The mourning relatives of one of Bryan Kohberger’s victims have criticized the ‘astonishing and heartless’ plea agreement that enables the murderer of their daughter to escape the death penalty.

In a heartfelt statement, the younger sister of 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves expressed anger over the ‘astonishing and heartless’ arrangement that allows Kohberger to admit guilt to four murder charges for the November 2022 slayings of Goncalves, Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.

He will also admit a burglary charge stemming from the same incident.

As part of the agreement, he will serve a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole and will forfeit his right to any future appeals, yet he will not be subjected to the death penalty.

Aubrie Goncalves, aged 18, wrote an open letter responding to the plea deal which was shared on her family’s Facebook page.

‘The introduction of this plea deal, just weeks before the scheduled trial, is both shocking and cruel,’ she wrote.

She said her family may have been more accepting of such a deal if it had been raised 18 months ago, which would have given them time to ‘process, discuss, and potentially come to terms with the idea of a life sentence. 

‘We could have had the time to understand it, to prepare for it emotionally, and perhaps even to find some degree of peace. But now, with mere weeks left, we are being asked to absorb and respond to life-altering decisions with no room to breathe.’

Aubrie said the deal Kohberger has struck with prosecutors means ‘he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world. 

‘Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims’ pasts,’ she wrote.

‘The justice system was created to serve and protect—not to retraumatize grieving families. And yet, time and time again, we find ourselves blindsided, unheard, and unsupported. 

‘This last-minute plea deal feels less like an act of justice and more like an afterthought. We are not asking for vengeance. We are asking for accountability. 

‘We are asking for dignity for our loved ones. And we are asking—pleading—for a justice system that truly lives up to its name.’

Aubrie cited all the other factors which have compounded her family’s grief during the court proceedings which have followed Goncalves tragic death.

‘From the constant delays to the relocation of proceedings – making it harder for loved ones to attend – the justice system has placed heavy burdens on those already carrying unimaginable grief,’ she wrote.

‘Through it all, we have tried to hold on to hope. We’ve believed in the process. We’ve had faith in the system. 

‘But at this point, it is impossible not to acknowledge the truth: the system has failed these four innocent victims and their families.’

Her family had earlier issued a furious statement moments after details of the deal were made public, confirming it was true and that they were blindsided by it.

‘It’s true,’ a family spokesperson wrote on the same Facebook account. ‘We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us.’

The family went on to say the deal was ‘very unexpected’, thanking the public for all their ‘love and support’ during the court proceedings.

Kohberger had been fixated for months on trying to get the death penalty off the table.

The former criminology grad student had previously pleaded not guilty to the slayings, and is now scheduled to issue a change of plea in court on Wednesday.

But the evidence had been mounting in the lead up to the high profile trial as prosecutors laid out details of his movements, purchase history and cellphone data leading up to and shortly after the crime.

According to the ABC, Kohberger’s team approached prosecutors last week – after suffering yet another huge blow in the courtroom – and asked to be presented with a plea offer.

Prosecutors claimed they met with relatives of the victims who were available and ‘weighed the right path forward and made a formal offer.’

In the letter, prosecutors wrote: ‘This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family. 

‘This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals. 

‘Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice.’

Kohberger had just suffered a huge blow in court on Thursday after a judge slapped down his efforts to point the finger at four alternate suspects – blasting his legal team’s evidence as ‘entirely irrelevant’ and ‘wild speculation.’

In a scathing order handed down Thursday, Judge Steven Hippler blocked the defense from presenting evidence to the jury alleging that these mystery individuals – and not Kohberger – could be the real killer or killers.

In the order, Judge Hippler hammered the defense team, saying that the evidence presented to the court was ‘entirely irrelevant’ and that the attorneys had not shown a ‘scintilla of competent evidence connecting [the four alleged alternate suspects] to the crime.’ 

‘Here, the evidence Defendant has offered purporting to establish the four individuals as alternate perpetrators abjectly fails to meet the Meister standard. Namely, the evidence is entirely irrelevant,’ Hippler wrote. 

‘Nothing links these individuals to the homicides or otherwise gives rise to reasonable inference that they committed the crime; indeed, it would take nothing short of rank speculation by the jury to make such a finding.’

The ruling was a huge blow to Kohberger’s legal team as they scrambled to find a defense which could compete with the state’s mounting evidence against him. 

Earlier, the court had heard he purchased a balaclava from Dick’s Sporting Goods store months before the savage murders inside the victims’ off-campus home. 

Surviving housemate Dylan Mortensen told police she saw a man wearing ‘the same kind of mask’ during the crime spree.

Kohberger desperately wanted his purchase to be inadmissible in his upcoming trial, but prosecutors argued it was crucial to their case.

‘The relevance of this information is that Bryan Kohberger purchased a black balaclava from Dick’s Sporting Goods on January 10, 2022,’ the prosecution states.

‘This mask is the same type of mask described by DM that she witnessed worn by a male in the residence on November 13, 2022.’

Kohberger’s legal team already tried and failed to have critical DNA evidence and Amazon shopping history tossed from the case.  

A Ka-Bar brown leather knife sheath, featuring a US Marine Corps seal, had been found next to Mogen’s body in her bedroom on the third floor of the home.

Touch DNA on the sheath was traced back to Kohberger using Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG), according to prosecutors. 

Following his arrest, it was found to be a statistical match.

While the murder weapon has never been found, Kohberger’s Amazon shopping history reveals he bought a Ka-Bar knife, sheath and sharpener from Amazon back in March 2022, according to a prosecution filing.

Eight months later – on November 13 2022 – investigators believe this same type of knife was used to murder the four University of Idaho students.

Following the murders, Kohberger searched to buy a replacement knife and sheath, prosecutors allege. 

Cellphone data also revealed Kohberger took a selfie just hours after he allegedly murdered the college students.

The extraordinary picture shows Kohberger smirking and offering a ‘thumbs up’ to the camera. The selfie appears to have been taken in a bathroom, with a shower as the backdrop. 

Kohberger wears earphones and a collared long sleeve shirt buttoned to the top in the eerie picture.

Between 4.22am and 4.24am on the morning of November 13, 2022, Mortensen and the other surviving housemate Bethany Funke exchanged 17 frantic text messages fearing someone was in their house.

‘I’m not kidding o [sic] am so freaked out,’ one of the messages read.

Over three separate messages, Funke responded ‘come to my room. Run. Down here.’

Soon after seeing the intruder, Mortensen went downstairs to Funke’s room and the two roommates fell asleep there.

Mortensen recalled seeing a man with ‘bushy eyebrows’ – which fit Kohberger’s appearance. He also tried to get this testimony blocked from the trial, but was refused.