(NewsNation) — NewsNation has learned a plea deal has been offered to Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, and he has accepted.
Sources confirm the prosecution has proposed dropping the death penalty in exchange for Kohberger pleading guilty to committing the murders and to a burglary charge.
NewsNation has learned Kohberger must also agree to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole and must waive his right to appeal.
A court hearing for a change of plea will be Wednesday.
Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at Washington State University, faces murder charges for the deaths of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin, who were killed at an off-campus house near the University of Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022. He had pleaded not guilty.
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In a statement on social media, the family of Goncalves said, “It’s true! We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support. #heartbroken #kayleejade4ever”
A family member of one victim told NewsNation that upon hearing of the plea deal, she felt like “all the power had been given back to Kohberger.”
Many families of the victims had planned on living in Boise, Idaho, for the duration of the trial.
Family members tell NewsNation they had no indication of a plea deal being offered and say they are shocked and have more questions, including whether Kohberger will confess to the killings.
Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at Washington State University, faces murder charges for the deaths of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin, who were killed at an off-campus house near the University of Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022. He had pleaded not guilty.
Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at Washington State University, faces murder charges for the deaths of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin, who were killed at an off-campus house near the University of Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022. He had pleaded not guilty.
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The students were found with fatal stab wounds in an off-campus rental home in the early morning hours.
Investigators believe the four students, thought to be sleeping at the time, were fatally stabbed between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. According to the coroner, there was no sign of sexual assault.
A little over a month after the killings, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania on Dec. 30, 2022, and extradited to Idaho.
Kaylee Goncalves
This July 2022 photo provided by Jazzmin Kernodle shows University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, right, and Ethan Chapin on a boat on Priest Lake, in Idaho. Both students were among four found stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home on Nov. 13. (Jazzmin Kernodle via AP)
(@kayleegoncalves Instagram)
In this photo provided by Stacy Chapin, Ethan Chapin surfs on Priest Lake in northern Idaho in this family snapshot from July 2022. Chapin was one of four University of Idaho students found stabbed to death in a home near the Moscow, Idaho campus on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. Police are still searching for a suspect in the case. (Stacy Chapin via AP)
Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial dedication: Maddie May Mogen memorial plaque at the University of Idaho on Aug. 21, 2024. (Credit: University of Idaho)
Bryan Kohberger, left, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, looks toward his attorney, public defender Anne Taylor, right, during a hearing in Latah County District Court, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool)
Police released video of a traffic stop involving a man charged in connection with a quadruple murder in Idaho. (Hancock County Sheriff)
FILE – Boise State University students, along with people who knew the four University of Idaho students who were found killed in Moscow, Idaho, days earlier, pay their respects at a vigil held in front of a statue on the Boise State campus, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, in Boise, Idaho. The arrest of Bryan Christopher Kohberger in the Nov. 13, 2022 fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students has brought relief to the small college town of Moscow, Idaho.(Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman via AP, File)
Candles and flowers are left at a make-shift memorial honoring four slain University of Idaho students outside the Mad Greek restaurant in downtown Moscow, Idaho, on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Police discovered the bodies of the four students at home near campus on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, and said the killer or killers used a knife or bladed weapon in the targeted attack. Two of the victims, 21-year-old Madison Mogen and 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, were servers at Mad Greek. (AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios)
Heavy equipment works to demolish the final pieces of the foundation of the house where four University of Idaho students were killed in 2022 on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were fatally stabbed there in November 2022. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Court records showed that investigators identified Kohberger as the suspect through a combination of DNA evidence at the scene, cellphone records and the suspect’s white Hyundai Elantra.
A judge had granted a venue change for the murder trial from the small town of Moscow, Idaho, arguing the small local jury pool was likely tainted by pretrial publicity, after a request from Kohberger’s attorneys.
Latah County Judge John Judge also agreed with Kohberger’s lawyer on the massive publicity of the case making it difficult to find impartial jurors in Latah County.
A trial date was initially set for October 2023, but after Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial, it was pushed back until the summer of 2025.
Kohberger’s attorneys had tried to delay the trial, citing 68 terabytes of evidence to review.
The trial was scheduled to begin in August, with opening arguments expected Aug. 18.
