Could Bryan Kohberger's autism defense for capital murder set a precedent?
The attorneys of Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, are claiming he has autism.
Kohberger's attorneys are using the defense in an effort to get the death penalty off the table in his trial.
BOISE, Idaho - Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger claim he has autism, and now they're trying to use that to get the death penalty off the table.
What we know
The 30-year-old is charged with the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.
His trial is set for this summer, but if convicted, he could face the death penalty, which is why his attorneys are trying to strike it before the trial starts. According to court documents, a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation of Kohberger conducted by Dr. Rachel Orr, PsyD, ABPP-CN, found that he "continues to exhibit all the core diagnostic features of ASD currently, with significant impact on his daily life." ASD stands for autism spectrum disorder.
FOX 13 talked with John Blume, the Samuel Leibowitz Professor of Trial Techniques and the director of the Cornell Death Penalty Project. He's seen his share of intellectual disabilities used in capital punishment cases.
"The Supreme Court of the United States said in a 2002 case, Atkins v. Virginia, that people with intellectual disability, or what we used to call mental retardation, can't be sentenced to death and can't be executed," Blume said.
However, autism is not considered an intellectual disability, but rather a developmental disability. The Supreme Court has not said the same thing about people with autism spectrum disorder.
Kohberger's attorneys argue that people with autism spectrum disorder, like Kohberger, exhibit many of the very same impairments as people with intellectual disabilities.
"They're not saying, 'look, he can't be found guilty of murder.' He can, just like somebody with intellectual disability can be found guilty of murder, but because of this severe developmental disorder, he doesn't have sufficient moral culpability to justify putting him to death," Blume said.
The 28-page motion also cites news organizations and online videos calling Kohberger's mannerisms signs of guilt. For example, his "deadpan look" and "robot-like walk," positing that his facial expressions and body language prove he is a murderous "incel," stated in the court documents. The court records also explained his "atypical eye contact, including an intense gaze" have been called "sinister." However, the defense claims these are traits of his autism.
"In this case, where jurors will be forced to determine whether Mr. Kohberger will live or die, Mr. Kohberger himself is essentially a piece of evidence to be examined and evaluated," the court records state.
Blume told FOX 13 autism has been raised in other cases, but at trial. The fact that Kohberger's attorneys are raising this before his trial doesn't happen often, and could have the potential to set precedent.
"I think there's an opportunity for a court to say, either, as a matter of, you know, state law, state constitutional law, federal law, that we're not going to allow people with autism to be sentenced to death," Blume said.
Kohberger's trial is scheduled to start in August.
The Source
Information in this story is from court documents from the Latah County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.
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USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Why did Bryan Kohberger kill? Experts weigh in on mysterious Idaho killings
As temperatures dipped below zero degrees less than two weeks before Thanksgiving, six college students were cozy in their bedrooms, resting up before the week's classes at the University of Idaho. Creeping through the night, armed with a knife, Bryan Kohberger stalked them like helpless prey. Kohberger moved through the house almost silently. He started the killing on the third floor with 21-year-old best friends and roommates Madison Morgan and Kaylee Goncalves. Then he came across 20-year-old Xana Kernodle on a stairway and killed her. Then he went into her bedroom, finding and killing her boyfriend, 20-year-old Ethan Chapin. He left two others in the house alive. Since the moment the families of the young victims learned about their seemingly random murders, their biggest question was why. As Kohberger's sentencing approaches this week, USA TODAY is looking at the case and what could have possibly led a 28-year grad student with so much potential to butcher four people on one terrible night. Nearly three years after the killings and a few weeks following a plea agreement that Kohberger reached with prosecutors, the families are still asking that same question. Kohberger's plea agreement – like most – doesn't require him to explain his actions. But experts interviewed by USA TODAY agree that we can conclude a lot about Kohberger's motives based on the evidence and his history: He was bullied, he felt rage toward women, he fantasized about violence and ultimately, wanted power more than anything, they say. "A lot of killers feel powerless their whole lives and that's why killers become serial killers. Because for the first time they feel like an all-powerful god," said Rachel Toles, a clinical psychologist and criminal expert based in Greenville, South Carolina. "He wanted to feel powerful for once in his life." What happened the night of Nov. 13, 2022? Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle and Chapin were found stabbed to death on Nov. 13, 2022, in a rental house in the quiet city of Moscow, Idaho, near the University of Idaho campus. DNA evidence, cell phone records and surveillance footage tied Kohberger to the stabbings, prosecutors said. Why did Bryan Kohberger become a killer? Kohberger's past tells us a lot about his motivations, experts say. During his childhood, he was isolated and bullied and eventually became addicted to heroin and struggled with his weight. At some point he was able to kick the heroin habit, lose weight and get lean, according to the 2025 book, "The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy." "He grew up kind of bullied, kind of ostracized and he decided to change his life ... and I think he started viewing himself as a possessor of power. Before he was someone without power and now he possesses it," said John Delatorre, a psychologist based in San Antonio, Texas, who works on criminal cases. Ultimately, "he viewed himself as someone who could take what he wanted whenever he wanted," Delatorre said. "I think what interested him was the idea that you could legitimately hold someone's life in your hands and take it away whenever you choose to do so." Toles added: "He probably also wanted revenge on a world that made him feel unwanted." Kohberger's past addiction, weight gain and loss, Toles said, also show that he "clearly felt empty his whole life" and may have been attracted to studying criminology at the University of Washington because it "gave him a language for his alienation." Kohberger seemed particularly interested in three killers: Ted Bundy, the BTK Killer and Elliot Rodger. Through them, he identified with a narrative arc that "rejection moves to resentment moves to obsession moves to control moves to violence moves to infamy," Toles said. "It's a storyline he could place himself in and one that made him feel more powerful instead of invisible," she said, adding that Kohberger may have thought: "Maybe I'm not a problem. Maybe I'm like them. Maybe I'm a predator." Kohberger likely felt the urge to kill for years, Delatorre said, relying on fantasies and stalking before he ultimately acted on it. "The idea of taking someone's life with a knife was probably something he was think about for quite some time, it just required a target," he said. "People don't snap. People brew, they fester. The negative emotionality is over a long period of time to get them to a breaking point to act out." What is happening with the case? Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty to the killings earlier this month after accepting a plea agreement that allowed him to avoid the death penalty and instead face four consecutive life sentences. The agreement also means he'll avoid a lengthy and highly publicized trial. He's scheduled to be officially sentenced on Wednesday, July 23. The families of the victims will be allowed to address the court at that time to talk about the impact of the crime and who their loved ones were. What have the victims' families said? Many of the victim family members were surprised by and upset with the plea agreement. "This is anything but justice," Steve Goncalves, the father of victim Kaylee Goncalves, told NewsNation's "Banfield." "We had an outsider come to our community, kill our kids in their sleep while they're getting a college education, doing everything that they should do, and we don't have the courage to hold him accountable," he said. Some family members felt the plea agreement was a good thing and avoided the pain of a trial and prolonged legal process. Kernodle's mother, Cara Northington, told Fox News: 'The death penalty would give him the opportunity to appeal and drag this horror story out for the rest of our lives." Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.
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Idaho murder victim's family speaks out after gag order lifted in Bryan Kohberger case: "We still don't know the motive"
The parents of an Idaho college student brutally murdered in 2022 say they still don't know why Bryan Kohberger killed their daughter, even after he pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. Steve and Kristi Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee was one of four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in November 2022, told "CBS Mornings Plus" on Friday that they're still grasping for answers. "We still don't know the motive," Steve Goncalves said. "I don't think they want anyone to know the motive. I don't think they want anyone to know when he first came on their radar." The family's attorney, Shannon Gray, said "motive was always an issue" in the case. Kohberger pleaded guilty earlier this month to killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at their off-campus rental home. The plea deal spared him from a potential death sentence, instead guaranteeing life in prison without parole. The victims' families were divided over the plea deal, with the Goncalves family saying life in prison isn't sufficient punishment. In a statement earlier this month, the Goncalves family said the plea deal was "unexpected" and the state "failed" them. They asked that the plea deal "require a full confession, full accountability, location of the murder weapon, confirmation the defendant acted alone, & the true facts of what happened that night." Following Kohberger's guilty plea to the murders on July 2, prosecutors walked through evidence they would have shared in court if the case went to trial. But they did not specify a motive. The Goncalves family says they know a little more about the case than the general public due to a gag order that was only recently lifted. Now, the family's attorney plans to request discovery materials from prosecutors, including police reports, photographs and investigative files that could provide more answers about the case. "We don't know any more than pretty much everybody else," Kristi Goncalves said. "With this gag order being lifted, it will allow us to know more of what happened to our daughter." Steve Goncalves said he wants to know basic facts about his daughter's death to write a victim impact statement, including how many times she was stabbed and whether she was choked. "I think by hiding the truth, we're protecting our killers," he said. "We have to show the ugliness of what this person did." Steve Goncalves said that he believes Kohberger — who has a master's degree in criminology — could still wield influence behind bars by helping other inmates with legal matters and writing legal papers for fellow prisoners. "He knows that he can write legal papers for other prisoners and work favors. He can still have an influence," said Steve Goncalves. "He's still going to be able to do interviews. He's still going to be able to help fellow inmates with things. Get them prescriptions, all these type of things will give him a better and more rewarding life inside." Kaylee's parents described Kohberger as showing "zero remorse" and acting "like a robot, a killing robot" during court proceedings. "Maybe he could go in there and say, 'I went in there for one person, I lusted. I had a moment, I was drunk or I was on drugs, and it just went crazy,'" said Steve Goncalves. "That would make more sense." Kohberger is set to be sentenced on July 23.
