WilgensSrIn a packed courtroom roughly 300 miles from the horrific scene of the crime, everything changed in the case of the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home.
Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old former PhD student of criminology, confirmed his guilt to state district Judge Steven Hippler.
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” Kohberger said.
“Did you on November 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” Kohberger said, again.
It was the first time the public had heard directly from the lone suspect in a gruesome crime that shocked the nation. One of the victims’ family members silently wept as other loved ones listened intently.
Prosecution: After the plea, prosecutor Bill Thompson delivered a lengthy outline of the evidence that would have been presented against Kohberger at trial, including phone records that placed him near the victims’ home and an account of how he moved through the home on the night of the killings. He also revealed prosecutors still do not know whether Kohberger entered the home with the intent of killing all four students.
Defense: Recent rulings narrowed Kohberger’s legal defense options heading into trial. The judge had barred the defense from submitting an official alibi, as no one could confirm Kohberger’s whereabouts at the time of the killings.
The judge also rejected an attempt by Kohberger’s lawyers to present an “alternate perpetrator” theory. They had planned to argue one of four other people committed the murders, but the judge ruled there was no evidence beyond “pure speculation” to support the claim.
An Idaho district judge lifted the gag order that largely obscured the case of Bryan Kohberger after his guilty plea.
“At this point, i just don’t think that I can justify the continuation of the non-dissemination order. I think the rights of the public to information in this case is paramount, given the fact that a plea has been entered in this case, and so i’m going to lift the non-dissemination order,” Judge Steven Hippler ruled from the bench last week.
Under the wide-ranging gag order, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and attorneys for victims’ families and witnesses were prohibited from saying anything publicly, aside from what was already in the public record.
Why judges use gag orders in high-profile cases: At its most basic level, the idea of a gag order is to balance the First Amendment right to free speech with the Sixth Amendment right for a defendant to receive a fair trial, said University of Idaho assistant professor of law Samuel Newton. The concern is that too much commentary and publicity about a case can create jurors who have already made up their minds.
“What you’re worried about is tainting the whole (jury) pool,” Newton said.
Kohberger took a plea deal and admitted to the murders a month before his trial was set to begin.
A gag order is just one of a number of strategies judges can take to eliminate jury bias. They can also move the trial to another venue, create a jury questionnaire or sequester the jury during the trial.
What happened in court when Kohberger admitted to murdering Idaho students
A member of the media watches the livestream from outside the Ada County Courthouse as Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder in the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students in 2022 on July 2 in Boise. Jenny Kane/AP
In a packed courtroom roughly 300 miles from the horrific scene of the crime, everything changed in the case of the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home.
Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old former PhD student of criminology, confirmed his guilt to state district Judge Steven Hippler.
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” Kohberger said.
“Did you on November 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” Kohberger said, again.
It was the first time the public had heard directly from the lone suspect in a gruesome crime that shocked the nation. One of the victims’ family members silently wept as other loved ones listened intently.
Prosecution: After the plea, prosecutor Bill Thompson delivered a lengthy outline of the evidence that would have been presented against Kohberger at trial, including phone records that placed him near the victims’ home and an account of how he moved through the home on the night of the killings. He also revealed prosecutors still do not know whether Kohberger entered the home with the intent of killing all four students.
Defense: Recent rulings narrowed Kohberger’s legal defense options heading into trial. The judge had barred the defense from submitting an official alibi, as no one could confirm Kohberger’s whereabouts at the time of the killings.
The judge also rejected an attempt by Kohberger’s lawyers to present an “alternate perpetrator” theory. They had planned to argue one of four other people committed the murders, but the judge ruled there was no evidence beyond “pure speculation” to support the claim.
Families of victims arrive at courthouse ahead of sentencing
The family of victim Kaylee Goncalves has arrived at the courthouse ahead of the sentencing of Bryan Kohberger.
As he was walking into the courthouse, her father Steve Goncalves told CNN, “We hope he gets enough attention that he actually talks,” referring to Kohberger being granted an allocution — the formal opportunity defendants are given to speak directly to the court before they are sentenced by the judge.
