Cold-blooded steps Bryan Kohberger took to cover up the Idaho murders are revealed for the first time

Bryan Kohberger meticulously tried to cover his tracks after he brutally murdered four Idaho college students in cold blood, prosecutors have now revealed.

Kohberger, 30, was cold and emotionless as he confessed to murdering  Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, as well as Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, on November 13, 2022.

He spoke calmly during his plea hearing Wednesday, answering ‘yes’ as he was asked plainly whether he murdered the four students. 

Investigators had long claimed that Kohberger broke into the off-campus home and stabbed to death Mogen and Goncalves, before then killing Kernodle and Chapin.

But for the first time ever, prosecutors have laid bare before the court the actions he took in the aftermath of the slayings. 

Kohberger’s apartment and office were scrubbed clean when investigators searched them, and his car had been ‘pretty much disassembled internally’, prosecuting attorney Bill Thompson told the plea hearing Wednesday.

He also changed his car registration to Washington State after the four killings.

FBI agents were able to link Kohberger to the killings after collecting DNA samples from the garbage outside his parents’ Pennsylvania home, where he was living at the time. Investigators determined that DNA left on a Q-Tip belonged to the father of the person who left DNA on the knife sheath found at the crime scene.

‘The defendant has studied crime,’ Thompson told the court. ‘In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his PhD, and he had that knowledge skillset.’

KOHBERGER PLEADS GUILTY TO IDAHO MURDERS

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday in the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022.

His plea deal was a shock to the victims’ families, some of whom are furious that it was ever offered to him. 

He took the deal to avoid the death penalty – accepting instead a life without parole sentence – after years of delays and stalling. 

The world still does not know why he did it – and he may never have to confess to it. 

As Kohberger entered his guilty plea, some of the victims’ loved ones looked down while others craned to see him. 

Judge Steven Hippler accepted Kohberger’s plea and said he will be sentenced at Ada County Court on July 23 at 9am local time (11am EST).

‘The trial will be vacated and the jury commissioner will get words to those who were summoned that they won’t be required to attend,’ Hippler added.

Documents in the court file won´t be unsealed until after sentencing. 

Kohberger remained unemotional as he confirmed to the judge that he stabbed the four victims almost three years ago.

Hippler addressed Kohberger, wearing a gray shirt and dark tie, directly to explain the possible penalties to the crime that he is set to plead guilty to.

Kohberger confirmed to the judge that he was pleading guilty’ freely and voluntarily’ because he was, in fact, guilty, and not because he had some other incentive.

The families of his victims maintained stoic expressions across the courtroom from Kohberger as he gave his short, affirmative answers to the judge.

Hippler wasted no time to address the controversy around the decision to offer Kohberger a plea to avoid the death penalty – a decision that one victim’s family has vehemently opposed.

‘This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to do that,’ Hippler said.

He also addressed criticisms that the families were not given time to weigh in on the plea deal.

‘I, like everyone else, learned of this plea agreement Monday afternoon and had no inkling of it beforehand. Once I learned of the defendant’s decision to change his plea in this case it was important that I take the plea as soon as possible.’

Hippler said his court received numerous emails and phone messages ahead of the hearing, during which the judge could accept or reject the plea agreement.

He said the efforts by members of the public were inappropriate and also said that no external opinions would influence his decision.

‘Court is not supposed to, and this court will never, take into account public sentiment in making an opinion regarding its judicial decisions in cases. I always will make decisions based on where the facts and the law lead me, period,’ the judge said.

Kohberger watched without reaction as the judge issued his warning.

They waited with somber, quiet expressions.

At least 100 people were in attendance in the courtroom, and nearly 12,000 people tuned in to watch a livestream of the proceeding.

The accused killer spoke intently with his lead attorney Anne Taylor for a few moments before he was led out of court and back to jail.

Noticeably, Kohberger was not handcuffed or shackled for the hearing.

STATE DETAILS KOHBERGER’S HORRIFIC CRIME

Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and burglary charges in a gruesome multiple homicide in 2022, but on Wednesday accepted the state’s plea deal.

He looked on coldly as Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson laid out a detailed timeline of what took place inside off-campus house shared by five women.

Thompson confirmed that Kohberger went up to the third floor of the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, killing Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.

