Bryan Kohberger has pleaded guilty to the murders of four students in Idaho in the hopes that he can avoid the death penalty.
Kohberger, 30, previously pleaded not guilty to the November 2022 stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.
But he will now formally enter guilty pleas to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary at a July 2 hearing, per ABC News.
The deal will see Kohberger waive his right to a jury trial, accept four consecutive life sentences plus up to 10 years on the burglary charge, and waive his rights to appeal.
His trial had been scheduled to begin on August 11, and prosecutors had previously signaled their intent to seek the death penalty before the plea was reached.
The Goncalves family confirmed the plea agreement on Facebook, writing: “It’s true! We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us.”
Moscow Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson acknowledged the family's pain in a letter, cited by the Idaho Statesman newspaper: “We cannot fathom the toll that this case has taken on your family. This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family.
“This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals.”
Goncalves, Kernodle, and Mogen were roommates at the off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, where the murders took place, while Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend.
Two other roommates survived the attack, including one who told police she saw a masked figure with “bushy eyebrows” walk past her and exit through a sliding glass door, per BBC News.
Kohberger, who was a PhD criminology student at Washington State University at the time of the killings, was arrested in December 2022 at his parents’ Pennsylvania home.
Police said they linked him to the crime using DNA found on a leather knife sheath left at the scene and cellphone pings that placed him near the victims’ home several times before the attack.
A white Hyundai Elantra connected to Kohberger was also recorded in the area on the night of the murders.
Court documents revealed police also recovered a knife, a Glock pistol, black gloves, a black hat, and a black face mask during a search of Kohberger’s family home. Kohberger was indicted by a grand jury in May 2023.
His defense team has questioned the accuracy of the DNA evidence and succeeded in moving the trial’s location, arguing Kohberger would not receive a fair trial from local jurors.
However, they failed to have the death penalty removed as a sentencing option despite citing an autism diagnosis for Kohberger.
Idaho is one of 27 US states that allow capital punishment, but no executions have taken place in the state since 2012, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Local media reported that a hearing for the plea deal was set for Wednesday, while a judge in Pennsylvania ruled that three people who knew Kohberger must travel to Idaho to testify for the defense.
In response to the development 18-year-old Aubrie Goncalves - sister of Kaylee Goncalves - wrote on Facebook: “The introduction of this plea deal, just weeks before the scheduled trial, is both shocking and cruel,” per the New York Post.
Meanwhile, many details about the case remain under seal due to a gag order limiting what parties can publicly share, and it is unclear whether the plea deal will lead to additional information being released.