{"id":28109,"date":"2025-07-02T12:01:52","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T16:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=28109"},"modified":"2025-07-02T12:01:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T16:01:52","slug":"victims-family-outraged-after-bryan-kohberger-plea-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/07\/victims-family-outraged-after-bryan-kohberger-plea-deal","title":{"rendered":"Victim’s Family Outraged After Bryan Kohberger Plea Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: Ada County Sheriff\u2019s Office | Right: @kayleegoncalves \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Families of the victims in the murder trial of Bryan Kohberger are reeling as he prepares to accept a plea deal that would spare him from the death penalty. Kohberger is accused of stabbing to death four University of Idaho students in their off-campus housing. Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 were all found stabbed to death in their Moscow, ID rental on the morning of November 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested and charged with their murders on December 30 of that year after cellphone records showed him in the vicinity of the home where the murders occurred and Kohberger was found to follow some of the victims on Instagram. DNA evidence also linked Kohberger to the scene of the crime.<\/p>\n

Kohberger\u2019s legal team has tried to spare his life by arguing that the death penalty could not be applied due to Kohberger\u2019s autism diagnosis and challenged the DNA evidence. With his trial set for next month, they resorted to seeking a plea deal with the prosecutors that would allow Kohberger to plea guilty and avoid death. Reactions from the victims\u2019 families, however, are mixed. Madison Mogen\u2019s father, Ben Mogen, said he was relieved. \u201cWe can actually put this behind us and not have these future dates and future things that we don\u2019t want to have to be at, that we shouldn\u2019t have to be at, that have to do with this terrible person,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get to just think about the rest of our lives and have to try and figure out how to do it without Maddie and the rest of the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family of Kaylee Goncalves, however, has slammed the plea deal. \u201cWe\u2019ve believed in the process,\u201d Kaylee\u2019s sister, Aubrie, wrote on the family\u2019s Facebook<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ve had faith in the system. But at this point, it is impossible not to acknowledge the truth: the system has failed these four innocent victims and their families\u2026They are not just ‘The Idaho Four.’ They were sons, daughters, siblings, and friends\u2014real people with real dreams. They deserve to be remembered for who they were in life, not only for the tragedy of their deaths. But before that can truly happen, they deserve justice. Nothing less.” The page also stated the family had been approached about a plea deal but that it had been \u201ca hard no.\u201d The family has pleaded with Judge Hippler to intervene in the case.<\/p>\n

Crime author Jeff Guinn blasted the decision, saying that the deal only benefits Kohberger. \u201cWith no trial, he gets to keep certain secrets. The air of mystery and in some ways that gives him the upper hand,\u201d he told The New York Post<\/em>.<\/a> This includes any possible motive in a case that has appeared as random as it is horrific. \u201cIf he decides he wants to make a public statement, he\u2019s taking control through this deal because he\u2019s still living, breathing and talking. As long he can talk, he\u2019s got some control,\u201d Guinn said. Kaylee Kohberger\u2019s father, Steve, said the state of Idaho had failed them. Kohberger is expected to submit his plea July 2. In exchange for taking the death penalty of the table, Kohberger will sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and the maximum penalty of 10 years for a charge of burglary. He will most likely not be able to appeal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Families of the victims in the murder trial of Bryan Kohberger are reeling as he prepares to accept a plea deal that would spare him from the death penalty. Kohberger is accused of stabbing to death four University of Idaho students in their off-campus housing. Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":28112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nVictim's Family Outraged After Bryan Kohberger Plea Deal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bryan Kohberger\u2019s plea deal to avoid the death penalty leaves Idaho victims\u2019 families divided as they seek justice.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/07\/victims-family-outraged-after-bryan-kohberger-plea-deal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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