Latest news with #IdahoDepartmentOfCorrections
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Bryan Kohberger's prison responds to complaints about inmates ‘taunting' him
(NewsNation) — The prison where Bryan Kohberger is serving his life sentence for killing four Idaho students says he is safe despite his complaints about inmates taunting him since his arrival. 'We are aware of Kohberger's complaints about what he considers taunting,' the Idaho Department of Corrections told NewsNation in a statement. Bryan Kohberger likely in victims' home before murders: Prosecutor 'Incarcerated individuals commonly communicate with each other in prison. Bryan Kohberger is housed alone in a cell, and IDOC security staff maintain a safe and orderly environment for all individuals in our custody.' Bryan Kohberger's life in prison NewsNation learned that Kohberger was being 'tormented' by his fellow inmates, who are taking turns shouting through the air ducts all day and all night to keep him from sleeping or hearing himself think during the day. 'The inmates apparently were waiting for him,' said Chris McDonough, director of the Cold Case Foundation and a retired homicide detective. 'They are now making his life absolutely miserable. They're utilizing the vent system. They're kicking the doors. They're taunting him. And they're basically torturing him through using psychology,' he said. 'And my goodness, he's complaining.' Kohberger, who was sentenced to life in prison after accepting a plea deal, is being housed in solitary confinement outside of Boise. He was moved to the 'J Block' one week after being sentenced. That block of the prison houses the worst of the worst outside of being on death row. Bryan Kohberger police application discussed internally after murders 'It's really a prison within a prison,' said McDonough. 'The guards, the most they can do is write it down or tell him, 'Hey, there's nothing we can do. You're not in physical harm.' 'He's in an isolation situation. Those around him can't get to him physically.' Inside the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, Kohberger and other inmates spend 23 hours a day inside their cells. The type of housing is meant for prisoners who could be injured by inmates in the general population or who could hurt others. Prisoners get an hour outside each day in a courtyard surrounded by cement. Some inmates are placed in cages in the outdoor area because they are so dangerous. Bryan Kohberger avoids death penalty with plea deal Kohberger accepted a plea deal weeks before he was set to go to trial for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He killed the college students inside their off-campus apartment in Moscow on Nov. 13, 2022. The deal took the death penalty off the table in exchange for a guilty plea. The former graduate student was handed four life sentences last month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
04-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Grim photo shows nightmarish conditions Bryan Kohberger faces after being moved to notorious J-Block alongside death row killers
Bryan Kohberger 's one hour of daily recreation in prison will be spent in a chain-link cage littered with feces and soaked in urine, according to inmate complaints. The quadruple killer, 30, was transferred to J-Block, the notoriously restrictive long-term housing for inmates in protective custody or on death row at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution last week. Kohberger is being held in a single-person cell, will be moved around wearing restraints and only allowed to shower every other day. According to the Idaho Department of Corrections, he will also be given 60 minutes of outdoor recreation a day. The Idaho Maximum Security Institution, 20 minutes outside of Boise, has previously been accused of inhumane treatment by those in solitary confinement. Inmates in isolation have said that they are kept in 'cages' during recreational time, which they described as 'large chain link-like metal boxes each man is placed into, littered with human urine and feces that have soaked into the concrete.' In 2024, dozens organized a six-day hunger strike, claiming delays in access to medical care and horrific living conditions, as reported by the Idaho Statesman. They said that the HVAC system had not been cleaned in decades and was clogged with garbage and human excrement. The Idaho Department of Correction told CNN that the cages were 'recreation enclosures' and regularly cleaned. Inmates could also ask for the vents in their cells to be cleaned. Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or appeal last month for the murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on November 13, 2022. The prison holds the state's execution chambers, where a firing squad could have executed Kohberger had he not taken a controversial plea deal. Triple murderer Chad Daybell, who killed his first wife and his second wife's two children in 2019, is awaiting his execution at the prison. As previously reported, Kohberger will enjoy various privileges, including access to a TV, an electronic tablet with music, and emails, potentially affording him the opportunity to communicate with morbid fans. To keep a tablet in his cell, Kohberger will have to pay $100, according to NewsNation. A TV will also cost him $100 and provide access to cable programming. Kohberger was moved to the prison after sentencing last month. In exchange for Kohberger admitting guilt and waiving his right to appeal, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty. However, victims' families remain divided over the legal resolution of the case. Relatives of Chapin and Mogen supported the plea deal. Mogen's family said in a statement: 'We now embark on a new path. We embark on a path of hope and healing.' The family of Kaylee Goncalves have publicly denounced the outcome. Her sister, Aubrie Goncalves, 18, said in a Facebook post: 'Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world.
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Yahoo
Inside the Idaho prison where Bryan Kohberger is being housed
Kristi Goncalves stared down Bryan Kohberger, who violently murdered her 21-year-old daughter Kaylee, telling him at his sentencing, "May you continue to live your life in misery. You are officially the property of the state of Idaho." Now, the state of Idaho has sent Kohberger to the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, the Idaho Department of Corrections confirmed to ABC News. The facility is about 20 minutes outside Boise, where Kohberger appeared in court Wednesday to be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences plus 10 years for the fatal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. MORE: Idaho families slam Bryan Kohberger at emotional sentencing hearing: 'Hell will be waiting' This week, ABC News toured 30-year-old Kohberger's new home, which has the capacity to house 535 of some of the most dangerous and violent male offenders, including death row inmates. But officials said they find the 49 inmates currently serving life sentences to be the "easiest to manage -- because this is home, and will always be home." The tan, nondescript building has a double perimeter fence reinforced with razor wire and an electronic detection system. MORE: Idaho killings latest: Motive unknown but 'new information could come out,' former chief says All inmates abide by a regimented schedule that includes three meals a day (including vegan options), education programing, mentorships and recreation, officials said. However, "a typical day is not typical," officials said, explaining that days sometimes get derailed by disorderly behavior. Fruit is restricted because some inmates use it to brew alcohol, sometimes 5 gallons at time, officials said. Some inmates communicate with each other through the vents. A big request from inmates can be for a better or particular "vent-mate," officials said. MORE: Judge sentences Idaho killer to life, says motive may never be known The prison has multiple layers of housing operations, including "close custody" -- the most restrictive, where inmates spend 23 hours a day in a cell and are moved in restraints -- and "protective custody," for those who might be at risk if placed elsewhere. "Protective custody" is often at the request of the inmate, officials said. There's also mental health housing and long-term restrictive housing. The most restrictive common area has metal chairs and tables bolted to the floor with enclosures that look like cages for inmates to have video calls. Metal and cement enclosures are also scattered around the outdoor recreation area to be used as needed. Before Kohberger is placed, his needs will be assessed in a process that can take between seven and 14 days, officials said. Kohberger will be kept isolated for his safety and the safety of others during that time, officials said. Though Kohberger's case has concluded, a motive remains unknown. Moscow police said they don't know which victim was the specific target and have not found any link between Kohberger and the victims. MORE: 1st set of police records released in Idaho college murders, revealing gruesome new details "You're always wanting to get the families the why," but "sometimes they don't get to have the why," James Fry, who was the Moscow police chief at the time of the murders, told ABC News on Wednesday. But Fry says "new information could come out still." "There's always cases that, you know, 10 years later, somebody says something," he said. ABC News' Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.
