Bryan Kohberger to face victims' families on Wednesday, July 23. Here's what to know.
The hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m. Mountain Time on Wednesday, July 23, at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho.
Bryan Kohberger, the former criminology graduate student who pleaded guilty to charges of stabbing four Idaho college students to death in 2022, is expected to face his victims' families and be handed multiple life prison terms in a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, July 23.
The hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m. Mountain Time at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho. The court set aside a whole day for the hearing, which is also expected to include impact statements from the families and other loved ones of the victims, a process which could stretch the hearing into a second day depending on how many people speak.
The public will be able to watch Kohberger's sentencing in person at the Ada County Courthouse and via livestream, according to the court's website.
Kohberger's plea deal divided family members, with some supportive of the deal and others believing the case should have gone to trial. The plea was revealed at the end of June, just weeks before Kohberger's murder trial was set to begin in August.
Who is Bryan Kohberger?
Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty on July 2 to the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, who were found stabbed to death in their rental home near the University of Idaho campus in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger's plea was part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid a possible death penalty, and will carry four consecutive life sentences for the murders plus 10 years for burglary.
The murders rocked the town of Moscow, setting the community on edge as investigators searched for weeks for a suspect before finally arresting Kohberger on Dec. 30 in Pennsylvania where his family lives. Prosecutors said Kohberger was linked to the crimes using DNA evidence found on a knife sheath near one of the victims' bodies, along with cell phone data and surveillance footage of his car's movements.
Still a mystery is the motive for the murders. President Donald Trump this week called for the judge to require Kohberger to explain his actions at the sentencing, though the terms of his plea deal do not require that he provide a motive. Kohberger will be given the opportunity to speak during sentencing.