BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger’s signed confession is now public – one week after he agreed to a plea deal.
In it, he admits to breaking in and murdering four University of Idaho students: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were all found stabbed to death inside an off-campus home:
Last Wednesday, he pleaded guilty, just weeks before his trial was set to begin.
As Judge Steven Hippler read off the names of the students, people in the section for families teared up.
Kohberger, on the other hand, remained unemotional as he confirmed to Judge Hippler that he stabbed all four in November of 2022.
Kohberger admitted that he was pleading guilty” freely and voluntarily” because he was, in fact, guilty, and not because he had some other incentive or was being pressured.
Judge Hippler gave prosecutor Bill Thompson a chance to address the courtroom. He walked them through how police pinpointed Kohberger’s movements using cellphone data and provided a timeline of the stabbings.
He said Kohberger snuck into the home through the sliding back, killing Madison Mogen first.
Thompson said Kohberger then killed Kaylee Goncalves and stabbed Xana Kernodle, who was grabbing her DoorDash order. Then, Thompson said, he stabbed Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, who was asleep.
Thompson also noted that a ‘single source’ of male DNA – that matched Kohberger’s – was found on a knife sheath left behind at the scene.
Kohberger will be sentenced on July 23 in Ada County.
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