Bryan Kohberger on Wednesday, July 2, pleaded guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022, accepting a plea agreement that spares him the death penalty. The former Washington State University criminology doctoral student admitted to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary during a hearing in Ada County District Court in Boise. Under the deal, Kohberger, 30, will receive four consecutive life sentences for the killings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, plus up to 10 years for burglary. He waived all rights to appeal. Sentencing is scheduled for July 23, replacing a trial that had been set to begin with jury selection in August. Ahead of the plea, lead prosecutor Bill Thompson described the evidence tying Kohberger to the off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho. Investigators matched DNA on a knife sheath left next to Mogen’s body with genetic material recovered from a Q-tip pulled from trash outside Kohberger’s parents’ home in Pennsylvania. Cell-phone data showed his phone connecting to towers near the house 23 times at night in the four months before the massacre. Surveillance cameras captured his white Hyundai Elantra speeding away around 4:20 a.m., and police later found the vehicle and his apartment meticulously cleaned of potential evidence. Relatives of Mogen and Chapin supported the plea, citing relief at avoiding years of appeals, while Goncalves’ family criticised the decision to remove capital punishment from consideration. A gag order remains in force, and prosecutors have not disclosed a motive. Court filings and additional evidence are expected to be unsealed after sentencing.