OAN Staff Abril Elfi
1:34 PM – Tuesday, July 1, 2025
The families of the victims of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger are divided emotionally in regard to their opinions on the suspect’s recent plea deal, which dropped Kohberger’s chance of receiving the death penalty.
Four college students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 were murdered in the girls’ off-campus house on November 13, 2022.
Aubrie, Goncalves’ 18-year-old sister, stated on Monday that she refuses to remain silent, and that her family had greatly supported the death penalty in this case. She also expressed that she was unable to attend the family’s meeting with prosecutors in person to present her case.
Aubrie described what the victims’ families have been going through since the murders as “beyond comprehension,” citing delays and the shifting of proceedings that made it extremely difficult for loved ones to attend.
She also asserted that the U.S. justice system has imposed “heavy burdens” on those who are already “carrying unimaginable grief,” but that they have all tried to cling on to hope as much as possible.
“We’ve believed in the process. We’ve had faith in the system. But at this point, it is impossible not to acknowledge the truth: the system has failed these four innocent victims and their families,” Aubrie wrote on the family’s Facebook page.
“These are not just names or headlines. Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, and Xana Kernodle were beautiful human beings who touched countless lives,” she continued. “They are not just ‘The Idaho Four.’ They were sons, daughters, siblings, and friends—real people with real dreams. They deserve to be remembered for who they were in life, not only for the tragedy of their deaths. But before that can truly happen, they deserve justice. Nothing less.”
Aubrie emphasized that the introduction of the plea deal, weeks before the scheduled trial, is “both shocking and cruel,” noting that the families needed more time to “process, discuss and potentially come to terms with the idea of a life sentence” if it had come sooner.
“Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world,” she said. “Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims’ pasts.”
She continued, expressing that she had believed the justice system “was created to serve and protect—not to retraumatize grieving families,” adding “time and time again, we find ourselves blindsided, unheard, and unsupported.”
“This last-minute plea deal feels less like an act of justice and more like an afterthought,” she said. “We are not asking for vengeance. We are asking for accountability. We are asking for dignity for our loved ones. And we are asking—pleading—for a justice system that truly lives up to its name.”
In another post, the family stated that they had contacted prosecutors on Friday about the prospect of a plea deal, but received a “hard no” from them. They also claimed that the majority of the discourse was about the approaching trial, and nothing prepared them for the next stages.
They said they received an email Sunday night that left them “scrambling” and they “immediately jumped into panic mode and started making phone calls and sending emails.”
The family met with the prosecutors again on Monday to underline their support for Kohberger’s death sentence.
However, “unfortunately all of our efforts did not matter,” the family said. “We DID OUR BEST! We fought harder than anyone could EVER imagine.”
However, Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, said that he was relieved to receive a letter.
“If you get that quick death sentence, you don’t have to spend decades thinking about how terrible you made the world,” Mogen said.
“We can actually put this behind us and not have these future dates and future things that we don’t want to have to be at, that we shouldn’t have to be at, that have to do with this terrible person,” he said. “We get to just think about the rest of our lives and have to try and figure out how to do it without Maddie and the rest of the kids.”
On Monday, Kohberger accepted a plea deal in exchange for Idaho prosecutors to drop the death penalty. The suspected killer must also admit a burglary charge stemming from the same incident, and he must agree to spend the rest of his life in prison — without the possibility of parole.
Jury selection for the trial was set to start on August 1st and opening arguments were scheduled to begin on August 18th.
Prosecutors now anticipate the sentencing to take place in late July. Kohberger will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count, according to the plea agreement.
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