Former student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to stabbing to death four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors.

Kohberger, 30, was pursuing a doctoral degree in criminal justice at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, about 8 miles (13 km) across the border from Moscow, Idaho, where the four victims attended the University of Idaho.

In a case that drew national attention, Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

The three young women, who had been room-mates, and a young man, who was the boyfriend of one of the women, were fatally stabbed in an off-campus house where the women lived on November 13, 2022.

Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the victims, confirmed that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that his clients were upset about it.

“We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho,” Goncalves’ family wrote in a Facebook post. “They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.”

Citing a letter from prosecutors to victims’ families, ABC News said Kohberger agreed to four consecutive life sentences and has waived his right to appeal.