Bryan Kohberger has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of four University of Idaho students.
Bryan Kohberger receives life sentence with no parole in University of Idaho student murders
This means he will never be released from prison or be eligible to apply for early release.
Kohberger, a 30-year-old former criminology student, was found guilty of killing Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The students were attacked in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. The murders shocked the small college town and drew national attention due to their brutality and the weeks-long manhunt for the suspect.
Kohberger was given four consecutive life sentences, which means each sentence will be served one after the other. He also received an extra 10 years for related charges.
After the hearing, he was moved to a state prison facility in Kuna, located about 26 km (16 miles) from the Ada County courthouse.
According to the Idaho Department of Correction, once a person enters the prison system, they first go through an intake process called the Reception and Diagnostic Unit.
This stage usually takes between one and two weeks and helps determine where the person will be housed and what restrictions they will face. The department has not shared details about Kohberger’s exact location or conditions, likely for safety and security reasons.
How authorities connected Kohberger to the crime
Investigators identified Kohberger as a suspect after finding male DNA on a knife sheath left at the crime scene. The sheath was found on a bed next to Mogen’s body. This DNA helped confirm that Kohberger had been present at the scene during the killings.
Further details from the autopsy revealed that Xana Kernodle suffered over 50 stab wounds, many of which she received while trying to fight back. Her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, was also stabbed multiple times, with one of the wounds cutting through a major blood vessel in his neck. The other victims, Mogen and Goncalves, also died from deep, sharp-force injuries.
A spokesperson for the Department of Correction said that Kohberger will remain in the state prison system under close supervision. He will not be eligible for parole, which means he will live the rest of his life behind bars.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson described the sentence as “life and death in prison,” underlining the seriousness of the punishment.