Bryan Kohberger Declines to Explain Motive Before Sentencing: ‘I Respectfully Decline’

Convicted of killing four University of Idaho students, Kohberger received four life sentences without parole

Moments before learning his fate, Bryan Kohberger was offered one last chance to explain why he murdered four college students in November 2022.

He declined.

“I respectfully decline,” Kohberger, 30, said quietly when asked if he had anything to say at his sentencing hearing Wednesday in Boise, Idaho.

Kohberger, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to avoid the death penalty, was sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison — without the possibility of parole or appeal — for the brutal stabbings of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.

The former criminology Ph.D. student offered no explanation and showed no emotion. As he left the courtroom, he ignored his mother, Maryann, and his sister, Amanda.

Though Kohberger remained silent, those who lost loved ones did not.

Family members and friends of the victims delivered powerful, emotional impact statements. Judge Steven Hippler called Kohberger “the worst of the worst,” describing the murders as “an unfathomable, senseless act of evil” and “the greatest tragedy that can be inflicted upon a person.”

The judge said he had hoped to hear why Kohberger committed the crime but acknowledged that any explanation from him would likely be unreliable and could risk granting him undue attention.

Kohberger was convicted of entering an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022, and fatally stabbing the four students as they slept. The killings shocked the nation and led to a months-long investigation that culminated in his arrest in December 2022.

With no parole, no appeals, and no death penalty, Kohberger will spend the rest of his life in prison — without ever revealing why he did it.