Xana Kernodle was still up at that time and, as Kohberger was coming down the stairs or leaving, he encountered her.

He killed her and then her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, who was sleeping in her bed. Kohberger stared expressionlessly as he listened to Thompson.

Thompson choked up as he finished his comments, laying out the timeline for the murders.

He said that Bryan Kohberger intended to kill – but did not intend to murder all the victims – before entering the home.

VICTIMS’ FAMILIES BREAK DOWN IN COURT

The victims’ family members were seen choking back emotion as the judge asked Bryan Kohberger whether he murdered each of their loved ones.

Madison Mogen’s father Ben Mogen hung his head and his legs shook as the judge asked Kohberger if he admitted to stabbing his daughter to death.

He wiped his eyes with a hanky after his daughter’s killer pleaded guilty to the heinous crime.

Kaylee Goncalves’ mother Kristi Goncalves, who was flanked by several family members, cried as the judge asked Kohberger if he had murdered her daughter and Kohberger replied in the affirmative.

Bryan Kohberger showed no emotion as he confirmed he was ‘guilty’ on all charges. He did not appear to look at the public gallery at all – where the families of the loved ones he slaughtered sat wiping their eyes and choking back tears.

GONCALVES FAMILY LASHES OUT AT PLEA DEAL OUTSIDE OF COURT

Kaylee Goncalves’ heartbroken father, Steve, said the plea deal tabled ahead of Kohberger’s trial would not serve justice to his family.

‘They (prosecutors) made a deal with Kohberger. He was the only person who was considered,’ Steve Goncalves told reporters outside the courthouse on Wednesday.

‘He didn’t even negotiate with us. He could have just pretended and lied, but he didn’t even pretend.’

Goncalves said his daughter’s accused killer needs to admit that ‘he did it on his own and nobody else was responsible’ so he would no longer have ‘supporters’.

‘He’s not going to take accountability,’ the anguished father added.

When asked whether he thought four life sentences was justice, Goncalves said: ‘No, of course not.’

Reporters asked Goncalves what he thought about the families of some other victims feeling relief over news of the plea deal.

‘Well, that’s good enough for their kids, doesn’t mean it’s good enough for mine,’ he said.

GUILTY PLEA CAME AFTER FAILED EFFORTS TO STRIKE DEATH PENALTY

Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys had done what they could to spare his life.

They tried to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the quadruple murder on an array of grounds – that it would violate standards of decency or flout international law, that prosecutors had failed to provide evidence properly, that their client’s autism diagnosis reduced any possible culpability.

They challenged the legitimacy of DNA evidence and sought permission to suggest to a jury that someone else committed the crime.

None of it worked. And with Kohberger’s quadruple-murder trial set to begin next month, they turned to a final option: a plea deal to avoid execution.

KOHBERGER FAMILY BREAKS SILENCE 

The Kohberger family has issued a statement ahead of Bryan Kohberger’s plea hearing today.

The family, in a statement published by NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin, said: ‘In light of recent developments, the Kohbergers are asking members of the media for privacy, respect, and responsible judgment during this time.

‘We will continue to allow the legal process to unfold with respect to all parties and will not release any comments or take any questions.

‘We ask that you respect our wishes during a difficult time for all those affected.’

This is the first ever comment the family has made since the one statement issued when he was first arrested.

Daily Mail Crime Correspondent Rachel Sharp went to Kohberger’s parents’ residence in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania on Monday but no one was home.

It’s unclear if the family had already been informed about the plea deal and were already on their way to Boise. They did appear in court on Wednesday.

FAMILIES DIVIDED OVER PLEA DEAL

The bombshell plea deal came in the 11th hour – coming just over a month before Bryan Kohberger was due to go on trial in August.

And it has divided the families of the victims Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin.

On the one hand, the families of Goncalves and Kernodle have publicly slammed the agreement reached between prosecutors and Kohberger.

The Goncalves family blasted the prosecutor’s office for making ‘a deal with the devil’, spoke of their sense of betrayal by the state of Idaho and revealed plans to stage a protest outside the courthouse today.

Kernodle’s aunt Kim Kernodle similarly told TMZ that the family had vehemently opposed the deal when it was suggested by prosecutors – and voiced her confusion given the state had previously told them they had enough for a conviction.

