BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Judge Steven Hippler, of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District, on Wednesday sentenced the man who fatally stabbed four University of Idaho students to the maximum possible penalty — four consecutive life sentences — on four counts of first-degree murder. He will have no chance of parole or ability to appeal.

“This unfathomable and senseless act of evil has caused immeasurable pain and loss,” Hippler read in prepared remarks through emotions. “No parent should ever have to bury their child. This is the greatest tragedy that can be inflicted on a person.”

The victims were U of I seniors Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, junior Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Kohberger, now 30, invaded an off-campus home in Moscow in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, and fatally stabbed the four college students in November 2022. Kohberger pleaded guilty to the crimes earlier this month after the prosecution offered him a plea deal — convictions for all counts, and life in prison with no chance of parole, in exchange for not facing the death penalty as an option at trial.

Wednesday’s hearing marks the closure of a more than two and a half years of a criminal case that shocked the college town of fewer than 30,000 people, which hadn’t seen a homicide since 2015. The three women — Goncalves, Mogen and Kernodle — lived with two other female roommates, who went unharmed during the attack. Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend and spent the night.

Kohberger, wearing a white T-shirt beneath an orange jail jumpsuit and shackles, sat nearly motionless throughout the hearing, seated with his public defense team.

“During the quiet morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, a faceless coward reached the tranquility of six beautiful young people and senselessly slaughtered four of them,” Hippler said. “Who committed this unspeakable evil was unknown for several weeks, but due to the killer’s incompetence and outstanding police work by numerous local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, the person that slithered through that sliding glass door at 1122 King Road now stands before the world and this court unmasked.”

Each of the families provided victim impact statements, and for the first time, the two unharmed roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, spoke publicly about the home invasion. They described the trauma they’ve endured of losing their close friends, incurring survivor’s guilt, and feeling terrified of being Kohberger’s next victims.

Mortensen glimpsed Kohberger during his time in the house and cried as she read her statement. With her voice shaking, she said she spoke to seek justice for her friends. Mortensen was 19 when Kohberger broke into their home and killed her friends. She said she should have been learning who she was, and instead was forced to learn how to survive “the unimaginable.”

“What he did shattered me in places I did not know could break,” Mortensen said.

But they, and the victims’ families, were left without some answers.

Kohberger declined to offer a statement, shedding no light on the reasons for his actions. And police and prosecutors said again on Wednesday that they still don’t know his motivations behind the attack, or any connection between Kohberger and the women he targeted that night.

“I am unable to come up with anything redeeming about Mr. Kohberger,” Hippler said. “His actions have made him the worst of the worst.”

The judge expressed his awe and gratitude to the surviving roommates and the victims’ families for sharing their stories. He said their pain, particularly in front of the media spotlight on the case, is unknowable. Hippler said that, like many others, he wished to know why Kohberger killed the four students.

“But upon reflection, it seems to me — and this is just my own opinion — that by continuing to focus on why, we continue to give Mr. Kohberger relevance,” Hippler said. “We give him agency and we give him power.

“Even if I could force him to speak, which legally I cannot, how could anyone ever be assured that what he speaks is the truth?” Hippler added.

The judge then said that, unlike some other Idaho judges who try to find a positive attribute in every person they sentence, he was unable to find a sliver of good in Kohberger.

“Truth be told, I’m unable to come up with anything redeeming about Mr. Kohberger, because his grotesque acts of evil have buried and hidden anything that might have been good or intrinsically human about him,” Hippler said, calling the 30-year-old “the worst of the worst.”

Hippler noted that Kohberger has not appeared to hint at remorse or regret for the killings.

On top of Kohberger’s four consecutive life sentences, plus another 10 years for the burglary, Hippler also ordered Kohberger to pay $270,000 total in fines — a $50,000 fine for each of the five counts a $5,000 civil penalty to be paid to each of the families of the murdered students.

Victims’ families express anger, forgiveness, grief

Kohberger’s decision to remain silent prompted comments of “coward” and “surprise, surprise” from people sitting in the courtroom. The Goncalves family said they wanted vengeance. The members arrived with victim impact statements with personal jabs at Kohberger that poked fun at his graduate school education, his eyebrows and mannerisms, and his ability to pull off the crimes.

Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee’s mother, offered her own brief statement that largely matched the tone of her husband and daughter’s.

“I no longer recognize parts of myself. Joy is harder to find. Laughter feels foreign,” she said. “The grief sits with me every day, some days quietly, and other days it drowns out everything else.”

Speaking directly to Kohberger, Kristi Goncalves said she “never imagined having to speak to someone so devoid of humanity” and noted her disappointment that Kohberger would not face the firing squad after agreeing to the plea deal, which took the death penalty off of the table in the case.

Kristi Goncalves told Kohberger she expected he would be treated poorly by other prisoners while he’s incarcerated and alluded multiple times to possible sexual assault.

“May you continue to live your life in misery,” she said. “You are officially the property of the state of Idaho, where your fellow inmates are anxiously awaiting your arrival.”

Other family members struck a different tone. Kim Kernodle, Xana’s aunt, spoke about losing her niece, echoing that she was the “fun, loving, high-spirited” woman portrayed by her friends. She said she wants to let go of her hate and addressed Kohberger, and encouraged him to reach out to her if he wants to talk about his actions.

“I no longer could live with that hate in my heart, and for me to become a better person, I have forgiven you,” she told him as her voice shook. “Any time you want to talk and tell me what happened, I’m here. I’ll be that one that’ll listen to you, OK?”

Xana’s uncle, Stratton Kernodle, expressed sadness for Kohberger’s family and the impact his actions have had on them.

Xana’s mother, Cara Northington, closed out the victim impact statements as she read tearfully from her phone.

“This letter is to you, really, but it’s for my daughter, who was murdered by you,” she told Kohberger. “Jesus has allowed me to forgive you for murdering my daughter without you even being sorry or asking for this.”

Ben Mogen, Maddie’s father, spoke quietly through tears about the love he and his daughter shared for music and concerts. Ben Mogen said he envisioned much more time together with his daughter, who had completed the credits to earn her degree from the U of I.

As Ben Mogen spoke, deputy attorneys general Madison Allen and Jeff Nye wiped away tears.

“I love you, Maddie, and I wish you were still here,” he concluded.

Prosecutor explains plea deal

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson on Wednesday took time to explain how the prosecution arrived at its plea deal before proposing the state’s requested sentences. He had told victims’ families that an agreement with the defense could be an option. Prosecutors agreed that they would only agree to a plea deal if it came with a guilty plea to all charges, he said.

He said his team was prepared to go to trial before Kohberger’s defense asked for a deal, and noted that not all of the victims’ families agreed with the outcome.

“I recognize and acknowledge, personally, and I respect the fact that of these fine suffering people here, not everybody agreed with the decision we make,” Thompson said. “I accept that it’s my responsibility.”

Thompson asked for a fixed life sentence for each of the four victims and displayed a photo of each. As he spoke, Mortensen could be heard sobbing from the gallery.

“We can’t undo, and we can never undo, the horror of what occurred on the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, at 1122 King Street in Moscow, Idaho,” Thompson said.

He noted that Kohberger’s life sentence would be a sentence to die in prison.

“He’s going to stand up in the belly chains and leg irons that he’s wearing today, and he’s going to be escorted into the custody of the Idaho Department of Correction, and the door will close behind him forever,” Thompson said. ”That is the closure that we see that all of these people, these loving friends and family, deserve so we can move forward.”

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