Bryan Kohberger sentencing live updates: Surviving roommate gives tearful statement as Idaho killer faces victims' families

Yahoo

5 days ago

Victim statements are being read in court.
Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, is scheduled to be sentenced today.
The murder victims — Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — were found stabbed to death in their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. Prosecutors laid out key DNA evidence, surveillance footage and cellphone records that linked Kohberger to the killings.
Kohberger, 30, was expected to go through a lengthy and highly publicized trial in August. But in a surprise turn of events, Kohberger pleaded guilty on July 2 to murdering the four students as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
He's expected to receive four consecutive life sentences, plus 10 years for burglary, according to the deal. He also waived his right to appeal and to challenge the sentence. The agreement doesn't require Kohberger to explain his motive or actions, which has been one of many unanswered questions in the case as the victims' families search for answers.
Today, they'll have the opportunity to address Kohberger face to face as they read victim impact statements. Kohberger will also be given the chance to address the court, but it's unclear if he will do so since he's not legally obligated.
Follow the live blog below for the latest updates on what's happening in court from our own reporting, as well as various reporters and news organizations, including CNN, NewsNation, NBC News and the Associated Press.
Madison Mogen's stepdad, Scott Laramie, was the third to read a victim impact statement on behalf of him and his wife, Karen.
"Karen and I are ordinary people but we lived extraordinary lives because we had Maddie. She was taken by evil," Laramie read.
"First we felt disbelief, then disorientation, and then grief overcame us."
In the last few thoughts of his statement, Laramie read: "Evil does not deserve time or attention. We are done being victims. We are taking back our lives. We will take turn our time into helping others."
Dylan Mortensen, one of two surviving roommates, delivered her impact statement next.
Mortensen cried as she read her prepared remarks, as Kohberger looked on.
Her friends, she said, are gone "because of him."
'What happened that night changed everything,' Mortensen said. 'Four beautiful, genuine, compassionate people were taken from this world for no reason.'
She described the debilitating panic attacks she has suffered in the years since the murders.
'I can't breathe, I can't think, I can't stop shaking," Mortensen said. "All I can do is scream, because the emotional pain and the grief is too much to handle on my chest."
"While I will still live with this pain, at least I get to live my life," Mortensen said, concluding her remarks. "He will stay here empty, forgotten and powerless."
Bethany Funke is one of two surviving roommates. Her friend Emily Alandt read a victim statement on her behalf.
"Never in a million years would I have thought that something like this would have happened to our closest friends,' Alandt read.
Funke said the murders on Nov. 13, 2022, have left her terrified, and she slept in her parents' room for nearly a year. Since that night, she said the social media impact has made all of this a lot worse, even receiving death threats for not calling 911 right away. She hasn't been able to sleep through the night and wakes up in panic, worrying that someone is trying to break in or trying to hurt someone she loves.
"That was the worst day of my life and I know it always will be," Alandt read through tears.
Bryan Kohberger entered the courtroom for his sentencing wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, and took a seat at the defense table. He looked straight ahead and did not react as the first impact statement was read.
According to NBC News, Kohberger's mother was seen quietly weeping in the courtroom.
Kaylee Goncalves's family was seen arriving at the Ada County Courthouse before Kohberger's sentencing today.
The families of Kaylee and Xana Kernodle are angry with prosecutors over the plea deal and will be able to address their daughter's killer directly.
'Today was the day, the day for answers, the day to find out what happened, to find out really anything about what the Defendant did that night and why he took the lives of 4 beautiful people. At least that's what we hoped for but hope is really all we had today,' the Goncalves family's statement read following Kohberger's guilty plea on July 2.
Authorities never found the murder weapon, a Ka-Bar knife Kohberger bought on Amazon back in March 2022, nor did they find any usable evidence in his sparse apartment or office. When they searched his Hyundai Elantra, they found that it was cleaned so thoroughly that there wasn't anything to discover even in the crevices of the car.
The main questions that have gone unanswered still remain: Why did Kohberger kill these four students? Why did he pick the house at 1122 King Road and those victims who were apparent strangers to him?
The knife sheath
In March 2022, Kohberger bought a Ka-Bar knife, which is meant for combat, on Amazon using a gift card. Evidence shows he attempted to delete his purchase history from Amazon.
The knife sheath was found next to Mogen's body and was sent to the Idaho State Police forensic lab. Single-source male DNA was found on the snap of the sheath, as well as blood from Mogen and Goncalves.
The DNA on a Q-tip
Before Kohberger's arrest in December 2022, authorities conducted a trash pull at his parent's house in Pennsylvania. They took samples of trash that were set out on the street for collection and sent them to the Idaho State forensics laboratory.
Lab experts were able to identify DNA on a Q-tip that came from the father of the person whose DNA was found on the knife sheath that was found at the crime scene next to Mogen's body.
After Kohberger was arrested and extradited to Idaho, a DNA sample was taken from him, which matched the DNA from the button on the knife sheath.
Aug. 22, 2022: Kohberger was pulled over by a Latah County Sheriff's deputy in Idaho for a routine traffic stop. He was driving a 2015 white Hyundai Elantra with a Pennsylvania license plate. Authorities obtained his name, phone number and address.
Nov. 13, 2022: Video surveillance from a business on the highway that connects Pullman and Moscow showed a 2015 white Hyundai Elantra entering Moscow around 3:02 a.m.
Around 3:30 a.m., surveillance from businesses and residences showed Kohberger's car circling the neighborhood near 1122 King Road.
4:05 a.m.: Kohberger parked his car on the street behind the house.
4:20 a.m.: His car is seen on surveillance tape leaving the area outside 1122 King Road at a high speed. He then drove on rural backroads to avoid highways with surveillance cameras.
