Bryan Kohberger has admitted murdering four University of Idaho students in a plea deal which rules out the possibility of him receiving the death penalty.
The stabbing of the four students in their rental home near the college campus in 2022 shocked the US and triggered a weeks-long nationwide hunt, which ended with the arrest of the 30-year-old criminal justice graduate in Pennsylvania.
His guilty plea and decision to waive his right to appeal means he faces four consecutive life sentences for first-degree murder and a further 10 years for burglary, without the possibility of parole.
At the hearing in Ada County, Idaho, Judge Steven Hippler said he would not take into account public opinion on considering whether to accept the plea deal.
“This court cannot require the prosecutor to seek the death penalty, nor would it be appropriate for this court to do that,” he said. “This court cannot force the state to seek the death penalty.”
Victims likely to have been attacked while asleep
The killing of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen in Moscow, Idaho, devastated the small college town, which had not seen a murder for five years.
According to the autopsies, all four victims were likely to have been asleep when they were attacked.
They were all stabbed several times, with some having defensive wounds sustained as they tried to fight off the killer.
It is believed they were killed at around 4am on Nov 13 2022, with their bodies being found later that morning by two other students living in the house.
The killings initially baffled investigators, with the only clue being a white saloon car, which was caught on surveillance cameras repeatedly driving around the house.
Mr Kohberger was identified as a potential suspect with the use of genetic genealogy.
Mobile phone records also put him at the scene. His DNA was also found on a knife sheath found at the scene.
If Judge Hippler accepts the plea deal, sentencing is likely to take place within weeks.
The agreement dismayed the family of Kaylee Goncalves, who said it had been failed by Idaho prosecutors.