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Trump Presses Idaho Judge to Demand Killer’s Motive as Kohberger Faces Life Sentencing

Victims’ families will deliver impact statements Wednesday at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise before Judge Steven Hippler imposes four life sentences plus a 10-year term on a defendant who has refused to explain his motive.

Bryan Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, appears at the Ada County Courthouse, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho.
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Overview

  • President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Monday urging Judge Steven Hippler to require Kohberger to explain his motive before sentencing.
  • Kohberger will face a hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise where he is expected to receive four consecutive life sentences without parole plus a 10-year burglary term under his plea deal.
  • Family members of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin will deliver victim impact statements, reflecting divisions over whether the plea agreement appropriately balances accountability and closure.
  • Kohberger pleaded guilty on July 2 to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, waiving his right to appeal in exchange for a deal that spared him the death penalty.
  • Investigators linked Kohberger to the Nov. 13, 2022, slayings through DNA recovered from a knife sheath, cellphone location data and surveillance footage, but no motive has been offered.