5:26 a.m.: Surveillance cameras in Pullman picked up his car heading toward his apartment.
5:30 a.m.: Kohberger arrived back at his apartment in Pullman.
Around 9 a.m.: As indicated by cellphone tower pings, his phone returned to the area of King Road, stayed for about 10 minutes and then returned to his apartment in Pullman.
Around 9:30 a.m.: Based on evidence taken from his cellphone, he took a selfie giving a thumbs-up in what appears to be his bathroom at his residence.
July 9, 2022: Kohberger's phone started connecting to a cellphone tower in the area of the 1122 King Road home, where the murders would occur months later.
Between July 9 and Nov. 7, 2022: Kohberger's phone connected to that same tower from about 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. about 23 times. The prosecution has said they don't have evidence Kohberger had direct contact with the home or residents during that time — but they know that his phone was in the area at those times.
Nov. 13, 2022: Kohberger left his apartment in Pullman, Wash. His phone was turned off at about 2:54 a.m. It remained off until about 4:48 a.m. when his phone came back on, and his phone activity tracked back to his apartment in Pullman.
Just after 4 a.m., Kohberger entered the rental home at 1122 King Road through the kitchen sliding door at the back of the house.
Kohberger went up to the third floor, where he killed Mogen and Goncalves with a knife. He left the knife sheath next to Mogen's body.
He then worked his way back down through the house and encountered Kernodle, who had received a DoorDash order, also killing her with a knife. Kernodle's boyfriend Chapin was asleep in her bedroom, and Kohberger killed him as well.
'Each victim suffered multiple wounds,' Thompson said. 'There is no evidence that there was any sexual component or sexual assault on any of the victims.'
There were two other roommates in the house at the time of the killings who survived: Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke.
According to court documents, Mortensen said she woke up to strange noises and crying. She looked outside her bedroom door and saw a figure wearing black clothing and a mask walking toward her. Mortensen froze as the person walked past her and went to a sliding glass door. After that she locked herself in her room.
Around 11:58 a.m.: A 911 call was placed to report that Kernodle was unconscious. Moscow Police arrived to discover the four students had been killed.
Bryan Kohberger's sentencing is set to start in less than an hour from now at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho. The lengthy hearing is expected to last the day, as the victims' families will have the opportunity to directly address the person who pleaded guilty to killing their children.
The sentencing is open to the public at the courthouse, where people have been camped outside for several hours. It will also be livestreamed.
On Monday, President Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that he hopes presiding Judge Steven Hippler 'makes Kohberger, at a minimum, explain why he did these horrible murders.'
'There are no explanations, there is no NOTHING. People were shocked that he was able to plea bargain, but the Judge should make him explain what happened,' Trump wrote online, adding, 'These were vicious murders, with so many questions left unanswered.'
Kohberger is currently being held at the Ada County Jail in Boise. He'll be transferred into the custody of the Idaho Department of Corrections, where he'll be evaluated to determine where he will be housed to serve his sentences, spokesperson Sanda Kuzeta-Cerimagic told USA Today.
A long-standing gag order was also lifted last week, which means police and prosecutors can now speak out about the case. Documents that were sealed in the high-profile case may be made public soon.
"I think the rights of the public to information in this case is paramount given the fact that a plea has been entered in this case,' Judge Hippler said during a July 17 hearing.
Hippler said he will review the sealed material in the weeks and months to come after Wednesday's scheduled sentencing to determine which documents should be made public.
After the victim impact statements are read, Kohberger will have a chance to address the court before he is sentenced, in what is called an allocution. But he is not obligated to speak. This will provide an opportunity for Kohberger to reveal answers to burning questions that still remain a mystery: Why did he do it, why that house, and why those particular students?
After the opportunity for Kohberger's allocution, Judge Hippler will hand down Kohberger's sentence.
Kohberger will come face to face with the victims' families, who will get the chance to read their victim impact statements in open court.
The families of Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle are angry with prosecutors over the plea deal and will be able to address their daughter's killer directly.
'Today was the day, the day for answers, the day to find out what happened, to find out really anything about what the Defendant did that night and why he took the lives of 4 beautiful people. At least that's what we hoped for but hope is really all we had today,' the Goncalves family's statement read following Kohberger's guilty plea.
'I had hoped the agreement would include conditions that required the defendant to explain his actions and provide answers to the many questions that still remain, especially where evidence is missing or unclear,' Jeff Kernodle, Xana's father, said in a statement on July 2.
The two roommates who survived the murders, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, could speak in court themselves or have a statement read on their behalf by an attorney or relative.
"Our hope is that not only the families, but the friends, even the Moscow community and all the communities that were affected by this, can start to heal and bring some sort of closure to this horrendous act,' Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger told ABC News.
Judge Hippler said that to give the victims' families time to make their statements, the hearing may stretch into a second day.
Yes. The public will be able to watch Kohberger's sentencing in person at the courthouse and over livestream, according to the court's website.
For people interested in attending in person, the courthouse will open at 7:30 a.m. MT, and the courtroom will open about 15 minutes before the hearing starts. An overflow room at the courthouse will also show the livestream.
It is scheduled to take place today, July 23, at 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET) at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho.
'This hearing is expected to last the day,' according to the Ada County court's website. 'The court has tentatively scheduled short breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon, as well as a 40-minute lunch break.'