Idaho court sentences Bryan Kohberger to life without parole for 2022 student murders, but motive remains a mystery
Bryan Kohberger, 30, received four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole or appeal under a deal with prosecutors sparing him the death penalty in return for pleading guilty earlier this month to four counts of first-degree murder.
Friends and relatives of the four students murdered in their rental home delivered powerful statements of love, anguish and condemnation in front of Kohberger.
"This world was a better place with her in it," Scott Laramie, the stepfather of Madison Mogen, told the court.
"Karen and I are ordinary people, but we lived extraordinary lives because we had Maddie."
The father of Kaylee Goncalves taunted Kohberger for leaving his DNA on a knife sheath left near Mogen's body and getting caught despite being a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University at the time.
"You were that careless, that foolish, that stupid," Steve Goncalves said. "Master's degree? You're a joke."
Judge Steven Hippler ordered Kohberger to serve four life sentences without parole for four counts of first-degree murder in the brutal stabbing deaths of Mogen, Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin early on November 13, 2022.
He was also given a 10-year sentence for burglary and a total of $US270,000 ($409,000) in fines and civil penalties. He has waived his right to appeal.
Kohberger broke into the students' home through a kitchen sliding door and brutally stabbed the four friends. It remains unclear why he did it.
When given an opportunity to speak on Wednesday, local time, he told the judge: "I respectfully decline."
Those were the only words he uttered during the two and a half hours of proceedings in Idaho's Fourth District Court in Boise, the state capital.
The judge acknowledged that the motive may never be known.
"I share the desire expressed by others to understand the why," Judge Hippler said.
"But upon reflection, it seems to me, and this is just my own opinion, that by continuing to focus on why, we continue to give Mr Kohberger relevance, we give him agency, and we give him power."
Even if legally empowered to compel Kohberger to give a statement in court, the judge asked: "How could anyone ever be assured that what he speaks is the truth?"
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told the court before the sentencing that Kohberger would be led away in his orange jumpsuit with his wrists and ankles shackled, and that the prison door would close behind him forever.
"That is the closure we seek," he said.
Dylan Mortenson, a roommate who told police of seeing a strange man with bushy eyebrows and a ski mask in the home that night, sobbed as she described how Kohberger "took the light they carried into each room".
"He is a hollow vessel, something less than human," Ms Mortenson said.
Alivea Goncalves's voice did not waver as she asked Kohberger questions, including what her sister's last words were.
She drew applause after belittling Kohberger, who remained expressionless.
"You didn't win, you just exposed yourself as the coward you are," Ms Goncalves said.
Kohberger's mother and sister sat in the gallery near the defence table, quietly weeping at times as the other parents described their grief.
Xana Kernodle's aunt, Kim Kernodle, said she forgave Kohberger and asked him to call her from prison, hoping he would answer her lingering questions about the killings.
"Bryan, I'm here today to tell you I have forgiven you, because I no longer could live with that hate in my heart," she said.
"Any time you want to talk and tell me what happened, get my number. I'm here. No judgement."
AP/Reuters
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