Bryan Kohberger. Credit :
KYLE GREEN/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock
- Bryan Kohberger was offered the chance to explain his motive before he was sentenced in the Nov. 2022 quadruple murder case
- Kohberger declined to offer an explanation and ignored his family as he left the courtroom
- The 30-year-old convicted murderer was sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison on Wednesday without the possibility of parole or the chance to appeal his conviction
An Idaho judge gave Bryan Kohberger one last chance to explain himself minutes before he was read his sentence for killing four college students in November 2022.
Stone-faced, Kohberger mustered three words: “I respectfully decline.”
The 30-year-old convicted murder has never explained what led him to kill four University of Idaho students that night and refused to do so again when given the chance Wednesday.
Minutes after declining to provide insight into his motive, Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life imprisonment terms without the possibility of parole for the killings of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
The former criminology student-turned-cold blooded killer also ignored his mother Maryann and sister Amanda as he exited the courtroom.
Dylan Mortensen comforted after speaking at Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing hearing. Kyle Green-Pool/Getty
Although Kohberger refused to speak, plenty was said to him on Wednesday.
Family members and friends provided devastating victim impact statements, while Judge Steven Hippler dubbed Kohberger “the worst of the worst” without any redeeming qualities, calling his actions that November night in 2022 an “unfathomable, senseless act of evil” and “the greatest tragedy that can be inflicted upon a person.”
Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. Courtesy of Chapin Family; Maddie Mogen/Instagram; Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram; Xana Kernodle/Instagram
The judge admitted he was interested in hearing Kohberger explain why he killed the four students inside their rented, off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
Kohberger could choose to tell his story from prison in the coming years but, Judge Hippler added, focusing too much on Kohberger’s motive would simply give the murderer more power — and the reliability of his statements would be suspect at best, anyway.
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Kohberger pleaded guilty to the four murders earlier this month — a move that helped him avoid the death penalty. As part of his sentencing, Kohberger will not have the opportunity to appeal his conviction.
