District Court Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Bryan Kohberger, 30, to four consecutive life sentences for the 2022 fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students. The victims’ families and others involved in the case provided emotional impact statements at court, including the two surviving roommates of the victims.
Hippler acknowledged Kohberger’s motive may never be known as he sentenced him to four counts of first-degree murder and burglary in the deaths of roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. Kohberger must also pay a fine of $50,000 and a civil penalty of $5,000 payable to the family of each victim per count.
The four victims were stabbed to death at the girls’ off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022. On July 2, weeks before the trial was set to start, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all counts and waived his right to appeal in exchange for prosecutors agreeing not to seek a death sentence. Kohberger told the judge he “respectfully” declined to speak at the sentencing hearing.
Judge Hippler vacated a gag order last week that prevented certain lawyers and members of law enforcement from speaking publicly, and will soon determine which documents may be unsealed – which could potentially disclose new evidentiary information in a case in which even the motive for the crime may never be known.
The judge called Kohberger a “coward” who “slithered through the sliding glass door at 1122 King Road” and “now stands unmasked…this unfathomable and senseless act of evil has caused immeasurable pain and loss. No parent should ever have to bury their child. This is the greatest tragedy that can be inflicted upon a person. We are now certain who committed these unspeakable acts of evil, but what we don’t know, and what we may never know, is why.” Hipper said he wants to know the motive, but that “by continuing to focus on why, we continue to give Mr. Kohberger relevance, and the spotlight, attention and power he appears to crave.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt opened Wednesday’s press briefing by addressing the victims’ families: “We are so sorry for the grief and the pain you have experienced at the hands of such a vicious and evil killer. Our nation grieves with you, and we will never forget the precious souls who were lost in this horrific act of evil.” Leavitt also reiterated President Donald Trump’s message from earlier this week that he wants Kohberger to reveal a motive: “If it were up to the president, he would have forced this monster to publicly explain why he chose to steal these innocent souls.”
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