\The family of one of the victims of Bryan Kohberger has hit out after it emerged that he was challenging his conviction for four murders of students in the US state of Idaho.
\Last year, Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive terms of life in prison after pleading guilty to the murders that took place in November 2022.
\In a recent interview with the New York Times, Kohberger disclosed that he is revisiting his plea, claiming it was based on “false promises and blatant disinformation.”
\The family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the victims, described him as a “narcissist” who had seemingly altered his stance on the case.
\“He chose not to leave his fate— or the facts of the case—to a jury,” the statement from the Goncalves family read. “He never cried foul, never claimed he was uninformed or pressured, and never suggested there were problems with the discovery materials he and his counsel reviewed for two years that should have been challenged.”
\They further added that the real tragedy was the amount of attention Kohberger was now receiving at the expense of the victims.
\Kohberger was convicted of stabbing to death housemates Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen, who all attended the University of Idaho, in their off‑campus home on 13 November 2022. The case shocked Moscow, Idaho, and made national headlines for almost two months before Kohberger was arrested.
\The defendant was a criminology doctoral student at Washington State University. He never disclosed a motive, and investigators could not link him to the victims, though evidence placed him at the crime scene.
\In his statement to the New York Times, Kohberger declared a new intention to enter a not‑guilty plea, protesting his innocence while offering prosecutors another chance to seek the death penalty.
\Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador paid tribute to the victims’ families, emphasizing that they had “already endured unimaginable loss and now must face today’s deeply painful news.” He added: “My office stands ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out.”
\For more on this story, see our additional coverage > Idaho student killer sentenced to life in prison, but mysteries in the case remain
