GUILTY PLEA DEAL ACCEPTED - 4 Univ of Idaho Students Murdered, Bryan Kohberger Arrested, Moscow, Nov 2022 #111

[mcmaffy]

Question of the hour: will Judge Hippler make an address at sentencing?

Do you think he will? What is one thing you would like to hear him say?

For me: I think Kohberger got off lightly from the moment of his arrest all the way up to the plea hearing. The Court process and its actors for the most part bent over backwards procedurally - to accommodate, protect and insulate him.

Obviously being locked up forever is about as severe a penalty as one can suffer, however I would like to see Judge Hippler set aside all niceties, mince no words and absolutely come at Kohberger at sentencing. No tiptoeing or sanitising the message: tell him what he is...a monster who hopefully will fade into obscurity as soon as possible.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1941432561055482114

 

[TristanP]

Do you think he will? What is one thing you would like to hear him say?

For me: I think Kohberger got off lightly from the moment of his arrest all the way up to the plea hearing. The Court process and its actors for the most part bent over backwards procedurally - to accommodate, protect and insulate him.

Obviously being locked up forever is about as severe a penalty as one can suffer, however I would like to see Judge Hippler set aside all niceties, mince no words and absolutely come at Kohberger at sentencing. No tiptoeing or sanitising the message: tell him what he is...a monster who hopefully will fade into obscurity as soon as possible.

BK was treated as someone who was innocent until proven guilty. His constitutional rights were recognized and observed accordingly, which is what should always occur. He did not receive special treatment; no one bent over backwards for him.

I'm not a fan of BK, but I'm a big fan of the US Constitution and appreciate it when law enforcement officials observe it appropriately.

 

[ilovewings]

BK was treated as someone who was innocent until proven guilty. His constitutional rights were recognized and observed accordingly, which is what should always occur. He did not receive special treatment; no one bent over backwards for him.

I'm not a fan of BK, but I'm a big fan of the US Constitution and appreciate it when law enforcement officials observe it appropriately.

well said and thank you

 

[Sachi]

Question of the hour: will Judge Hippler make an address at sentencing?

Oh good thought, I sure hope so!
( Those remarkably clear and fluid footnotes)

 

[DizzyB]

He’s was already their main suspect before the DNA. Thats what allowed them to go through his trash to obtain DNA

They had built a family tree using the sheath DNA at that point. They found a suspect in BK, as he owned an Elantra, and lived within miles of the murders. I don’t know when they got his phone records, or delved into his issues at college. The sheath DNA took them to PA to obtain the trash pull DNA.

 

[mcmaffy]

BK was treated as someone who was innocent until proven guilty. His constitutional rights were recognized and observed accordingly, which is what should always occur. He did not receive special treatment; no one bent over backwards for him.

I'm not a fan of BK, but I'm a big fan of the US Constitution and appreciate it when law enforcement officials observe it appropriately.

Point taken regarding the primacy of constitutional rights. This case was as high profile as they come with a global audience and, accordingly, the Court adopted measures (total gag order; change of venue; lengthy delays) to absolutely ensure Kohberger received a fair trial. I make no criticism of that because these measures ensured his constitutional rights post-arrest were observed and closed off potential appeal points.

My comment was more directed to whether the trial judge will or should address Kohberger at sentencing. He never has, and likely never will, explain his actions or indeed say anything at all during this entire process other than "yes". But now that the proceeding has been resolved in a way which gives the trial judge free reign to basically say whatever he wants at sentencing - since there can be no appeal - I'd like to see him address Kohberger and not pull any punches to stamp an big exclamation mark on the sentence he imposes. But that's just me

 

[Kittybunny]

I listened to every word and feel he has the right to express any and all feelings of hatred and also to wish the worst on the person who committed such an unspeakable crime against his beloved daughter.

To his wife, friends, therapist, priest…I agree.

On national media and social media filled with conspiracy nut jobs and violent individuals? Disagree.

 

[MeadowMuffin]

He looks so evil, demonic really.
From reading and observing crime cases most of my life it seems to me that most DP criminals die of natural causes before they can be put to death

Please correct me if I'm wrong , but that is one reason why I don't believe in the DP. It drags on for literally decades.
My heart breaks for the victims.

