Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to all charges in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, according to KHQ.
Kohberger, who was previously facing the death penalty, will instead receive four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He has also waived his right to appeal the sentence.
The plea deal, which spares Kohberger a capital trial, comes more than a year and a half after the November 13, 2022, killings that shocked the college town of Moscow, Idaho.
The victims—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin—were found stabbed to death inside an off-campus rental home.
The family of Ethan Chapin started a foundation, Ethan’s Smile Foundation, in his memory.
A court hearing to formally enter the plea is scheduled for Wednesday, July 2.
Kohberger, who was a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University at the time of the killings, was arrested in Pennsylvania in December 2022 and extradited to Idaho.
He has remained in custody since.
The case drew national attention and led to a months-long investigation before Kohberger was identified as the suspect.
Prosecutors had previously filed notice that they would seek the death penalty, citing the “heinous, atrocious or cruel manner” of the crimes.
The decision to accept a plea deal was disclosed in a letter sent to the victims’ families, though the terms have not yet been publicly detailed by the court.
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