Prosecutor Bill Thompson said that Bryan Kohberger drove back to the scene of his crime less than five hours after murdering four college students
NEED TO KNOW
- Bryan Kohberger confessed to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20 in court on Wednesday
- Prosecutor Bill Thompson laid out the case against Kohberger, saying Kohberger returned to the crime scene just hours after the murders and then took a selfie making a thumbs-up gesture when he got home
- Kohberger is set to be sentenced on July 23, with the plea deal calling for four life sentences plus 10 years on a burglary charge, all to be served consecutively
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students on Wednesday.
He confessed in a Boise courtroom to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
After admitting to those crimes, which took place on Nov. 13, 2022, Judge Steven Hippler called on Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson to lay out the details of the case against Kohberger.
Thompson shared many details of the case which had been previously known, including video footage of a car similar to Kohberger’s near the scene of the crime on the night of the murders and his purchase on Amazon of the same weapon used in the murders.
Another key detail shared by Thompson was the fact that Kohberger returned to the murder scene just a few hours after brutally stabbing his four victims to death, but before their bodies had been discovered by their surviving roommates.
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Thompson said that Kohberger’s phone was tracked to the residence at around 9 a.m. and remained there for approximately 10 minutes before he returned to his dormitory at Washington State University in Pullman.
Once back at his dorm, the normally stoic Kohberger took a selfie of himself grinning while making a thumbs-up gesture.
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Kohberger and his attorney appeared in court just two days after striking a deal with prosecutors.
In exchange for Kohberger’s guilty plea on four counts of murder and one count of burglary, the prosecution agreed not to seek the death penalty and instead recommended a term of four life sentences for each murder plus 10 years for the burglary to be served consecutively.
Kohberger also waived his right to file an appeal.
His sentencing has now been scheduled for July 23, at which time he is set to learn his fate.
The decision to make a deal with Kohberger has divided the victims’ families, with the Mogen and Chapin families coming out in support of the deal and Kernodle and Goncalves families saying they wanted the case to go to trial.
