Trump weighs in on Kohberger plea deal, pushes for motive explanation
Jul 22, 2025, 8:28 AM
President Donald Trump reflected on Bryan Kohberger’s plea bargain deal, demanding that the judge push Kohberger to detail his motive behind brutally killing four University of Idaho students.
Kohberger pleaded guilty to killing Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, and Madison Mogen, for what Trump labeled as “vicious murders” of “four wonderful young souls,” in a post on Truth Social.
Trump calls for Bryan Kohberger’s motive in Idaho murders
Kohberger avoided a potential death penalty sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the murders of four University of Idaho students at a rental home near the campus in 2022.
Kohberger admitted to breaking into the students’ rental home through a sliding door, stabbing and killing four students he had no prior connection to.
Prosecutors in the case explained that Kohberger had spent months carefully planning his attack, and his background as a criminal justice graduate at Washington State University aided in his attempt to cover up the murders.
Kohberger is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, and is expected to serve four life sentences in prison with no possibility of parole.
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