The father of one of accused killer Bryan Kohberger’s victims has lashed out at a new plea deal that will see the former Ph.D student avoid the death penalty.
Kohberger, 30, was accused of stabbing four University of Idaho student roommates to death in 2022—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.
A letter sent to the victims’ families on Monday from the prosecution updated them on the change in sentencing, according to the Idaho Statesman. Kohberger had been due to go on trial in August, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
However the new deal, revealed in the letter, will see Kohberger serve four consecutive life sentences in exchange for his guilty plea, rather than face the threat of the death penalty.
The letter states that sentencing is anticipated to take place later this month, with a change-of-plea hearing due this Wednesday where Kohberger is expected to enter his guilty plea. He will also waive his right to appeal.
The new plea covers all four counts of first-degree murder, plus a burglary charge which will add an extra 10 years to his sentence.
Kohberger had been due to face a jury at a trial within the next two months. His sentencing could now take place this month.
Steve Goncalves, father of victim Kaylee, has slammed life in prison as “adult child care” in an emotional interview after hearing of the change of plea.
Speaking on NewsNation on Monday, Goncalves called for harsher sentences for serious crimes. “People need to stand up to these monsters and stop fricking bowing down to them and giving them child care. I mean, prison is nothing but adult child care.”
He added inmates get, “free vision, you get free dental, you get free meals, you get AC, room and board, cable TV, internet access… it’s ridiculous what we give our prisoners, (it’s) better than what we treat our vets, our vets coming back from war with missing limbs. This is unacceptable.”
Kohberger had been due to face a jury at a trial within the next two months. His sentencing could now take place this month.
The letter outlining the plea deal was signed by Moscow Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson, and stated, “We cannot fathom the toll that this case has taken on your family.”
Thompson added, “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 said he was hoping to see Kohberger face a jury who would have determined his fate. Prior to this decision, jury selection was set to start on Aug. 4.
He told NewsNation, “I want that jury to make the decision not .. some old man who’s 70 fricking years old deciding how my daughter’s life weighs in a courtroom. That is not justice. That is not justice at all. I’ll take my jury, I’ll take my peers all day long. I’m sick of one man deciding or one woman deciding what a life’s worth.”
On Monday, the Goncalves family also released a statement declaring: “The death penalty is merely an illusion in the criminal justice system.”
It added, “The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office’s treatment of our family during this process is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
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