: Information in this story came from Safiyah Riddle from the Associated Press, Fox News Digital, TMZ and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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