The Menendez brothers, who gunned down their parents from behind in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, were sentenced to life without parole years later.

They were never supposed to see the light of day again.

But under new California law – and in an increasingly left-wing state – that changed. A judge reduced their sentences and made them immediately eligible for parole after a controversial hearing this year, kickstarted by a prosecutor who failed his re-election bid largely because critics viewed him as too soft on crime.

For one former investigator, that’s a bad omen for the victims of Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student who killed four University of Idaho undergrads in a home invasion stabbing spree.

There is no known motive and rampant speculation about what happened. More than six weeks later, police announced the arrest of Kohberger – at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. He was 28 at the time and a student at Washington State University, 10 miles from the crime scene, where he was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology.

At the bloody crime scene, police found one key piece of evidence – a forgotten knife sheath with Kohberger’s DNA on the snap. 

While his background raised questions and red flags, the deal is not expected to provide any answers. 

Brian Kohberger was arrested for four counts of alleged first-degree murder and one count of burglary in Monroe County, Pennsylvania in December 2022. (Ada County Sheriff’s Office)

“I think it’s a big mistake not to insist that he come clean with what he did, because then, down the road, he could always say, ‘I never admitted anything. It was just circumstantial. I was forced to do this,’” Mohandie said.

Prosecutors could have demanded answers as part of the deal, but it’s unclear whether Kohberger rejected an explanation or one hadn’t been part of the negotiations. 

In response to left-wing sentencing reduction laws, other states have moved in the opposite direction. Tennessee passed a “truth in sentencing” law in 2022 to ensure that suspects face the penalties that state law prescribes for violent crimes – and so victims can find justice and peace without the threat of a surprise reversal down the road.

“Time will only be on his side,” Mohandie said of Kohberger, who is expected to serve four consecutive life sentences, plus another 10 years.

But prison carries other risks.

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