The long-running legal saga surrounding one of the most chilling mass murders in modern U.S. history reached its conclusion Wednesday, as Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty in a Boise, Idaho, courtroom.
Kohberger, the lone suspect in the gruesome November 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students, will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the New York Post.
He will avoid the death penalty—an outcome that has stirred mixed reactions across the country.
Since his arrest, many Americans have been convinced of Kohberger’s guilt. But Wednesday’s plea leaves the most disturbing mystery unsolved: What drove him to commit such a savage act?
Author and investigative journalist Gerald Posner, best known for Case Closed, his Pulitzer Prize-finalist book on the JFK assassination, condemned the plea deal on X (formerly Twitter), calling it “disgraceful.”
“Bryan Kohberger brutally slaughtered four students — and neither the prosecution nor the judge forced a full accounting. No statement. No motive. No answers,” Posner wrote. “Justice isn’t just a sentence — it’s truth for the families. And they were denied it.”
Kohberger reportedly showed no emotion as he answered “yes” to the judge’s questions, confirming his responsibility for the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Mogen and Kernodle were roommates in a house near campus. Goncalves, Mogen’s lifelong friend, was visiting. Chapin was spending the night with his girlfriend, Kernodle.
All four were stabbed to death in their beds.
Reactions to the plea deal are split. The families of Mogen and Chapin have expressed relief, hoping to avoid a lengthy, painful trial and years of appeals.
Ben Mogen, Madison’s father, said the agreement “protects the public from further harm” and gives families space to grieve “without the anxiety of the long and gruesome trial, years of appeals and potential for mistrials.”
But the families of Goncalves and Kernodle are outraged. In a joint statement, the Goncalves family said they are “beyond furious” at what they see as a failure of justice.
Though the court proceedings are ending, one haunting question remains unanswered for millions following the case:
Why did he do it?
Kohberger will be sentenced on July 23. The victims’ families will have a chance to speak — and so will he.
Whether he’ll finally offer an explanation is still unknown.