Idaho murder victim's sister slams Bryan Kohberger plea deal as 'cruel'

The younger sister of one of the Idaho murdervictims has branded Bryan Kohberger’s shock plea deal “cruel” and “shocking,” after learning the accused killer may avoid the death penalty.

Aubrie Goncalves, 18, shared a heartbreaking statement on Facebook begging for Kohberger to face a jury for the 2022 murdersof four University of Idaho students - including her sister, Kaylee. Kohberger, 30, has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence without parole - a bombshell move announced on Monday. He is charged with stabbing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin to death at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.

Kaylee’s family say they were blindsided by the deal and only learned of it via email hours before the announcement. “What the families of Ethan, Kaylee, Maddie, and Xana have endured over the past two and a half years is beyond comprehension,” Aubrie wrote.

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She said the plea deal, announced just weeks before the scheduled August trial, has left them devastated: “The introduction of this plea deal, just weeks before the scheduled trial, is both shocking and cruel.”

The Goncalves family is “beyond furious” and struggling to come to terms with the abrupt change. “With mere weeks left, we are being asked to absorb and respond to life-altering decisions with no room to breathe,” Aubrie continued.

She said knowing Kohberger will still be able to speak and form relationships behind bars brings the family no peace. “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.”

Kaylee’s father Steve told NewsNation they will continue to push for the death penalty. “This is not justice,” he said. On NBC’s Today, he added, “How can you say it’s just when you haven’t even talked to us to see what justice looks like for us?”

Xana Kernodle’s aunt, Kim, also rejected the deal, saying the family wanted a trial. She dismissed claims that the deal spares them the trauma of graphic evidence. “They were not trying to spare us,” she told TMZ.

But not all families agree. Madison Mogen’s dad, Ben, told CBS he welcomed the plea. “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.” Ethan Chapin’s family has not yet commented.

At the time of his arrest, Kohberger was a criminology PhD student living at his family house in Pennsylvania. He was a former student at Pleasant Valley School District, where his mother was also employed.

Nick McLoughlin, 28, who attended classes at Pleasant Valley High School with Kohberger told The Daily Beast the man had been interested in becoming a police officer and took criminal justice courses. Speaking after the man's arrest, she added: “He was just a regular 12th grader, had a few friends, was a good student.”