Bryan Kohberger will spend the rest of his life in prison but details on how and where he'll be locked up are still unknown
The 30-year-old former criminologist received four consecutive life sentences plus another 10 years for the murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
A source with knowledge of the case told Fox News Digital Kohberger was already in custody at the state prison in Kuna, about 16 miles from the Ada County courthouse, by Wednesday afternoon.
Kohberger's sentence amounts to 'life and death in prison,' as Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson put it during a rare news briefing after the hearing.
The Idaho Department of Correction declined to give specific details about the transfer process.
'Once in IDOC custody, the person goes through a Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) process to evaluate their needs and determine appropriate housing placement; this process takes 7-14 days,' a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 'We wait until a person completes RDU to determine their classification, housing placement, and privileges.'
That evaluation will include a psyche check to determine whether Kohberger may be a threat to himself, other inmates, or prison staff, said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor who has closely followed the case.
7 Bryan Kohberger stands inside an Ada County Courthouse after his sentencing hearing in Boise, Idaho on July 23, 2025.
AP
7 Kaylee Goncalves' father, Steve Goncalves, addresses the courtroom during Kohberger's sentencing in Boise, Idaho on July 23, 2025.
Getty Images
He'll probably be placed in solitary confinement, Mauro said, at least for a while. But inmates are typically not kept there indefinitely, he said, and eventually he could wind up in general population with other killers.
'In the general population, he is vulnerable, and he's notorious — and in prison, especially for lifers, your reputation as being dangerous and just your reputation in general is the currency,' he said. 'So there could be somebody looking to do him. On the other hand, we do want to remember Idaho is a death penalty state, and if you're in for life, and you kill somebody, well, that's going to get you to death penalty.'
Kohberger could try to request an out-of-state transfer, but that would be a rare move, according to Josh Ritter, a criminal defense attorney and the host of 'The Courtroom Confidential' podcast.
'He's not going anywhere,' he told Fox News Digital.
7 The Idaho State Correctional Center in Kuna, Idaho.
Google Maps
7 Relatives of the murder victims stand outside the courthouse after Kohberger's sentencing.
AP
During their impact statements during Kohberger's sentencing Wednesday, the victims' families delivered a range of messages, from outrage to forgiveness.
'They ran the gamut, right, you have people who were willing to forgive him, and saying you know, 'If you ever want to talk, please call me I'll hear you out,' and then you had people who we're wishing death on him,' Mauro told Fox News Digital.
Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee's mother, invoked the words Kohberger is believed to have said to the victims, overheard by one of the surviving roommates.
Here's the latest coverage on Bryan Kohberger:
'When those prison doors slam shut behind you, I hope that sound echoes in your heart for the rest of your meaningless days,' she said. 'I hope it reminds you of what we all already know. You're nothing. May you continue to live your life in misery. But it's OK because they're there 'to help you.' Hell will be waiting.'
Goncalves' father and sister also alluded to how he may be treated poorly by people bigger than him behind bars.
'They want to be in his head. They want him living in fear. They want him thinking in terms of that not only is he a failure, which is what they were calling him, but that he is a target,' Mauro said. 'They want that on his mind, which is a very wearing thing.'
7 Kohberger murdered University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in November 2022.
Instagram/@kayleegoncalves
Kohberger's already been rubbing fellow inmates the wrong way, according to files released by the Moscow Police Department Wednesday evening.
Investigators overheard a male inmate talking with a female prisoner about Kohberger during jail transport. He called Kohberger a 'f—ing weirdo' and said he would've beat him up if he wasn't worried about getting punished for it.
Asked if he thought Kohberger committed the crimes, he said yes.
'His eyes tell a story,' he said.
7 Blood oozes out of the side of the off-campus house where the four college students were murdered in Moscow, Idaho on Nov. 19, 2022.
James Keivom
7 Kohberger was described as a 'f—ing weirdo' by an inmate inside the state prison he was held in before his trial.
Courtey of Dateline
Another inmate told investigators that Kohberger spent hours each day video chatting with his mother while in custody.
According to the interview, the inmate was watching sports during one of those calls and said 'you suck' at a player on TV.
Kohberger, who overheard the comment, allegedly 'immediately got up and put his face to the bars' and 'aggressively asked if [the inmate] was talking about him or his mother.'
