Bryan Kohberger accepts plea deal & will admit guilt in murder of 4 Idaho students to swerve death penalty in huge twist
IDAHO murder suspect Bryan Kohberger has reportedly accepted a plea deal in order to avoid the death penalty for the murder of four students in 2022.
Victim Kaylee Goncalves' family confirmed the deal offer on Monday night, saying they were "beyond furious."
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Bryan Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students
Credit: Reuters
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Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death in 2022
Credit: Instagram/kayleegoncalves
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A selfie Kohberger allegedly took on November 13, 2022, hours after the murders
Credit: AP
A letter had been sent to the four victims' familes about the deal on Monday, ABC reported.
"It's true!" Goncalves' family said in a Facebook post.
"We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us.
"Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support."
Kohberger is expected to plead guilty to the brutal killing of the students in their own home in exchange for live in prison, NewsNation first reported.
The four consecutive life sentence comes with no possibility of parole and he must reportedly waive his right to appeal, according to ABC.
A court hearing over the bombshell u-turn is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, where a judge will decide whether to accept it.
Kohberger, 30, was due to go to trial in August for the fatal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
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an hour ago
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Bryan Kohberger accepts plea deal in Idaho murders case after prosecution drops death penalty
Quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Kohberger has accepted a plea deal over the horrific slaying of four University of Idaho students. Kohberger, 30, is expected to plead guilty to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 in their off-campus home in November 2022. He will also admit a burglary charge stemming from the same incident if the deal is signed off by a judge during a court appearance scheduled on Wednesday. Idaho prosecutors have agreed to drop the death penalty in exchange for his plea. Kohberger must instead agree to spend life in prison without the possibility of parole for the grisly stabbings. The former criminology grad student had previously pleaded not guilty to the slayings, but is now scheduled to issue a change of plea in court on Wednesday. He would then be sentenced in late July to four consecutive life sentences on the murder charges and 10 years behind bars for burglary. News of the plea deal infuriated the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves. 'We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho,' they wrote on Facebook. 'They have failed us. This was very unexpected.' Prosecutors had told the family on Friday about the possibility of a plea deal, but the Goncalves family said they were stunned when they were alerted that the deal went through in a letter by Sunday. It explained that state prosecutors were approached last week by Kohberger's defense team asking to be presented with an offer. Prosecutors then said they met with available family members and 'weighed the right path forward, and made a formal offer' to the murder suspect, according to ABC News. 'This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,' prosecutors wrote in the letter to the victims' families. 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I have never seen in my lifetime or talked to in my lifetime the accused,' he told the court. 'I've never had any personal contact with him ever.' Vecchio then went on to say he had 'no idea' why he had been called as a witness in the case, adding: 'It doesn't make sense.' 'I've never seen or met, seen from a distance or had any contact with the accused in my life,' he said. He also said that Kohberger had never stepped foot inside his auto business, that it was Kohberger's mother or father who had purchased the vehicle back in 2019 - and that he himself wasn't the one who had made the sale. When Judge Arthur Zulick then questioned if the Ralph Vecchio present was the right one, attorney Abigail Parnell - who was speaking on behalf of Kohberger's legal team - admitted she didn't know. 'Your honor, I cannot say for certain,' she said. Of the other four men, one agreed to travel to Idaho to testify ahead of the hearing, two were ordered by the judge to appear after voicing their opposition, and the fourth had yet to decide.
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