The family members of victims Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen are expected to give statements today.
Earlier, family members of Kernodle were seen arriving as well.
Key questions go unanswered after Bryan Kohberger accepts plea deal
From CNN’s Jean Casarez, Elizabeth Wolfe and Rebekah Riess
With Bryan Kohberger changing his plea to guilty before his case could head to a jury trial, key questions are left unanswered.
Some of those questions include:
- What drove Kohberger to murder the four University of Idaho students?
- Why did he target those students, specifically?
- Why were two other roommates spared?
The families of the four victims — who have desperately awaited answers they believed would be revealed at trial — remain torn over the outcome of Kohberger’s plea deal, which allowed him to avoid the death penalty.
Fathers Jeff Kernodle and Steve Goncalves harshly criticized prosecutors for not consulting the families before agreeing to the deal.
Kernodle said he was disappointed the deal did not require Kohberger to confess to unexplained details of the crime.
“I had hoped the agreement would include conditions that required the defendant to explain his actions and provide answers to the many questions that still remain, especially where evidence is missing or unclear,” Kernodle said in a statement.
Madison Mogen’s parents, meanwhile, have expressed support for the deal. Her father, Ben Mogen, told the Idaho Statesman he viewed the deal as a reprieve from the pain and spectacle of a trial and an opportunity to focus on healing.
Judge lifts gag order ahead of Kohberger sentencing
Members of the media gather outside of the Ada County Courthouse in Boise on July 2. Brian Losness/Reuters
An Idaho district judge lifted the gag order that largely obscured the case of Bryan Kohberger after his guilty plea.
“At this point, i just don’t think that I can justify the continuation of the non-dissemination order. I think the rights of the public to information in this case is paramount, given the fact that a plea has been entered in this case, and so i’m going to lift the non-dissemination order,” Judge Steven Hippler ruled from the bench last week.
Under the wide-ranging gag order, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and attorneys for victims’ families and witnesses were prohibited from saying anything publicly, aside from what was already in the public record.
Why judges use gag orders in high-profile cases: At its most basic level, the idea of a gag order is to balance the First Amendment right to free speech with the Sixth Amendment right for a defendant to receive a fair trial, said University of Idaho assistant professor of law Samuel Newton. The concern is that too much commentary and publicity about a case can create jurors who have already made up their minds.
“What you’re worried about is tainting the whole (jury) pool,” Newton said.
Kohberger took a plea deal and admitted to the murders a month before his trial was set to begin.
A gag order is just one of a number of strategies judges can take to eliminate jury bias. They can also move the trial to another venue, create a jury questionnaire or sequester the jury during the trial.
Prosecutors revealed new evidence and an updated timeline of the murders at Kohberger’s plea hearing
While prosecutors had previously shared some evidence to support their charges against Bryan Kohberger, a sweeping gag order prevented both parties from sharing insight into the case of the four murdered University of Idaho students.
At the early July hearing where Kohberger pleaded guilty, allowing him to avoid the death penalty, prosecutor Bill Thompson laid out a timeline supported by new evidence that would have been presented at a jury trial. Here’s what prosecutors said:
- Early on the morning of the murders, Kohberger parked his car behind the students’ home and slipped inside through a sliding glass door to the kitchen at the back.
- Once inside, he headed to the third floor and fatally stabbed Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
- Kohberger left behind a knife sheath, on which investigators found DNA they would later identify as Kohberger’s. His father’s discarded Q-Tip contained DNA that lab tests determined likely belonged to the father of the person whose DNA was left on the knife.
- Xana Kernodle, whose room was on the second floor, was still awake as Kohberger began the killings. Kohberger encountered Kernodle while he was either coming down the stairs or leaving the house. Kohberger also killed Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was in her bedroom.
- One of the two surviving roommates saw Kohberger dressed in black leaving the home.
- As Kohberger fled on rural back roads, surveillance cameras captured his car speeding through the area. When investigators searched the vehicle, they found it had been cleaned and “disassembled internally.”