The inmate said this was the only time he witnessed Kohberger lose his temper.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Vandals set fire to a mouse statue that's a TV star and mascot for a German broadcaster
BERLIN (AP) — Vandals set fire to a mouse statue that's a TV star and mascot for children's programming at German broadcaster WDR, the television station said Saturday. The cartoon mouse, known only as 'Die Maus,' is the eponymous star of 'Die Sendung mit der Maus' (The Show with the Mouse) since it first aired in West Germany in 1971. Each short episode features other languages and educational segments. The statue — featuring the character's famous orange body with brown ears, arms and legs — greets families and children outside a media building in Cologne, Germany. A receptionist for WDR saw several young people standing around the statue in Cologne on a camera feed overnight Friday into Saturday. She then noticed flames and called the fire department, WDR said. The fire blackened parts of the mouse's face and arm, images show. The station said a police complaint had been filed against an unidentified person. Matthias Körnich, head of children's programming for WDR, said it's not just a figurine that was damaged. 'A piece of childhood, a symbol of joy and togetherness has been attacked,' he said. 'The mouse belongs to Cologne.'
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
‘Happy Face Killer' wants Bryan Kohberger as potential cellmate to solve ‘security issues'
Keith Jesperson, the Happy Face serial killer, wants Bryan Kohberger to spend the rest of his life in the same Oregon prison he's stuck in, claiming it will be safer for the Idaho student murderer. 'His best hope is to be transfered (sic) to here, the max prison in Oregon to be away from those who want to make a name for themselves by killing him,' Jesperson wrote in a note to Keith Rovere, a former prison minister and podcaster who shared it with Fox News Digital. Advertisement 'This prison gets inmates from other states in order to protect them from the drama.' Jesperson, a former truck driver, killed at least eight women in the 1990s and picked up the nickname for his habit of drawing smiley faces on letters to the media and investigators. He's also known to trade letters with other high-profile killers and has claimed to have committed dozens more murders, although authorities don't believe him. 'I will write to the Idaho Department of Corrections to tell them to consider sending Kohberger here to save them the high-risk security issues in protecting him in Idaho,' Jesperson wrote in another note. 5 Keith Jesperson (above), the Happy Face serial killer, wants Bryan Kohberger to spend the rest of his life in the same Oregon prison he's stuck in, claiming it will be safer for the Idaho student murderer. ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement Rovere, host of 'The Lighter Side of True Crime,' told Fox News Digital that Kohberger may have a hard time fitting in at any prison because he lacks two key qualities, 'street smarts and prison smarts.' Kohberger's social awkwardness came up repeatedly in his court battles and in the media before a surprise plea deal earlier this month. He avoided the death penalty and will serve life in prison with no chance of parole for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The Idaho students' killer is expected to spend at least a few weeks in isolation before details of his long-term housing at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna are finalized. 5 'His best hope is to be transfered (sic) to here, the max prison in Oregon to be away from those who want to make a name for themselves by killing him,' Jesperson (pictured) wrote in a note to Keith Rovere, a former prison minister and podcaster. ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement Jesperson is serving multiple life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, about 475 miles from Kuna. And there's a precedent for his claim. Oregon is part of a group of western states that have an agreement to house prisoners across state lines if there are concerns about safety, special housing needs or overcrowding. Idaho, however, is not part of the pact. Authorities in the state have given no public indication they were even considering such a move. 'The safety and security of staff and the population are a priority in everything IDOC does, including placement,' said Blake Lopez, public information officer for the Idaho Department of Correction. 5 Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025 in Boise, Idaho. Getty Images Advertisement Leading up to the trial, a doctor for the defense diagnosed Kohberger with autism, and his lawyers described quirky personality traits, a staring problem, 'atypical eye contact, including an intense gaze' and his difficulty carrying on normal conversations. He sat rigidly in court for most of his hearings and stared at the victims' relatives as they delivered impact statements this week, occasionally raising a smirk, a half nod or swiveling in his seat only slightly. While asserting that Kohberger has a 'high baseline intelligence,' his lawyers wrote to the court that he 'exhibits slow verbal processing and weaknesses in certain areas of executive functioning, including cognitive flexibility and organizational approach.' Here's the latest coverage on Bryan Kohberger: 'In the general population, he will be singled out right away to be made a target for those who see him as weak for the crimes of that kind of murder,' Jesperson wrote. 'Most likely, Idaho will put him in protective custody like [Jeffrey] Dahmer. But we all know how that ended.' Dahmer was a cannibalistic serial killer and rapist who targeted men and boys between 1978 and 1991. In 1994, a fellow inmate named Christopher Scarver beat him to death in a Wisconsin prison. Dahmer was 34 years old when he died. Kohberger is 30. 5 Dahmer was a cannibalistic serial killer and rapist who targeted men and boys between 1978 and 1991. ASSOCIATED PRESS Scarver told the New York Post in 2015 that he was disgusted by the serial killer and believes guards left them unattended together just to give him an opportunity to kill Dahmer with a metal bar from a weight room. The IDOC said earlier this week that Kohberger would be screened and evaluated before authorities would determine appropriate housing and security measures. Advertisement 'Once in IDOC custody, the person goes through a Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) process to evaluate their needs and determine appropriate housing placement; this process takes 7-14 days,' a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 'We wait until a person completes RDU to determine their classification, housing placement and privileges.' 