The legal drama around one of the most infamous crimes of the U.S. in the 21st century drew to an official close Wednesday with a guilty plea in a Boise, Idaho, courtroom.
Bryan Kohberger, the sole suspect in the bizarre murders of four University of Idaho students in November 2022, will face life imprisonment without possibility of parole after pleading in the case, the New York Post reported.
But he will escape the possibility of being sentenced to death.
For many Americans, there’s been little doubt about Kohberger’s guilt since his arrest shortly after the killings, but the development Wednesday left one huge question unsettled:
What was behind Kohberger’s savage crime?
Author Gerald Posner, whose books include the acclaimed “Case Closed,” a study of the John F. Kennedy assassination that was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize after its publication in 1993, took to the social media platform X to call Kohberger’s plea deal “disgraceful.”
Disgraceful. As an attorney, I’m appalled.
Bryan Kohberger brutally slaughtered 4 students—and neither the prosecution nor the judge forced a full accounting. No statement. No motive. No answers. Justice isn’t just a sentence—it’s truth for the families. And they were denied it. pic.twitter.com/DFlkrHbwZD— Gerald Posner (@geraldposner) July 2, 2025
“Bryan Kohberger brutally slaughtered 4 students — and neither the prosecution nor the judge forced a full accounting. No statement. No motive,” Posner wrote.
Did this crime deserve the death penalty?
“No answers. Justice isn’t just a sentence — it’s truth for the families. And they were denied it.”
During the hearing Wednesday, according to the Post, Kohberger used a chilling, matter-of-fact tone to answer “yes,” as the judge asked him if he was responsible for the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20.
Mogen and Kernodle were housemates in the home in Moscow, Idaho. Goncalves had been best friends with Mogen since childhood and was visiting, according to The Associated Press. Chapin was staying over with his girlfriend, Kernodle, the AP reported.
All four were murdered in their beds: Mogen and Goncalves in one room; Kernodle and Chapin in another.
As the Post noted, the families of the victims are divided over the plea agreement. Members of one group — the families of Mogen and Chapin — have expressed relief that the deal made a trial unnecessary.
In a statement Tuesday, Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, said the deal “protects the public from further harm and allows all of us who knew and loved these four young people the time to grieve without the anxiety of the long and gruesome trial, years of appeals and potential for mistrials along the way.”
Members of the other group — the families of Goncalves and Kernodle — have expressed outrage.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Goncalves family said they were “beyond furious” at the deal.
New statement from Goncalves family on plea deal.
“The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office’s treatment of our family during this process is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.” pic.twitter.com/O97FwgJUy7— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) July 1, 2025
The rest of the country lacks the direct connection to the murder victims that the families have, but there’s no doubt that the crime riveted the public’s attention from the Nov. 13, 2022, day of the killings.
Kohberger’s official plea in court on Wednesday might have ended the legal maneuvering in the case.
But for the rest of the country, it leaves the biggest question unanswered:
Why did he do it?
Kohberger’s sentencing date is July 23, according to the Post. The victims’ relatives will be able to speak in court. So will the killer.
It’s unclear what he will have to say.
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