Latest news with #PleasantValleySchoolDistrict
The Sun
02-08-2025
- The Sun
Bryan Kohberger kept trophies from women before murder of Idaho students as he's seen moments after arrest in new vid
BRYAN Kohberger kept bizarre mementoes from women he knew before he murdered four Idaho students, according to prosecutors. New footage released by authorities show the stone-faced killer just moments after being arrested as he now faces four life sentences. 4 4 Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson revealed that Kohberger had "ID-type cards" belonging to two women he had known years before the murders. One of the IDs belonged to an unidentified woman who worked with Kohberger at the Pleasant Valley School District. The convicted killer was a security guard for the school district from 2016 through 2021. Both women stated they were 'surprised' to learn that Kohberger had their IDs, but neither said they were ever harmed or threatened by him, according to prosecutors. It is also not clear how Kohberger obtained the IDs - or what he planned to do with them. Kohberger, 30, was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in prison for the murders of Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin. Judge Steven Hippler wiped away tears as he announced the sentence for Kohberger, 30, after an emotional hearing where the victims' family and friends shared devastating impact statements. The judge called Kohberger the "worst of the worst" because he never showed remorse for killing the innocent students while acting as a "faceless coward." The killer sat still and emotionless in an orange jumpsuit during the hearing as families recounted the tragedy's traumatic aftermath and ripped into him with raging insults during their impact statements. Kohberger is currently being housed in the "J" block of the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, according to ABC News. Moment 'pathetic' Bryan Kohberger gets brutal insult-ridden dressing down from victim's sister who demands he 'sit up' A newly released picture shows Kohberger just moments after he was arrested. The photo shows the now-convicted killer staring at the camera, wearing black shorts and a hooded sweatshirt with his hands behind his back. Cops said he appeared to be collecting garbage with gloves on when the arrest occurred. Despite all the evidence collected by investigators and Bryan Kohberger 's plea agreement with prosecutors, authorities are still unclear about a motive behind the brutal murders. "We don't know who the target was, and we're not going to speculate on that up here today, but we can tell you that for whatever reason Mr. Kohberger chose that residence," Moscow Police Captain Brett Payne told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. As part of his plea deal with prosecutors, Kohberger was not forced to give a reason or disclose a motive for why he committed the killings. University of Idaho murders timeline On November 13, 2022, a brutal home invasion claimed the lives of four University of Idaho students. Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in a Moscow, Idaho, off-campus home. A six-week manhunt ensued as cops searched for a suspect. On December 30, 2022, Bryan Kohberger, 30, was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania - 2,500 miles away from the crime scene. He was taken into custody and charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, was linked to the crime scene through phone records, his car's location, and DNA evidence found at the home where the murders took place. The house was demolished in December 2023 despite backlash from the victims' families. Kohberger was held at Latah County Jail where he awaited trial. On September 9, 2024, an Idaho judge ruled to move the upcoming murder trial out of Moscow after Kohberger's lawyer argued that the town was prejudiced against him. The trial was expected to start in August 2025. But on June 30, 2025, Kohberger struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to the charges on July 2. The move was blasted by the victims' families, who wanted Kohberger to face justice through a trial. On July 23, Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Kohberger to four consecutive life sentences in prison with an additional 10 years for burglary. Friends and family members of the four victims shared powerful impact statements at the sentencing hearing, as roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke also spoke out for the first time. Kohberger was granted an allocution at his sentencing, but "respectfully declined" to address the court before Judge Steven Hippler sent him to prison to begin his four-term life sentencing. Meanwhile, chilling accounts of Bryan Kohberger's behaviour before killing four Idaho students have come to light in new police documents. A woman who matched with Kohberger on Tinder weeks before the tragedy said he overwhelmed her with disturbing questions and mentioned the Ka-Bar knife he used in the quadruple murders. New documents reveal insight into the police investigation into Kohberger, including tips from people who came in contact with him. In March 2024, a woman identified only as "KC" and "C" in the redacted files told detectives she matched with Kohberger on Tinder one or two months before the 2022 murders. However, she ended things after the conversation turned alarming. 4
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pleasant Valley Elementary opened in 1881. Here's why Wichita district plans to close it
