() Alivea Goncalves, the sister of murdered University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves, spoke exclusively to following the sentencing of her killer, Bryan Kohberger.
Goncalves spoke to before Kohberger’s sentencing Wednesday and delivered a scathing impact statement during the hearing.
She told Brian Entin that looking at Kohberger was like coming “face to face with an alien.”
“I’m not intimidated by him, truly, I’m not, but when I tell you, there’s a primal sense of alarm, my body was telling me, ‘Run, get out. This is a threat.’
“Behind [his eyes], there’s no human being, there’s no humanity.”
Goncalves said she was committed to delivering her impact statement despite the emotional difficulty.
“There was nothing that was going to make me back down from that moment. And all I felt was rage, almost from the very, very beginning, all I felt was rage,” she said.
In Goncalves’ mind, the purpose of her speech was to give power back to her sister and the three other victims: Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin.
“It’s been focused around him, his name, his actions, and I understand it, but in my shoes, it pisses me off at times,” she said.
“Because you see ‘Idaho students,’ ‘University of Idaho students,’ his name, victims, or just the headline of his name, and it’s so frustrating, because it’s like they have names, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin. Say it.”
Goncalves added that Kohberger’s silence at the hearing did not bother her.
“I think Kaylee would be really happy and really proud of everyone who takes this as an opportunity to, you know, gain confidence and to … maybe find their voice a little bit. … It could be something as simple as, you know, standing up to your bully.”
