The tragedy that struck Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two adults lost their lives, resonated deeply across the nation. In Pennsylvania, a local newspaper featured a poignant poem that captured the profound grief of such a loss.
The poem conveyed its sorrow through these lines:
‘Bereft of their laughter
There is now not a sound
As we lower our children into the ground
Small hands and feet
Buried six feet deep into the earth of the world that failed them.’
The author was Melissa Kohberger, a New Jersey-based mental health therapist. Her mother, MaryAnn, had sent it to the paper as a shared act of grief.
Six months later, four more families would be forced to bury their children – this time because of Melissa’s brother.
In November 2022, criminology PhD student Bryan Kohberger broke into an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, and stabbed four University of Idaho students – Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin – to death.
His arrest six weeks later shattered the victims’ families and destroyed his own.
Melissa Kohberger at her brother’s extradition hearing in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, in January 2023 – days after his arrest. That was the only court hearing she attended
Melissa Kohberger, a New Jersey-based mental health therapist, was the only family member not to attend either his change of plea hearing or sentencing
Kohberger’s sister Amanda and mom Maryann Kohberger attended his sentencing in July
For nearly three years, the Kohbergers – parents Michael and MaryAnn, and daughters Amanda and Melissa – have remained silent.
After growing up together in a quiet corner of the Poconos, the family has tried to distance itself from the crime that shocked America.
They have released only two brief statements through an attorney – expressing sympathy for the victims’ families but vowing to ‘love and support’ their son and brother.
Both Amanda and Melissa, who worked as therapists, reportedly lost their jobs after his arrest. They have avoided public comment, though fragments of their story have emerged.
Whether the sisters still speak to their brother remains unclear – but court files suggest they were once set to take the stand.
Recently unsealed documents reveal that all four members of Kohberger’s immediate family were listed as potential mitigation witnesses for the defense – part of a 56-name roster aimed at sparing him from the death penalty.
In a strange twist, his eldest sister Amanda was also listed as a possible witness for the prosecution – the only family member on that side.
Why Idaho prosecutors believed she could aid their case remains unclear. But what Kohberger did next may offer a clue.
Bryan Kohberger at his sentencing at Ada County Courthouse in Boise on July 23 – where he was handed four life sentences
Left to right: Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke
Kohberger broke into 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, and murdered the four UI students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle
Court records show prosecutors filed their witness list on June 25, 2025. Just a week later, on July 2, Kohberger accepted a plea deal – admitting to the four murders to avoid trial and the death penalty.
The possibility of family members testifying against him had long been a flashpoint between the defense and prosecutors.
At a hearing in April, his attorney, Elisa Massoth, insisted the family had ‘no interest in helping’ the prosecution.
‘His family loves him and supports him,’ she said, adding that if not for financial reasons, they would have attended every court hearing.
Yet when Kohberger finally pleaded guilty, only his parents were present.
On July 2, a grief-stricken Michael and MaryAnn sat inside Ada County Courthouse as their son admitted to the killings. Neither of his sisters attended.
Days earlier, a worker in the family’s gated Pennsylvania community told the Daily Mail that Michael ‘just wanted to know the truth’.
Three weeks later, on July 23, MaryAnn returned to court in Boise without her husband to see their only son sentenced to life in prison.
Amanda Kohberger (seen in Effort, Pennsylvania, in March) was listed as a witness for the prosecution at her brother’s trial
Melissa (center in red shirt in cast photo) once starred in a slasher movie with eerie parallels to her brother’s crime
Michael Kohberger was seen cleaning up after the home was raided by law enforcement and his son taken into custody for murder in the early hours of December 30, 2022
This time, she was joined by Amanda – the two women visibly emotional as the victims’ families gave devastating impact statements.
Melissa, three years older than Bryan, was the only immediate family member not to attend either hearing.
Her absence has fuelled speculation of a rift – something a Pennsylvania source hinted to the Daily Mail.
Melissa’s only court appearance came in January 2023, when the family stood together as Bryan faced extradition to Idaho. Their faces were hidden behind masks and coats. She has kept a low profile since.
Records show Amanda, Michael, and MaryAnn were home in Albrightsville when Kohberger was arrested in a dawn raid on December 30, 2022. All three were interviewed that morning. Melissa, who lives in New Jersey, was not present.
Trial exhibits show Amanda, Michael, and MaryAnn later took part in a family evaluation on November 29, 2024. Melissa did not. She was interviewed individually the following day.
Her distance may be explained partly by geography – and partly by choice.
A 2023 Dateline episode reported that one of the sisters had ‘suspicions’ about Bryan when he returned home for the holidays. She allegedly noted his proximity to the crime scene and even searched his car for clues. Investigators have never confirmed the claim.
Bryan Kohberger’s family home in a private community in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania
Michael Kohberger seen outside the family home this year – before his son finally admitted his guilt in the quadruple homicide
Prosecutor Bill Thompson later said the family provided ‘no tips or evidentiary items’ – but stressed they cooperated and did not hinder the investigation.
He also confirmed that Amanda would have been dropped as a witness at trial after prosecutors found ‘nothing substantively incriminating’.
‘The parents were understandably protective of their son,’ Thompson told the Idaho Statesman. ‘And the sister really didn’t seem to have anything specific to contribute.’
Before his crimes, Kohberger’s drug addiction had already tested family bonds. In 2014, his father Michael called police after his then-19-year-old son stole Melissa’s $400 phone to buy heroin.
By 2019, Melissa had moved to New Jersey, where she worked as a licensed mental health therapist specializing in trauma, anxiety, and ADHD – the same condition her brother’s lawyers cited in his defense.
Amanda stayed in Pennsylvania, working as a school counselor. Both sisters lost their jobs in the spring of 2023, according to NewsNation.
Melissa has since found new work as a therapist in New Jersey. It is unclear if Amanda, who lives with her parents, has also found work.
Digital forensic experts at Cellebrite told the Daily Mail that Kohberger rarely contacted his sister Melissa and Amanda (pictured)
Melissa and MaryAnn walk into court on January 3, 2023. It is unclear if Amanda or Melissa are still in contact with their brother
Before counselling, Amanda briefly starred in a low-budget 2009 slasher film, ‘Two Days Back’, about hikers killed in a stabbing frenzy in the woods – an eerily similar story to her brother’s crimes years later.
Director Dr Kevin Alexander Boon told the Daily Mail earlier this year that Amanda was ‘very easy to work with’ when the then-student joined the production in 2009.
Attempts to contact both Melissa and Amanda for this story were unsuccessful.
How close Bryan remains to his sisters is unknown.
Digital forensic experts at Cellebrite – hired by prosecutors to analyze Kohberger’s phone and laptop – told the Daily Mail that, prior to the murders, Kohberger frequently called his parents, speaking to his mother for hours each day.
But he rarely contacted his sisters.
Whether Amanda or Melissa have spoken to him since his conviction remains unclear.
But as he begins life inside Idaho’s maximum-security prison, perhaps his sisters can finally begin to rebuild theirs.