Although the Goncalves family opposed the agreement and said they would seek to stop it, they also argued that any such deal should require Kohberger to make a full confession, detail the facts of what happened and provide the location of the murder weapon.

‘We deserve to know when the beginning of the end was,’ they wrote in a Facebook post.

Steve Goncalves, left the courthouse before Kohberger entered the courtroom. ‘I´m just getting out of this zoo,’ he told reporters.

On the other hand, family members of Chapin and Mogen have voiced their support for the deal that would put Kohberger behind bars for life.

The family of Chapin – one of three triplets who attended the university together – supports the deal, their spokesperson, Christina Teves, said Tuesday.

Attorney Leander James read a statement from Mogen´s mother and stepfather after the guilty pleas that said they supported the agreement with the prosecutors.

‘While we know there are some who do not support it, we ask that they respect our belief that this is the best outcome for the victims, their families and the state of Idaho,’ the family said.

‘We now embark on a new path,’ they said. ‘We embark on a path of hope and healing.’

The 21-year-old’s father Ben Mogen previously told the Idaho Statesman that he supports the deal because it ‘punishes the perpetrator of this horrendous crime, protects the public from further harm and allows all of us who knew and loved these four young people the time to grieve without the anxiety of the long and gruesome trial, years of appeals and potential for mistrials along the way.’

PROSECUTOR BREAKS DOWN IN COURT

The prosecutor who handed Bryan Kohberger a plea deal to allow him to avoid the death penalty broke down in court Wednesday as he read the victim’s names. 

Bill Thompson choked up as he laid out the timeline of the shocking murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022 at the hearing on Wednesday. 

‘On November 13, 2022, excuse me…,’ Thompson said, growing emotional as he reached for a sip of water and a colleague patted him on the back. 

He then broke down again as he read the names of Kohberger’s victims, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21.

FAMILIES SOB AS KOHBERGER REMAINS STOIC

As his victims’ loved ones sobbed in the courtroom, Bryan Kohberger showed no emotion and stared ahead. 

He stared intently at the judge – and then the prosecutor – as they spoke about his horrific crimes and the senseless violence that he inflicted upon the four young students. 

Madison Mogen’s father Ben Mogen hung his head and his legs shook as the judge asked Kohberger if he admitted to stabbing his daughter to death.

Kaylee Goncalves’ mother Kristi Goncalves, who was flanked by several family members, cried as the judge asked Kohberger if he had murdered her daughter and Kohberger replied in the affirmative.

The Goncalves family previously vented their fury at Thompson after he offered Kohberger the plea deal that spared him the death penalty. 

They declared on Facebook that the State of Idaho ‘failed us’ as they hit out at prosecutors for failing to notify them that a plea deal was going through.

‘We weren’t even called about the plea; we received an email with a letter attached,’ family members said in a statement. ‘That’s how Latah County’s Prosecutor’s Office treats murder victims’ families.

‘Adding insult to injury, they’re rushing the plea, giving families just one day to coordinate and appear at the courthouse for a plea on July 2.’

GRUSOME CASE THAT SHOCKED THE NATION

The Idaho college killings grabbed headlines around the world and set off a nationwide hunt, including an elaborate effort to track down a white sedan spotted on surveillance cameras repeatedly driving by the rental home. 

Police said they used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect and accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings.

At the time, Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University who had just completed his first semester and was a teaching assistant in the criminology program.

Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, weeks later. 

Prosecuting attorney Bill Thompson said investigators recovered a Q-tip from the garbage at his parents’ house to match Kohberger’s DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.

Online shopping records showed that Kohberger had purchased a military-style knife months earlier – as well as a sheath like the one found at the scene.

The county prosecutor said the murder weapon has not been found and revealed new details about how Kohberger tried to cover up the killings.

Kohberger bought another knife sheath to replace the one he left at the crime scene and scrubbed his apartment and office, Thompson said. His car had been ‘pretty much disassembled’ and he changed his car registration, Thompson said.

‘The defendant has studied crime,’ Thompson said. ‘In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his Ph.D., and he had that knowledge skill set.’

No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home. 

There also was no indication he had a relationship with any of the victims, who all were friends and members of the university’s Greek system.

Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video show that Kohberger visited the victims’ neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings, and that he traveled in the same area that night.

Kohberger’s lawyers said he was simply on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed.