‘I knew he was guilty': Idaho prosecutors reflect on Bryan Kohberger case
Bryan Kohberger admitted to killing four University of Idaho students, taking a plea deal last month.
Prosecutors worked tirelessly on the case, with mixed reactions from victims' families regarding the plea.
The motive behind the killings remains unknown, and authorities believe they may never uncover the reason.
LATAH COUNTY, Idaho - On November 13th, 2022, the day the world lost four bright lights: Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle.
For two and a half years, their lives and what happened to them captivated the world. Then last month, Bryan Kohberger took a plea deal and admitted to killing the four University of Idaho students.
What they're saying
"This case is just full of tragedy," said Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson. He was the lead prosecutor on the case.
Thompson and Senior Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings have been working on the case from day one.
"I knew he was guilty," said Ashley Jennings, Senior Deputy Prosecutor. "Our investigators knew he was guilty but hearing it from his own mouth and dispelling any doubters out there as to his guilt, I felt some satisfaction with that."
Thompson told FOX 13 the two and a half years they worked on this case is now starting to catch up with them, because leading up to the trial they had been working seven-day work weeks to prepare. That is, until the plea deal.
"I can tell you right up front, we were never looking for a plea in this case," Thompson said. "The defense all along had maintained that the defendant was factually innocent."
He then went on to explain what it was like when the defense reached out and asked if they would be interested in making an offer.
"Our response was, 'what is it that your client wants to do?' And our next response was to schedule meetings with all the victims," Thompson said.
He acknowledges that there are mixed views from the families of the victims when it comes to that agreement.
"We understand and respect, you know, where everybody was coming from," Thompson said.
Dig deeper
As for the actual sentencing hearing, Jennings said it was "heavy," especially sitting in court and listening to the victim impact statements.
"This sentencing is really unlike any that I have ever attended before," Jennings said. "There was a palpable energy and sense of grief throughout the courtroom, I really struggled."
Thompson called the hearing "powerful." He sat next to roommate Dylan Mortensen as she gave her testimony. He told FOX 13 Dylan asked him to block Kohberger from her sight and vice versa.
"Dylan, she was very strong, she was very brave, and you could hear just how difficult it was for her just listening to her voice," Thompson said.
While he was blocking Dylan's view of Kohberger, Thompson said he too was avoiding interacting with him.
"He was just kind of cold and blank sitting there," Thompson said. "I normally engage defendants directly when I'm handling a sentencing, but I just didn't have any desire to do that here. I didn't want to try to interact with him."
Jennings, however, chose to look at Kohberger to see his reaction as loved ones of the victims addressed the court.
"I wasn't expecting much of any reaction from him. Unlike Bill, I glanced over a few times just to see if I was wrong, and I wasn't," Jennings said.
Of course, there are still so many questions that we may never know the answers to, like the motive.
"Why this happened, what the connection was between him and the victims," Thompson said. "We don't believe we will ever know."
In fact, he said that was something FBI profilers shared with them early on in the investigation.
"They told us to expect to never know why this happened, and that even if the murderer talked about it at some point, that whatever the murderer said wouldn't make any sense to ordinary people like us, and it will mostly be self-serving," Thompson said. "Judge Hippler commented about that at sentencing, and if you'll recall that he [said], 'he's had his 15 minutes of fame,' there's nothing that he can say that can change this, and there's nothing that he can say that we can believe."
He has another concern as well.
"If he [Kohberger] was given the room to try to explain himself, that he would minimize it and I think he would just victimize the families even more," Thompson said.
What's next
FOX 13 also asked about the recently released crime scene photos.
"I don't want to cast stones, but I think there is a fundamental disagreement between our opinion on what should be released and what the legal counsel for the city of Moscow believes. And in the end, it's Moscow's legal counsel's call," Thompson said. "We don't have any authority over the release of the reports. Investigation reports belong to Moscow police and the Idaho State police and the FBI, and we understand that they're tough decisions to be made. We're really concerned about invading the privacy of the survivors and of the family members. I think it is probably best to leave it at that."
As for the families. Thompson described them as phenomenal people.
"Seeing their pain and seeing the grief and this is so tragic and so violent and so senseless," Thompson said. "They have each shown strength in amazing ways, and I hope that as time goes by, that they will all be able to find some degree of closure and in their own way, move on as they want to."
Thompson told FOX 13 he was supposed to retire earlier this year but said he could not do that in good conscience. He had to see the case to the end.
Thompson and Jennings added they never had any doubt about the quality of their case or if Kohberger was guilty. Looking back, Thompson shared that he has reflected about the case and if he could go back in time and change how things were handled, he said he doesn't believe he would.
"Everybody really did a good job, something to be proud of," Thompson said.
When asked if he had a message for Kohberger, he said one word: "Goodbye."
The Source
Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews with Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Senior Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings.
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