I've followed the case of Darlie Routier in Texas since the murders of her two little boys by stabbing since they occurred in June 1996. She's been on Death Row since she was found guilty of murder of 5 year old Damon. She's continually getting appeals granted for more and more DNA testing, it's so beyond ridiculous. In this case, NO ONE fights for the boys, because Darlie's mother insists she is innocent and the father of the boys has truly moved on. The DP in her case serves no one. After more than 29 years she's still spewing her self serving garbage.

Darlie Routier - Wikipedia

And that's why I believe justice in this case has been done. Let BK fade into obscurity.

 

[Rolypolyoly]

The prosecutor failed SG’s family and what the latter view as justice for their beloved daughter, so savagely murdered, and did it in an underhanded way. I don’t believe he needs help, what he needed was a prosecutor that cared more about the families’ wishes than just hurrying it up, being done and saving a few cents. IMO

Let's flip this plea deal decision on its head for a minute.
What do we think would happen, and in particular, what do we think SG would have to say if the prosecution had declined to offer a plea bargain, one that specified LWOP and no right of appeal, let trial play out instead and then one juror, one as pigheaded as we have seen some people in here be and definitely the wider Internet, decides to vote not guilty?

What do we realistically think would happen then? When the only option Judge Hippler had would be to declare a mistrial, and the whole shebang had to start over, and then it comes out that the prosecution turned down a guilty plea, an admission in open court straight from the horses mouth?

I think everybody here can absolutely understand and empathise with SG, but he is a grieving father who has made it his mission to fight for his daughter for almost 3 years, he has delayed his grief and his healing because its unbearable for him to face it, he has had the distraction of the trial and the single minded focus of the DP to keep him going, and now that is at an end and he has nothing to hold onto to distract from pain that he doesn't want to face.
His feelings are 100% valid, but his methods are not.

The prosecution has done its job, and done it well. Their only goal is to get the best justice they can, and they did that. BK will leave prison in a box, whether the State had eventually killed him or nature does, the outcome is ultimately the same.

 

[LMDlong]

SG has every right to his feelings and views. As do the other 3 families, BF and DM. SG views are very very valid, but we can't let his view and the way he opts to express them over power the views of everyone else. I'm not going to criticise or judge anyone for how they are feeling and are responding, I hope to never know what I would do.

I do, personally, think the plea deal was the right outcome. I would like to see him locked away and his name never mentioned again. No stories, no coverage, just disappearing to carry out his sentence. I would like BF and DM to have the freedom from the plea deal to build successful and happy lives, free of guilt and the chains of a death penalty and all its processes hanging over them.

I feel so terribly sorry for all the families involved in this. I cannot fathom how they feel inside. I personally know a family , whose daughter was murdered at eight years old. The monster who did this is in jail, filing appeals. The mother ended up in a mental hospital. Both parents have passed away. They had to live with appeals and they were never the same. Now the siblings have to endure this hell.
I thought BK deserved the death penalty, but there was something inside of me that I feared that all 12 jars would not see eye to eye all it would take would be one and he wouldn’t get the death penalty. Knowing that he will sit in jail and go through torment from other prisoners and the torment of what he’s done deep down inside in his brain, even though he’s a monster, he will never be free to walk outside the prison walls and fences nor hurt another innocent individual.
I pray for the families of the four victims that are deceased and of the two roommates and the individuals that had to go in that house and see them victims and call 911 their lives will never be the same.

 

[LMDlong]

Let's flip this plea deal decision on its head for a minute.
What do we think would happen, and in particular, what do we think SG would have to say if the prosecution had declined to offer a plea bargain, one that specified LWOP and no right of appeal, let trial play out instead and then one juror, one as pigheaded as we have seen some people in here be and definitely the wider Internet, decides to vote not guilty?

What do we realistically think would happen then? When the only option Judge Hippler had would be to declare a mistrial, and the whole shebang had to start over, and then it comes out that the prosecution turned down a guilty plea, an admission in open court straight from the horses mouth?

I think everybody here can absolutely understand and empathise with SG, but he is a grieving father who has made it his mission to fight for his daughter for almost 3 years, he has delayed his grief and his healing because its unbearable for him to face it, he has had the distraction of the trial and the single minded focus of the DP to keep him going, and now that is at an end and he has nothing to hold onto to distract from pain that he doesn't want to face.
His feelings are 100% valid, but his methods are not.

The prosecution has done its job, and done it well. Their only goal is to get the best justice they can, and they did that. BK will leave prison in a box, whether the State had eventually killed him or nature does, the outcome is ultimately the same.

