Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to Idaho murders

BOISE, Idaho – Bryan Kohberger has pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022.

On Wednesday at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Judge Steven Hippler approved a plea agreement that spares Kohberger, 30, from the death penalty. In exchange, he will serve four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

As part of the agreement, Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.

A formal sentencing date has not yet been set.

IDAHO MURDERS TIMELINE: BRYAN KOHBERGER PLEA CAPS YEARSLONG QUEST FOR JUSTICE

Bryan Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, appears at the Ada County Courthouse, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho.  (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

The case has drawn national attention since the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, when four students — Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves — were found stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger, a former Ph.D. criminology student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Dec. 2022 after a cross-country investigation.

Bryan Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, appears at the Ada County Courthouse, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho.  (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)

According to court documents, DNA from a knife sheath left at the crime scene matched Kohberger’s, and cellphone data placed him near the victims’ house multiple times before the killings. Surveillance footage also captured a white Hyundai Elantra in the area.

BRYAN KOHBERGER EXPECTED TO OFFICIALLY PLEAD GUILTY: WHAT’S NEXT

Kohberger was indicted by a grand jury in May 2023 and had initially pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors later announced their intent to seek the death penalty, citing the heinous nature of the crimes.

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However, on Wednesday, Kohberger agreed to a plea.