The grieving families and friends of the four University of Idaho students who were fatally stabbed gathered in a Boise courtroom on Wednesday to confront Bryan Kohberger at his sentencing. The atmosphere was filled with a mix of sorrow, anger, and even moments of forgiveness.
Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Kohberger to four life terms without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murders of Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, and Ethan Chapin in the early hours of November 13, 2022. Additionally, Kohberger received a 10-year sentence for burglary and was fined $270,000 in penalties. He has chosen to give up his right to appeal.
Earlier this month, Kohberger pleaded guilty just weeks before his trial was set to begin, as part of a deal to avoid facing the death penalty. Both prosecuting and defense teams had agreed on the terms of the sentencing. Kohberger was given a chance to address the court but opted to remain silent.
Many loved ones spoke through tears as they gave their emotional statements during Wednesday’s hearing. Some addressed Kohberger directly, while others said they did not want to “waste the words” on him.
The prosecutor and judge also choked up at times as they spoke of the victims.
Here’s a look at the hearing in their words:
Surviving roommates speak of their trauma
Bethany Funke was one of two roommates to survive the night of the stabbings. In a statement read by a friend, she said the killings terrorized her and prompted her to sleep in her parents’ room for almost a year.
“I have not slept through a single night since this happened. I constantly wake up in panics, terrified someone is breaking in or someone is here to hurt me, or I’m about to lose someone else that I love,” Funke’s statement said. “For a long time I could barely get out of bed. But one day, I realized I have to live for them.”
Dylan Mortensen, the other surviving roommate, similarly said she had to sleep in her mom’s bed and described panic attacks that hit her “like a tsunami.”
“Sometimes I drop to the floor with my heart racing, convinced something is very wrong. It’s far beyond anxiety. It’s my body reliving everything over and over again,” she said, sobbing.
What Kohberger couldn’t take from her was her voice and her memories of her roommates, she said. “Those things are mine. They are sacred, and he will never touch them.”
Families express array of emotions
Scott Laramie, Mogen’s stepfather, said the “emotional wound will never fully heal.”
“Karen and I are ordinary people, but we lived extraordinary lives because we had Maddie,” he said, referring to his wife, Maddie’s mother. “As for the defendant, we will not waste the words. Nor will we fall into hatred and bitterness.”
An attorney for the family read a statement from Karen Laramie. “Some may offer forgiveness for what the defendant has done. However, we cannot at this time, or perhaps ever,” the statement said. “Nor will we ask for mercy for what he has done. His acts are too heinous.”
Some other family members, meanwhile, said they forgave Kohberger.
“Bryan, I’m here today to tell you I have forgiven you because I no longer could live with that hate in my heart,” said Kim Kernodle, Xana’s aunt. “Any time you want to talk and tell me what happened, get my number. I’m here, no judgment, because I do have questions that I want you to answer.”
Cara Northington, Xana’s mother, emphasized the importance of her faith. “Jesus has allowed me to forgive you for murdering my daughter, without you even being sorry,” she said.
The father of Madison Mogen read the last thing she had written him — a Father’s Day card. In it, she said she couldn’t wait to “hang out again soon” and that she was proud of him.
“When I wasn’t wanting to live anymore, she was what would keep me from not caring anymore,” Ben Mogen said, describing struggles with addiction. “Knowing that she was out there and that she was just such a beautiful person kept me alive a lot of rough moments.”
Steve Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, taunted Kohberger for leaving his DNA on a knife sheath left near Mogen’s body and getting caught despite being a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University at the time.
“You were that careless, that foolish, that stupid,” Steve Goncalves said. “Master’s degree? You’re a joke.”
Kohberger declines to speak
When asked by the judge whether he wanted to speak, Kohberger responded: “I respectfully decline.”
Prosecutor chokes up showing photos of victims
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson’s voice caught in his throat as he displayed photos of the victims, including one of all the roommates taken the day before the killings. Sobbing was heard in the courtroom and the judge used a tissue to dry his eyes.
“You can see all six of these dynamic, vibrant, loving, special, innocent faces, taken together just across the street from their residence and barely 12 hours before four of them would be brutally murdered in their sleep,” he said.
Thompson acknowledged that the victim’s families were split on how they felt about the plea deal.
“I respect the fact that of these fine, suffering people here, not everybody agreed with the decision we made,” he said. “I accept that. It’s my responsibility in the end. I recognize that that’s the duty of the office that I hold.”
Judge reflects on not knowing the motive
“No parent should ever have to bury their child,” Judge Steven Hippler said. “Parents who took their children to college in a truck filled with moving boxes had to bring them home in hearses lined with coffins.”
Hippler said he shared “the desire expressed by others to understand the why,” while also wondering whether focusing on the motive gave Kohberger agency and power.
“The need to know what is inherently not understandable makes us dependent upon the defendant to provide us with a reason, and that gives him the spotlight, the attention and the power he appears to crave,” he said. “Yet even if I could force him to speak, which legally I cannot, how could anyone ever be assured that what he speaks is the truth?”
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