Bryan Kohberger was sentenced Wednesday to four consecutive life sentences and 10 years for the 2022 quadruple homicides of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogan, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He is not eligible for parole or appeal.
Before sentencing, Kohberger was allowed to speak, but he declined. No motive was offered during the hearing and no comment was made by Kohberger regarding the crimes.
The hearing opened with victim impact statements, shared by the state in the order the charges were listed on the indictment.
An additional $50,000 fine was applied for each count. Kohberger was also ordered to pay a civil penalty of $5,000 to the families of the victims for each count of murder.
“What he did shattered me in places I didn’t know could break. I was barely 19 when he did this…but I’m still putting myself back together…piece by piece, I’m learning how to live in this new version of life. It is not easy, it hurts, but I’m still trying. I’m not trying just for me, I’m trying for them, my friends,” surviving roommate Dylan Morentson said.
Emotionally-driven statements were shared for two hours by families and friends of some of the victims.
“That darkness you carry, that emptiness, you’ll sit with it long after this is over; that is your sentence…you didn’t win, you just exposed yourself for the coward you are. Lurking in the shadows made you feel powerful because no one ever paid you any attention in the light,” said Alivea Goncalves, Kaylee Goncalves’ sister, in her statement.
Kohberger appeared stone-faced and apathetic throughout the sentencing.
Before officially giving the sentence, Hippler offered words of disdain for Kohberger, calling him “the worst of the worst.”
“I am unable to come up with anything redeeming about Mr. Kohberger,” Hippler said. “Even in pleading guilty, he is giving nothing hinting of remorse or redemption, nothing suggesting even a recognition or understanding, let alone regret, for the pain he has caused.”
Throughout the hearing, the families and friends of the victims spoke directly to Kohberger while delivering their statements.
Hippler appeared to become emotional during the state’s closing argument, as the prosecution showed photos of the four students.
“During the quiet morning hours of November 13, 2022, a faceless coward faced the tranquility of six beautiful young people and senselessly slaughtered four of them,” Judge Steven Hippler said. “I share the desire expressed by others to understand why…but by focusing on the why, we continue to give Mr. Kohberger relevance.”
Hippler urged the media not to give Kohberger any more attention.
“In my view, the time has now come to end Mr. Kohberger’s 15 minutes of fame,” he said. “It’s time that he be consigned to the ignominy and isolation of perpetual incarceration.”
The hearing lasted for just under three hours, and the sentencing of Kohberger concluded the state’s case against him, which started in 2022.
Kohberger is now in the custody of the Idaho State Board of Corrections. It is not yet clear where he will serve his sentence, although he is expected to be placed at Idaho’s maximum security institution.
