Kohberger pleads guilty to 2022 murders of 4 Idaho college students

Bryan Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary during a plea hearing Wednesday that eliminated any chance of him facing the death penalty. File Photo via Monroe County Correctional Facility UPI

July 2 (UPI) -- Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and burglary in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students on Nov. 13, 2022, during a plea hearing on Wednesday.

Kohberger, 30, admitted to murdering students Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, inside their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, after agreeing to a plea deal that removes the death penalty, NBC News reported.

The plea hearing started at 11:15 a.m. MDT, before which Ada County District Court Judge Steven Hippler asked those attending to avoid making "outbursts and demonstrations," CBS News reported.

Family and friends of the deceased students attended the plea hearing, which was scheduled on Monday after Hippler learned of the newly reached plea agreement between Kohberger and local prosecutors.

Each count of first-degree murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, now that the death penalty has been removed from the case.

Kohberger also could serve up to 10 years for the burglary charge and has agreed to waive any right to appeal the outcome.

Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty after police in Pennsylvania arrested Kohberger at his parents' home in the Pocono Mountains on Dec. 20, 2022, which was about six weeks after the murders.

Only a jury can sentence someone to death in Idaho courts, Idaho defense attorney Edwina Elcox told Fox News.

"By taking the plea deal, Bryan Kohberger has insulated himself from a sentence that would require his execution," Elcox said.

"Regardless, he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of ever being in society again," she added.

Hippler had the option of declining the plea agreement and proceeding with a jury trial that was scheduled to start on Aug. 18, but accepted it during Wednesday's hearing.

Kohberger has a sentencing hearing scheduled on July 23 at 9 a.m. MDT at the Ada County District Court in Boise, Idaho.

The case's venue earlier was transferred from Latah County to Ada County to ensure a fair trial.

Mogen's family was among those who attended the plea hearing and afterward thanked Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson for his work on the case.

"This is the best outcome possible for the victims, their families and state of Idaho," Mogen's family said in a statement read by their attorney while outside the courthouse.

"We lost our Maddie, our kind, loving, vivacious and caring daughter, full of purpose and promise," the family said.

"We are grateful for the gift of her life, and we have grieved the loss of that life during each of these 962 days."

The Goncalves family opposed the plea agreement and wanted Kohberger to go to trial and face the death penalty.

Kohberger was a graduate student pursuing a doctorate in criminology at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., when he committed the murders.

Pullman is located about 9 miles west of Moscow, and investigators found DNA evidence tying Kohberger to the murders.

Kohberger did not say what his motive was for the murders, and he had no personal relationship with the victims.