5 Kohberger avoided the death penalty and will serve life in prison with no chance of parole for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. KYLE GREEN/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock Kohberger has a high profile. His crime shocked the country and much of the world due to the brutality and randomness and the weeks-long search for a suspect who primarily got caught because he left only one piece of evidence, a knife sheath with his DNA on alongside Mogen's body. Advertisement He had no known connection to the victims, a group of young friends who had done him no wrong. And he's shown no remorse — or any emotion whatsoever — in 2½ years of court appearances. Inmates who have killed women and children are often singled out behind bars, insiders tell Fox News Digital. Three of the four Idaho victims were also asleep during the attack, making it even more cowardly. And Kohberger's social awkwardness is expected to rub other prisoners the wrong way.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The House is looking into the Epstein investigation. Here's what could happen next
WASHINGTON (AP) — A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes, working to subpoena President Donald Trump's Department of Justice for files in the case as well as hold a deposition of Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. The Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee acted just before House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home early for a monthlong break from Washington. The committee's moves are evidence of the mounting pressure for disclosure in a case that Trump has unsuccessfully urged his supporters to move past. But they were also just the start of what can be a drawn out process. Here's what could happen next in the House inquiry as lawmakers seek answers in a case that has sparked rampant speculation since Epstein's death in 2019 and more recently caused many in the Trump administration to renege on promises for a complete accounting. Subpoena for the Epstein files Democrats, joined by three Republicans, were able to successfully initiate the subpoena from a subcommittee just as the House was leaving Washington for its August recess. But it was just the start of negotiations over the subpoena. The subcommittee agreed to redact the names and personal information of any victims, but besides that, their demand for information is quite broad, encompassing 'un-redacted Epstein files.' As the parameters of the subpoena are drafted, Democrats are demanding that it be fulfilled within 30 days from when it is served to Attorney General Pam Bondi. They have also proposed a list of document demands, including the prosecutorial decisions surrounding Epstein, documents related to his death, and communication from any president or executive official regarding the matter. Ultimately, Republicans who control the committee will have more power over the scope of the subpoena, but the fact that it was approved with a strong bipartisan vote gives it some heft. The committee chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said he told the speaker that 'Republicans on the Oversight Committee were going to move to be more aggressive in trying to get transparency with the Epstein files. So, we did that, and I think that's what the American people want.' Will Congress depose Ghislaine Maxwell? Comer has said that he is hoping that staff from the committee can interview Maxwell under oath on Aug. 11 at or near the federal prison in Florida where she is serving a lengthy sentence for child sex trafficking. In a congressional deposition, the subject typically has an attorney present to help them answer — or not answer — questions while maintaining their civil rights. Subjects also have the ability to decline to answer questions if it could be used against them in a criminal case, though in this instance that might not matter because Maxwell has already been convicted of many of the things she will likely be asked about. Maxwell has the ability to negotiate some of the terms of the deposition, and she already conducted 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials this past week. Democrats, however, warn that Maxwell is not to be trusted. 'We should understand that this is a very complex witness and someone that has caused great harm and not a good person to a lot of people,' Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, told reporters this week. The House wants to subpoena others Committee Republicans also initiated a motion to subpoena a host of other people, including former President Bill Clinton, former Sen. Hillary Clinton as well as the former attorneys general dating back to Alberto Gonzales, who served under George W. Bush. It's not clear how this sweeping list of proposed subpoenas will actually play out, but Comer has said, 'We're going to move quickly on that.' How will Pam Bondi comply? Trump is no stranger to fighting against congressional investigations and subpoenas. And as with most subpoenas, the Justice Department can negotiate the terms of how it fulfills the subpoena. It can also make legal arguments against handing over certain information. Joshua A. Levy, who teaches on congressional investigations at Georgetown Law School and is a partner at Levy Firestone Muse, said that the results of the subpoena 'depend on whether the administration wants to work through the traditional accommodation process with the House and reach a resolution or if one or both sides becomes entrenched in its position.' If Congress is not satisfied with Bondi's response — or if she were to refuse to hand over any information — there are several ways lawmakers can try to enforce the subpoena. However, that would require a vote to hold Bondi in contempt of Congress. It's practically unheard of for one political party to vote to hold one of its own members in contempt of Congress, but the Epstein saga has also cut across political lines and driven a wedge in the GOP. Growing pressure on the Trump adminitration for disclosure Ultimately, the bipartisan vote to subpoena the files showed how political pressure is mounting on the Trump administration to disclose the files. Politics, policy and the law are all bound up together in this case, and many in Congress want to see a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation. 'We can't allow individuals, especially those at the highest level of our government, to protect child sex traffickers,' said Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a committee member. The Trump administration is already facing the potential for even more political tension. When Congress comes back to Washington in September, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is working to advance to a full House vote a bill that aims to force the public release of the Epstein files.
