Victim’s Family ‘Beyond Furious’ After Accused Killer Bryan Kohberger Strikes Plea Deal
Photo by Monroe County Correctional Facility
The family of Kaylee Goncalves unleashed a blistering statement condemning Idaho prosecutors after learning Bryan Kohberger – the man accused of slaughtering Goncalves and three other University of Idaho students in 2022 – is expected to take a plea deal that will spare him the death penalty.
“It’s true! We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us,” the Goncalves family said in a statement shared on Facebook. The family said they were blindsided by the news and needed “some time” to process it.
Kohberger, a former criminology PhD student, was arrested in late 2022 and charged with the brutal stabbings of Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in their off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho. He is now expected to plead guilty in exchange for four consecutive life sentences without parole, and a 10-year maximum sentence for burglary. He will reportedly waive all rights to appeal.
Prosecutors informed the families of the plea deal on Monday. In a letter obtained by ABC News, they defended the move as a way to “seek justice” while sparing the victims’ families “the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals.”
But that rationale has done little to soothe the outrage from the victims’ relatives, who issued furious statements late Monday after having reiterated to prosecutors that they wanted to keep “pushing for the death penalty.”
“The death penalty is merely an illusion in the criminal justice system,” the Goncalves family said in a lengthy statement. “When available, it serves as a bargaining tool for the State, and when rarely applied, it’s never enforced due to a highly inefficient appellate process.”
“The notion that someone can plead guilty to a crime and still face years of appellate delays reveals a systemic failure,” they continued. “The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office’s treatment of our family during this process is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
The family recounted being sidelined early in the investigation and questioned a number of decisions made by authorities before adding: “As a result, we were branded adversaries. So, it was no shock how the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office mishandled the plea deal. They vaguely mentioned a possible plea on Friday, without seeking our input, and presented the plea on Sunday.”
The family claims they weren’t even contacted directly about the final deal. “We weren’t even called about the plea; we received an email with a letter attached. That’s how Latah County’s Prosecutor’s Office treats murder victims’ families.”
“Latah County should be ashamed of its Prosecutor’s Office,” the family said. “Four wonderful young people lost their lives, yet the victims’ families were treated as opponents from the outset.”
To add insult to injury, they said, prosecutors “rushed the plea, giving families just one day to coordinate and appear at the courthouse for a plea on July 2. Who do they think they are?”
After more than two years of waiting, the family said, “This is how it concludes – with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details.”
Kohberger’s trial was originally slated to begin in August. The plea hearing is set for Wednesday.
