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Bryan Kohberger, the criminology student responsible for the murder of four college students, entered a guilty plea on July 1, 2025. He will be formally sentenced on July 23, 2025.
The 30-year-old former Washington State University PhD student pleaded guilty in court on Wednesday to shooting Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin at their off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger has avoided the death penalty in this deal but will spend the remainder of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On July 3, 2025, social media personality Melanie King discussed Bryan Kohberger's guilty confession on her podcast, as she described his misdeeds as "one of the most bone-chilling massacres in modern American history."
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"Yes, that smug, lifeless-eyed criminology grad student has allegedly confessed to one of the most bone-chilling massacres in modern American history," she said.
She continued criticizing Kohberger, stating:
"This is the story of a suspect who sat silent as a nation speculated, who studied crime while secretly committing it, who watched the system like a predator in training, only to become the very monster he pretended to understand."
Key evidence and family reactions as Bryan Kohberger's case nears conclusion
On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, were fatally stabbed in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
The case garnered headlines around the country after investigators had gone weeks without an arrest or announcing if they had a suspect. This was until officers arrested Bryan Kohberger, a criminology PhD student at Washington State University in nearby Pullman, who would eventually plead guilty to the murders in July 2025.
New details were revealed during Bryan Kohberger’s plea hearing by the prosecutors. His cellphone had pinged near the victims’ home's towers 23 times in the months leading up to the attack. A surveillance camera also captured his white Hyundai Elantra circling the neighborhood before parking behind the house on the night of the killings.
A knife sheath was found at the crime scene, and DNA taken off of it was ultimately traced back to Bryan Kohberger with help from a Q-tip found in his family’s trash. Investigators also noted that his car and apartment had been meticulously cleaned, suggesting a deliberate effort to destroy evidence.
The plea agreement has left victims’ families with mixed emotions. Some families supported the plea deal, while others responded with anger and dismay. Madison Mogen's family expressed full support for the agreement, calling it the "best outcome possible". A statement read by their attorney said:
“We lost our Maddie, our kind, loving, vivacious and caring daughter, full of purpose and promise. We are grateful for the gift of her life, and we have grieved the loss of that life during each of these 962 days...We support the plea agreement 100%. We turn from tragedy and mourning... to the light of the future. We have closure."
However, Kaylee Goncalves' family expressed dismay. Kaylee's father, Steve Goncalves, said they felt “failed” by the justice system. On July 1, the Goncalves family wrote in a Facebook post:
"It's true! We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support."
Steve also issued a statement outside the courtroom:
"It was terrible. We let her down, they let my daughter down."
As the case moves toward sentencing, lingering questions remain. Bryan Kohberger’s motive is not yet known, and it is unclear if he will ever publicly articulate why the four students were singled out for abuse. The hearing on July 23 will give victims’ families a chance to give impact statements, though the plea deal means Kohberger cannot appeal his sentence.