Editor's note: Before voters decide on a $450 million school bond issue on Feb. 25, The Eagle is profiling many of the schools affected. Read more profiles and find continuing coverage of the bond issue election here. Pleasant Valley Elementary School opened in 1881 about a mile north of its current location at 29th and Athenian as a small, one-teacher school. The original building was torn down and rebuilt in the 1920s. As Wichita's population grew in the post-World War II aviation boom, so did the need for larger schools. The Pleasant Valley School District issued bonds in 1948, 1950 and 1951 to build the Pleasant Valley Elementary School that stands today. As it was being built, The Wichita Eagle described it as a 'buff brick structure, termed one of the best rural schools in the state.' Houses, many purchased with GI bills, and a junior high school popped up around the new grade school, turning the rural school district into a suburban neighborhood. In the 1950s, the suburban Pleasant Valley community fought against being annexed by the city of Wichita. By 1964, the neighborhood and the school district had been annexed into the city. Today, Pleasant Valley is considered a mature neighborhood on the city's north side. When the district developed its master plan last year, Pleasant Valley's enrollment had dropped to 275 — 47 fewer students than it had at the turn of the century. Enrollment at Pleasant Valley increased to 307 students this year, after the district closed four elementary schools — Clark, Cleaveland, Park and Payne — but district officials have said even that enrollment number is unsustainable when it comes to the expenses of paying for teachers, staff and programs at the school in the long term. The target enrollment for pre-kindergarten to 5th grade is 'a little over 600,' according to the master plan. Two elementary schools, as of the 2023-2024 school year, had 600 or more students: Isely Traditional Magnet (626) — which would be converted to a K-8 school if the bond issue passes — and Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet (621). Four others had more than 500 students. Wichita Public Schools plans to close some of its lower-enrollment elementary schools and rebuild others to consolidate students and staff in fewer schools, which the district says will also result in long-term savings with fewer buildings to maintain. The district had 54 elementary schools at the time of the study. It now has 50. That will drop to 46 if the district follows its facilities master plan. Address: 2000 W. 29th St. North Size: 43,287 square feet of building space on a 20.23-acre campus that is shared with Pleasant Valley Middle School. Built: 1952 with additions in 1997, 2004 and 2013. Enrollment (2023-2024): 275, with 92.4% economically disadvantaged, 44.7% English Language Learners (students who are not fluent in English language) and 18.9% students with disabilities. Racial demographics: 69.8% Hispanic, 16% white, 8% African American, 6.2% American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian or multiracial. Consultants targeted Pleasant Valley — along with three other elementary schools — for closure based on enrollment trends and its proximity to newer schools or schools it plans to rebuild with the bond issue. Wichita Public Schools is moving to a 'newer and fewer' buildings approach to education, putting smaller neighborhood schools such as Pleasant Valley with smaller enrollment numbers in jeopardy. A 2024 feasibility study found Pleasant Valley Elementary had an FCI of 0.8 — meaning the cost to maintain the building over the next five years was estimated at 80% of the cost to rebuild it with a new building of the same size — and an enrollment of 275 students, which was under the 350-student threshold the consultants chose as a standard. The building had a utilization rate of 62%. Pleasant Valley was expanded in 1997 without a bond issue and then further expanded through a 2000 bond issue that upgraded and replaced infrastructure, and added four new classrooms and student support space. It was expanded again after the 2008 bond issue that added a new multipurpose room designed as a FEMA shelter. The 2008 bond also paid to upgrade HVAC, install a controlled-access entry, renovate two classrooms and student support areas, and upgrade ceilings in existing classrooms. The district was unable to provide a detailed cost breakdown for how much money went to Pleasant Valley in the 2000 bond issue. It got more than $1.25 million in the 2008 bond issue. Students from Pleasant Valley would be reassigned to Cloud, Earhart, McLean and Ortiz elementary schools, according to the facilities master plan approved by the Wichita school board in 2024. The school district plans to rebuild McLean if the 2025 bond issue passes. Earhart and Ortiz were built using money from the 2008 bond issue. Earhart was completed in 2009 and Ortiz was built in 2011. Most of Cloud was built in 1964, with small additions in 2005 and 2010. Pleasant Valley could be closed by 2028, according to a timeline in the district's master plan that's guiding the bond issue. The closure is expected to coincide with the completion of a tear-down and rebuild of McLean, which is scheduled for 2028. Luke Newman, facilities director of Wichita Public Schools, indicated that the district plans to close Pleasant Valley Elementary School — and three other elementary schools — whether the bond passes or not. 'The master plan is the master plan, and we have to move forward with it, with or without a bond,' Newman said. 'And so what will happen is we'll still need to move forward with the building retirements, but we would just have to do it without the rebuilds on the other side of it.'
