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Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty: Over 2 years after Idaho murders, 5 chilling questions remain unanswered

Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty: Over 2 years after Idaho murders, 5 chilling questions remain unanswered

Hindustan Times6 hours ago
Jul 03, 2025 01:37 PM IST
Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger has finally admitted to killing four University of Idaho students in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, at a rental home near their campus in Moscow, Idaho. He pleaded guilty to four counts of murder, a deal that will help him dodge the death penalty. Kohberger is accused of killing Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty: Over 2 years after Idaho murders, 5 chilling questions remain unanswered (Kyle Green/Pool via REUTERS REFILE)(via REUTERS)
The judge asked Kohberger, 'Did you kill and murder Madison Mogen, a human being?'
Kohberger, wearing a too-short tie and slacks, replied, 'Yes.' He repeated the same answer for the three other victims.
'I accept the plea. I direct that it be entered,' the judge, according to the New York Post.
However, even as the two and a half-year saga seems to have finally come to a close, five chilling questions remain unanswered. Five questions that remain unanswered in the Idaho case Why did Kohberger kill the four students? – Despite pleading guilty, Kohberger never revealed why he targeted and slaughtered the youngsters, leaving the motive unclear. Where is the murder weapon? – Kohberger used a KA-BAR military-style knife to kill the students. He is believed to have purchased the knife, sheath, and sharpener from Amazon in March 2022. Although police found the knife sheath at the crime scene with Kohberger's DNA on it, the knife was never recovered. About an hour after the murders, Kohberger was near a rural village outside Moscow, according to cell phone tower records. This means he could have ditched or hidden the knife anywhere, including some fields or pastures along the way. Did Kohberger know any of his victims? – It was revealed after the murders that cell phone tower records placed Kohberger in the victims' neighborhood 23 times in the months before the crime. Security camera footage even showed his car circling their block before he carried out the attack. This indicates that he did not just break into a random house, but it remains unclear if he knew any of the victims. It was previously reported that Kohberger cyberstalked one of the victims and even sent her several messages on Instagram. Kohberger's lawyers, however, have asserted that he did not know the victims at all. Why did Kohberger return to the victims' neighborhood? – Cell phone tower records revealed that Kohberger returned to the victims' neighborhood about five hours after the murders. It remains unclear why he did so, whether to recover a piece of evidence, or to simply admire his gruesome deed. He indeed seemed proud of what he did, as he took a grinning 'thumbs up' selfie after getting back home. Is Kohberger a psychopath? – Kohberger's defense earlier revealed that he had OCD and mild autism, but insisted that these traits had no connection to the crimes he has been accused of committing. Whether or not he had psychopathic, sociopathic or any other similar traits remains unclear. Had there been a jury trial, there would perhaps have been a psychological evaluation of Kohberger.
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