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A sentencing hearing is underway Wednesday for Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. Family members and friends of the victims are giving powerful statements in court, remembering their loved ones and expressing anger and devastation over the killings.
Kohberger, 30, will have a chance to make a statement but it’s unclear if he will shed any light on his motive or speak at all because he is not required to do so. According to a plea deal, he will be given four consecutive life sentences plus 10 years for burglary. The sentencing comes nearly three years after the students were found stabbed to death in a rental house near the University of Idaho campus, shocking the quiet college town of Moscow and the nation.
The hearing began with a statement from Bethany Funke, one of the survivors who was in the house the night of the murders. In her statement, read by a friend, she recounted the confusion and fear she felt while calling 911.
In the aftermath, Funke said she felt “sick with guilt” that she survived as she received death threats on social media and was harassed by the media. She also shared memories of her friends, from Halloween parties to pranks and the “storybook love” between Kernodle and Chapin.
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Dylan Mortensen, another surviving roommate, tearfully described “the panic attacks, hypervigilance and exhaustion” she’s suffered in the wake of the murders. She said what Kohberger did “shattered” her but she’s still putting herself back together piece by piece.
News crews and members of the public have gathered outside the courthouse to await Kohberger’s sentencing. Seating in the courtroom is available on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the hearing will be streamed in an overflow room in the courthouse. More than 50 people were already lined up before dawn, including some who waited overnight.
Questions about what drove Kohberger to kill have long swirled, even prompting President Donald Trump to ask the judge to make him explain his motive. However, Kohberger’s plea deal doesn’t require him to do so. His attorney previously told USA TODAY that his defense team will not comment or provide any information, even after sentencing.
Prosecutors, police and others connected to the case may shed more light now that a long-standing gag order has been lifted, and sealed documents may soon be made public. Experts also told USA TODAY that a lot can be concluded about Kohberger’s motives based on the evidence and his history.
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