Overview

• On July 2 Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and burglary to avoid the death penalty, receiving four consecutive life sentences plus ten years without parole.
• Officials published his signed confession last week under the plea deal, detailing how he carried out the November 2022 knife attack on University of Idaho students.
• Families of the victims have expressed anger over the removal of capital charges and called the sentence insufficient given the brutality of the stabbings.
• Prison experts warn he is likely to face violent retaliation upon entering the general population despite potential protective custody measures.
• Investigators uncovered Kohberger’s DNA on a Ka-Bar knife sheath at the scene, but his motive remains unexplained.