I agree

 

[Rolypolyoly]

The prosecutor didn’t have to accept the defense’s offer. He made a command decision, hastily, over the objections of at least half the families involved. Saying that it was in the families’ best interests is self serving because that was expressly against 2 of the 4 dead kids’ families wishes. It is presumptive to say you, that is the prosecutor or anyone else for that matter, knows best.

At the end of the day, the families wishes aren't what counts. The prosecution's job is to secure a conviction and get justice. They have done that.
Im sure that BT would have wanted the DP, if he didnt, he didnt have to try the case as a DP case.

It's a harsh reality, and in an ideal word the victims families wishes would count, but that's not how it works.

 

[Rolypolyoly]

Respectfully he doesn't give a damn what the two surviving victims in this case want, nor the other families who have stated they are satisfied with the verdict - families who have lost exactly the same as he has - SG isn't advocating for the rights of victims and their families. SG is advocating for HIMSELF and his own version of justice that imo doesn't exist. I understand that it's grief swirling around inside of an angry and outspoken man right now but please don't lie and say he's even remotely advocating for anybody but himself. It's not all about him and what he wants, it's about justice and keeping the public safe from a dangerous freak and I'm sorry, but justice has been done.

ETA - Please show me where money has been stated to be the reason for accepting the plea deal over justice. Also, please show me where any of the prosecution team have stated that they were against the DP in this case... If that was even remotely the case then they wouldn't have blocked AT every which way and more when she tried to knock it off the table repeatedly.

Reaching so far now I can circle the palm from here

All of the family members? Or are you meaning the Goncalves and Xana's father?

Please don't forget that the Chapins, the Mogens and the two surviving housemates are also victims of the same horrific crime and their pain and feelings matter also.

Imo

I guarantee there's not a single person here who doesn't support the victims' families. That said, Maddy's family gave a press conference to state their gratitude with the recent development.

I agree with all these posts, and I just wanted to say that whilst we are talking about all 4 families and their wishes, the family of Maddie, who released such a gracious statement after the plea hearing, lost their only child. They lost everything that we take for granted as parents.
Of course im not suggesting that their loss is more, of course it isnt, but their future won't ever know the joy of dancing at their wedding, maybe hilding their grandchild for the first time, a lifetime of things they will never have because their only child was taken from them so brutally, and their wish was for this to be over.

Ethans family, who will forever look at their remaining triplets, and for the triplets themselves who will always carry the loss of their brother as a missing piece of them, they have always been against the DP, they have also expressed their support for this outcome.

They count, their feelings count, and the way SG has gone about things is hurting them. Especially Maddie's family, guven how close their daughters were.

I hope that someday soon, SG and his family, and Also Xana's dad can find some peace in their remaining children, and grandchildren and look towards a future where BK doesn't consume one more minute of their lives, and they can look at their children and grandchildren and see their daughters in them, and keep their memories alive in the best way and not the worst as it is right now.

 

[LAborn]

Delete if I’m crossing a line by suggesting this but web sleuths is for us to collectively form ideas and to discuss possibilities so here goes my train of thought: we know he’s autistic, we know his tutor is now going to write a book (well, I’m pretty sure I read that but apologies if wrong). What if she wanted to be this famous author with inside access to an infamous killer and when she met Kohberger something clicked and she realised he could be the ‘one’ and so perhaps not encouraged per se but subconsciously ‘persuaded’ (probably not the right word) him to commit a crime. Anyway, probably a very unpopular opinion but just a thought and I’m not saying she told him to kill 4 innocent youngsters as such

Now I understand you're referring to his former professor. Here are the facts. She was an advisor because his area of study was under her expertise at the university. He took several of her courses, again because of his major. She is incredibly accomplished and distinguished in her field of forensic psychology, holding a Ph.D. and author of 68 books and 1,500 articles on the subject. After the plea was announced she was interviewed:

“I have to look at the framework of what I taught and wonder, did I inspire him in some way?” Ramsland admitted to NewsNation in an exclusive interview published Tuesday. “But I can’t second-guess that because I may have inspired somebody else to become an FBI agent.”

When pressed by NewsNation about her fears of possibly inspiring Kohberger, Ramsland was candid. “It’s terrible, very hard. And it’s not just what happened to the victims. I really thought Bryan Kohberger was a promising student who really could have made a mark in this career in a very positive way,” she said. “So, disappointed, angry, and, you know, very … shocked that this is who he turned out to be. And horrified for the victims and their families. Just horrified.”

