Bryan Kohberger frequently clashed with his fellow doctoral candidates in the criminology program at Washington State University, particularly when it came to debates about crime and punishment.
According to newly unsealed interviews released by the Idaho State Police and obtained by PEOPLE, one of the most heated disagreements centered on the death penalty. Kohberger strongly supported it, while every other member of his class opposed it.
During one class discussion, he pressed the issue by asking a classmate to imagine if her daughter had been the victim of a horrific crime.
Detective Michael Van Leuven wrote in his interview summary that Kohberger asked the woman if she would support capital punishment “if her 12-year-old daughter was raped and murdered.”
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The woman, recalling the interaction, said she felt singled out and harassed. She told investigators that Kohberger would often corner her at her desk and overwhelm her in conversation, leaving her in tears.
She also said she saw Kohberger “being rude to a deaf student” and later heard him question whether the student should feel “comfortable procreating given the fact that she had a disability.” When she confronted him about his treatment of female classmates and the deaf student, Kohberger dismissed her concerns, saying: “I care how you feel but you are wrong.”
Another doctoral candidate confirmed to investigators that Kohberger had argued in class that “the victim’s family should have a say as to whether or not the death penalty is imposed.”
Ironically, three years later, Kohberger avoided the very punishment he once advocated. By agreeing to a plea deal, the convicted murderer ensured that he would not face the death penalty.
A few weeks before jury selection was scheduled, Kohberger signed a document admitting responsibility for the killings of four University of Idaho students. In the statement, he acknowledged that their deaths were “willful, unlawful, deliberate, with premeditation and with malice aforethought.”
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On July 2, in Ada County District Court, Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. In exchange for his confession, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty. He was sentenced to four life terms in prison.
That decision outraged some of the victims’ families, especially those of Kaylee Goncalves.
Her mother, Kristi Goncalves, wrote shortly after the plea deal was announced: “I am sorry if you don’t agree with our recent decisions on the plea deal. BK literally is too afraid to die, but he wasn’t afraid to kill. BK wanted a plea deal and he was given one.”
She added: “Kaylee wasn’t offered a plea deal. The state is showing BK mercy by removing the death penalty. BK did not show Kaylee ANY mercy.”
Her husband, Steve Goncalves, expressed his anger as well, saying: “We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us.”
