Families speak of grief as court hears how DNA and video footage helped link Bryan Kohberger to crimes
Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for the murders of four University of Idaho students, a crime that shocked the quiet college town of Moscow nearly three years ago.
Judge Steven Hippler ordered Kohberger to serve four life sentences without parole for four counts of first-degree murder in the brutal stabbing deaths. He was also given a 10-year sentence for burglary and assessed $270,000 in fines and civil penalties.
At the time of the killings, Kohberger was pursuing graduate studies in criminology at Washington State University, located just across the state line. Prosecutors say he entered the students’ rental house through a sliding kitchen door and murdered the four victims, with no apparent personal connection to any of them.
The case initially baffled investigators. With no suspects, fear spread quickly across the community. Many students from both Washington State and the University of Idaho opted to leave town mid-semester, shifting to remote classes amid growing anxiety about a killer still at large.