Bryan Kohberger's Former Professor Wonders If She 'Inspired' Him To Commit Idaho Murders

“I’m disappointed, angry, and … I’m very shocked that this is how it turned out,” Dr. Katherine Ramsland said of her former criminology student.

www.huffpost.com

and Katherine Ramsland, M.A., M.F.A., Ph.D. | DeSales University

 

[ilovewings]

Let's flip this plea deal decision on its head for a minute.
What do we think would happen, and in particular, what do we think SG would have to say if the prosecution had declined to offer a plea bargain, one that specified LWOP and no right of appeal, let trial play out instead and then one juror, one as pigheaded as we have seen some people in here be and definitely the wider Internet, decides to vote not guilty?

What do we realistically think would happen then? When the only option Judge Hippler had would be to declare a mistrial, and the whole shebang had to start over, and then it comes out that the prosecution turned down a guilty plea, an admission in open court straight from the horses mouth?

I think everybody here can absolutely understand and empathise with SG, but he is a grieving father who has made it his mission to fight for his daughter for almost 3 years, he has delayed his grief and his healing because its unbearable for him to face it, he has had the distraction of the trial and the single minded focus of the DP to keep him going, and now that is at an end and he has nothing to hold onto to distract from pain that he doesn't want to face.
His feelings are 100% valid, but his methods are not.

The prosecution has done its job, and done it well. Their only goal is to get the best justice they can, and they did that. BK will leave prison in a box, whether the State had eventually killed him or nature does, the outcome is ultimately the same.

Like isn't enough for your awesome comments-- LOVE is much more appropriate!!!

 

[pittsburghgirl]

What if BK's family, siblings wrote a book about growing up with BK? I would find that interesting. And I guess, they would get all of the profits?

There is no sign that BK's family wants that kind of notoriety. The sisters lost their jobs because of their brother's actions.

 

[Megnut]

20 minutes

On site in Moscow, daytime view

Possible parking spots

Good synopsis

 

[stormymama]

I think one of the reasons why I and many others out there were so angry about the plea deal at first is because conventionally, you think plea deal equals lesser charges. Even though we saw the text of the agreement in black and white that it clearly was not any sort of deal, other than taking the un-guaranteed DP off the table. It was a change in plea, essentially. BK openly admitted he committed the murders and the burglary, and he’s going away for the rest of his life. The State and judge did not fail, and this is no real “win” for BK. He was toast and knew he was toast. I wish he had confessed 2 1/2 years ago. I wish he had never done this.

 

[Arkay]

Let's flip this plea deal decision on its head for a minute.
What do we think would happen, and in particular, what do we think SG would have to say if the prosecution had declined to offer a plea bargain, one that specified LWOP and no right of appeal, let trial play out instead and then one juror, one as pigheaded as we have seen some people in here be and definitely the wider Internet, decides to vote not guilty?

What do we realistically think would happen then? When the only option Judge Hippler had would be to declare a mistrial, and the whole shebang had to start over, and then it comes out that the prosecution turned down a guilty plea, an admission in open court straight from the horses mouth?

I think everybody here can absolutely understand and empathise with SG, but he is a grieving father who has made it his mission to fight for his daughter for almost 3 years, he has delayed his grief and his healing because its unbearable for him to face it, he has had the distraction of the trial and the single minded focus of the DP to keep him going, and now that is at an end and he has nothing to hold onto to distract from pain that he doesn't want to face.
His feelings are 100% valid, but his methods are not.

The prosecution has done its job, and done it well. Their only goal is to get the best justice they can, and they did that. BK will leave prison in a box, whether the State had eventually killed him or nature does, the outcome is ultimately the same.

Beautifully stated, @Rolypolyoly.

Although it’s difficult to imagine, what if somehow, some way, a future August trial ended up, unfathomably, with the jury actually finding Bryan Not Guilty?

We have all been stunned before by juries whose verdicts seem reckless to us.

I don’t know what Steve would do had Judge Hippler been forced to say “Mr. Kohberger, you are free to go.”

If Steve had to endure that I’m afraid he would spontaneously combust. Which would be a mercy compared to knowing Bryan would be out there and couldn’t be tried again.

Just as important of course would be the other families having to live with that. They may not be as outspoken, but they have suffered as equally as the Goncalves family.

Any jury trial is a gamble. Not everyone is a true crime buff, not everyone is as aware of the details as we are, it has happened before (IMO O.J. and Casey Anthony and other cases too).

JMO