Bryan Kohberger has one last chance Wednesday to give the grieving parents of four University of Idaho students he admitted to killing the answers they’ve desperately sought for nearly three years.
Why did he do it?
Kohberger will have an opportunity to reveal those details before his sentencing Wednesday, following a remarkable change-of-plea hearing on July 2 that spared him the death penalty and his highly anticipated murder trial by admitting guilt to burglary and first-degree murder in the November 2022 killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen.
Kohberger will be granted an allocution — the formal opportunity defendants are given to speak directly to the court before they are sentenced by the judge. Traditionally, defendants use allocution to humanize themselves and express remorse, or offer an apology, or even an explanation for their actions — anything that could be taken into account during sentencing, according to the American Bar Association.
But legal experts think it’s unlikely he’ll say a thing.
“What we can expect in sentencing would first be the victim impact statements by the families. We already know that there are several that are going to speak, which should be horrendous,” legal analyst and trial attorney Mercedes Colwin told CNN.
“I’m sure it’s going to be gut-wrenching, and then he will be given the opportunity to address the court before the judge sentences him. That’s where he can say, ‘I’m sorry for what I’ve done,’ which I don’t expect any of that to take place,” Colwin said.
The question of whether Kohberger will speak about his crimes even invited a comment from President Donald Trump, who said in a post on Truth Social on Monday the judge should make the 30-year-old “explain why he did these horrible murders” before the sentencing.
Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were killed November 13, 2022, off campus at the University of Idaho. – Obtained by CNN
In every previous court appearance, Kohberger has remained expressionless, silent and unmoved as prosecutors recounted the chilling details of the late-night killings — how he entered a home through a sliding door and savagely stabbed four young students to death while two survivors, terrified, texted each other about a masked figure moving through the hallway.
Despite Kohberger admitting to the crimes, the July 2 change-of-plea hearing left one giant hole in the story: why he targeted the residents of the King Road house. It’s unclear whether the public will ever get an answer, as it’s not required by the plea deal.
Allocution may offer one final chance for him to address it in court.
Here’s what to expect.
Allocution does not require him to divulge any details
During the change-of-plea hearing, Judge Steven Hippler formally questioned Kohberger to ensure he fully understood the charges, the consequences of pleading guilty, and his rights before accepting the plea.
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” Kohberger said.
“Did you on November 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?” Hippler asked.
“Yes,” Kohberger again responded, as one of the victims’ family members silently wept while other loved ones listened intently.
But that was all.
The judge asked Kohberger only basic confirmation questions. There was no inquiry into why he committed the crimes or whether he felt any remorse. The plea agreement and the written factual basis offer little insight into Kohberger’s motive.
Several key concerns were left unaddressed, including what drove Kohberger to carry out the killings, why he targeted the students specifically and why two roommates were spared.
The plea agreement doesn’t necessitate that Kohberger disclose any details about the murders at his sentencing.
“I had hoped the agreement would include conditions that required the defendant to explain his actions and provide answers to the many questions that still remain, especially where evidence is missing or unclear,” Xana Kernodle’s father, Jeff Kernodle, said in a statement following the guilty plea.
At Wednesday’s sentencing, allocution will offer Kohberger a confronting choice: stay silent or face the families of his four victims and attempt to explain the horror he inflicted.
A Moscow police officer stands guard in his vehicle on November 29, 2022, at the home where the four University of Idaho students were found dead. – Ted S. Warren/AP
Allocution rights can be traced to 1689, when English courts recorded that, in cases in which defendants faced possible death sentences, the failure to ask defendants directly whether they had anything to say prior to sentencing constituted a basis for reversal, according to the American Bar Association.
Numerous historic allocution statements have been delivered over the years, including John Brown’s address to the court after his death sentence in 1859, and Susan B. Anthony’s defiant speech following her arrest for voting in 1873.
Several convicted murderers have also given allocution statements, including serial killer Ted Bundy; Timothy McVeigh, convicted for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing; and John Wayne Gacy, known as the “Killer Clown.”
Allocution rights appear at the state level, though they vary across jurisdictions. But according to Idaho law, the defendant has the “right of allocution,” or the right to personally address the judge, if they choose to.
“Before imposing sentence the court must give counsel an opportunity to speak on behalf of the defendant and must ask the defendant personally if the defendant wishes to make a statement and to present any information in mitigation of punishment,” Idaho’s Criminal Rule 33 states.
Allocutions are not made under oath and and Kohberger will not be subjected to cross-examination, according to the state law.
“Their families may never hear why he targeted this house and their children, what made him do it. He’s not required to answer the ‘why,’ although we know he killed them because he’s already taken this plea,” Colwin said. “They may never get true closure.”
A sign for victim Kaylee Goncalves is seen in front of a University of Idaho campus sign in Moscow, Idaho, on November 29, 2022. – Lindsey Wasson/Reuters
He may one day speak to the media
A pile of questions over the killer’s method and motive have haunted the case since the four students were discovered stabbed to death in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, with no signs of forced entry.
But even if Kohberger remains silent now and does not exercise his right to allocution, there’s still a possibility he will speak out later. There is no stipulation in Kohberger’s plea agreement to prevent him from doing interviews with media or writing a book.
A trove of documents and discovery that could also shine more light on the case remains sealed by the court and is expected to stay that way until after his sentencing on July 23. But it’s unclear how the court will handle the large volume of material.
“The families who want an explanation believe the ultimate closure is understanding why,” Colwin said. “Even if he someday explains his motivations, I shudder to think of what he might say.”
For some, the plea deal was injustice. For others, closure
After the victims’ families were informed of the plea deal, fathers Jeff Kernodle and Steve Goncalves harshly criticized prosecutors for not consulting the victims’ families before agreeing to conditions of the deal.
The mother of Kaylee Goncalves, Kristi Goncalves, second from right, walks with family members including Steve Goncalves, left, to the Ada County Courthouse for Bryan Kohberger’s plea deal hearing on July 2 in Boise, Idaho. – Jenny Kane/AP
The Goncalves family members said in a statement earlier this month they had expected more answers from the change-of-plea hearing when Judge Hippler questioned Kohberger before accepting his guilty plea.
“Today was the day, the day for answers, the day to find out what happened, to find out really anything about what the Defendant did that night and why he took the lives of 4 beautiful people. At least that’s what we hoped for but hope is really all we had today,” the Goncalves family’s July 2 statement read.
“We’ll never see this as justice,” Steve Goncalves told CNN’s Jim Sciutto.
Others voiced acceptance, saying that despite a lack of answers, they were relieved to avoid a drawn-out trial and the possibility of a yearslong appeals process. Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, told the Idaho Statesman he viewed the deal as an opportunity to avoid the pain and spectacle of a trial and focus on healing.
“We support the plea agreement 100%. While we know there are some who do not support it, we ask that they respect our belief that this is the best outcome possible for victims, their families and the state of Idaho,” said Leander James, who represents Mogen’s mother and stepfather, Karen and Scott Laramie.
The Chapin family’s “initial response was, ‘an eye for an eye,’” Stacy Chapin, Ethan Chapin’s mother, told NBC’s “Today.”
“But we’ve spent a ton of time talking about it with prosecutors, and for us, we always felt like this was a better deal,” she said.
Had Kohberger gone to trial, a death sentence was not guaranteed. And even if he had received one, it likely would have taken years, possibly decades, to carry out, with no certainty it would ever happen.
Kohberger will be sentenced this week to life in prison without parole, and he’ll forfeit his right to appeal. He will no longer be allowed to appear in the civilian shirt and tie he usually wears for hearings, according to Hippler. The next time he sets foot in the courtroom, he will be dressed in prison garb.
“To the families of Kaylee, Madison, Xana and Ethan – we will never forget the beautiful light your precious children shone brightly in the world,” Colwin said. “No evil will ever take that away.”
CNN’s Taylor Romine, Jean Casarez, Elizabeth Wolfe, Rebekah Riess, Dakin Andone, and Kit Maher contributed to this report.
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