The family of one of the victims of Bryan Kohberger has filed a public statement after it emerged that he is challenging his conviction for the murders of four students in Idaho.
Kohberger was sentenced last year to four consecutive life terms after pleading guilty to murder in the November 2022 killings at an off‑campus house in Moscow, Idaho.
During a recent interview with the New York Times, he said he was retracting his plea, claiming it was secured on "false promises and blatant disinformation" and that prosecutors might still pursue a death‑penalty case if they wish.
The Goncalves family—a mother of one of the slain students—called Kohberger a “narcissist” and accused him of shifting his position after the verdict.
They added that 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 had reviewed for two years that should have been challenged."
The family said the real tragedy is that Kohberger’s new legal moves are stealing focus from the victims and their loss.
Kohberger, a doctoral student in criminology at Washington State University, had no known motive for attacking the housemates Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. Investigators couldn't link him to the victims, though evidence placed him at the scene.
In stating he now intends to enter a "not‑guilty" plea, Kohberger protested his innocence and warned prosecutors they could opt for the death penalty if desired.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador addressed the families, acknowledging their unimaginable loss and promising the state would continue to pursue justice fully.
