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Bryan Kohberger‘s lawyers will argue before an Idaho judge later today that he shouldn’t have to pay the full restitution ordered after his guilty plea in a quadruple murder case that rocked the country — claiming he shouldn’t have to pay up since the victims’ families received money from donors on GoFundMe.
The hearing kicks off at noon ET.
Prosecutors, however, counter that he has “a history” of receiving “compensation” from his family and unidentified third parties while behind bars — money they say should go toward the victims’ families.
At issue is roughly $27,000 to be split between the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and the mother of Madison Mogen, her 21-year-old best friend, to cover travel and other expenses incurred during Kohberger’s case.
He killed the two young women in an upstairs bedroom at their rental home in Moscow, Idaho, then went downstairs to kill their roommate, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, and her sleeping boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, also 20.
The sources of Kohberger’s prison funds are not immediately clear, but throughout his case, supporters have claimed to have sent money to his commissary in posts on social media.
Prosecutors filed his jailhouse financial history under seal.
Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor who has been following the case, said some of the money could be coming from female supporters, but large sums could come from media outlets seeking exclusive interviews.
Kohberger has never told his story, and told the judge he would “respectfully decline,” when given the opportunity to speak at his sentencing.
He said it’s not unrealistic to think that someone would offer Kohberger between five and six figures to break his silence.
If Kohberger does eventually speak out, he likely will not be able to profit, Fox News Digital reported previously. Like New York’s 1977 “Son of Sam” law, Idaho has legislation that helps prevent criminals from making money through detailing their offenses.
According to Idaho law, if a criminal signs a deal to profit from telling their crime story — including through a movie, book or magazine article — the profits first go to the state treasurer to be sent to an escrow account. Victims or their families, who must be notified, can claim the money through civil lawsuits within five years.
As part of his plea deal to avoid the death penalty, Kohberger agreed to pay more than $250,000 in criminal fines and fees plus another $20,000 in civil judgments to each victim’s family.
His lawyers argued last month that he shouldn’t have to pay another roughly $20,000 to Goncalves’ parents or nearly $7,000 more to Mogen’s mother, Karen Laramie, in travel and accommodation expenses requested by the prosecution.
“The additional funds sought do not qualify as an economic loss under Idaho Code 19-5304 because Steve and Kristi Goncalves and Karen Larmie (sic) received extensive funds through multiple GoFundMe campaigns that specifically asked for and covered the expenses sought,” attorneys Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Bicka Barlow wrote in a court filing.
Fox News’ Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
The post Bryan Kohberger fights $27K restitution for victims’ families while taking money behind bars appeared first on Fox News.
