Mother of Slain Idaho Student Slams Plea Deal, Reveals Harrowing Details of Daughter’s Final Moments
- Victor Nwoko
- Jul 8
- 3 min read
Kristi Goncalves, the mother of 21-year-old Kaylee Goncalves—one of four University of Idaho students brutally murdered in November 2022—has come forward with painful new details about her daughter’s final moments, expressing outrage over the plea agreement that spared the life of the man accused of the killings.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, pleaded guilty as part of a deal that removed the possibility of a death sentence, a decision that has drawn intense criticism from the victims' families. For the Goncalves family, the deal offered by Latah County prosecutors was both unexpected and deeply upsetting.
“He’s literally too afraid to die, but he wasn’t afraid to take my daughter’s life,” Kristi said in a public statement. “Kaylee wasn’t offered a plea deal.”
According to the grieving mother, her daughter was not only fatally stabbed, but also severely beaten in the face and head while trying to defend herself. “He went into her house with the intention to take her life, and he did,” Kristi said. “By stabbing her MANY times, as well as beating her in the face and head while it was clear that she fought for her life.”
She also addressed criticism from members of the public who accused the family of seeking vengeance rather than justice. “What would you want?” she asked. “Justice or vengeance?”
The Goncalves family had called for the death penalty by firing squad—not out of a desire for swift punishment, but to ensure Kohberger experienced the psychological weight of death row. They believed a life sentence in the general prison population would be too lenient, given the horror of the crimes committed.
According to prosecutors, Kohberger’s actions were deliberate and extensively planned. “The defendant has studied crime,” said prosecutor Bill Thompson. “In fact, he did a detailed paper on crime scene processing when he was working on his PhD.”
Cellphone records revealed Kohberger had visited the victims’ neighborhood at least 23 times between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. in the months leading up to the murders. On the night of the killings, surveillance video captured his white Hyundai Elantra circling the King Road residence in Moscow, Idaho, before parking near the home just after 4 a.m.
Authorities said Kohberger entered the house through a sliding glass door. He proceeded to the upstairs bedroom where Kaylee Goncalves and her best friend, Madison Mogen, were asleep. Both were killed in their beds. A knife sheath left near Mogen’s body carried Kohberger’s DNA, later matched through a swab recovered from his family’s trash.
During his escape, Kohberger allegedly encountered roommates Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in a hallway. Both were killed in what prosecutors described as a final, violent confrontation. Two other roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, survived. One of them reported seeing a masked intruder exit the home.
In the aftermath, Kohberger’s car was found internally dismantled, and his apartment had been thoroughly cleaned. His arrest came after investigators used a combination of surveillance footage, cellphone tower records, and genetic genealogy to track him down.
Kohberger, who was pursuing a Ph.D. in criminal justice at Washington State University at the time of the murders, will be formally sentenced on July 23 in Boise, Idaho. He faces four consecutive life sentences. He may choose to speak at sentencing, though he is not required to do so. If he remains silent, the motive behind the murders may never be known.
For the Goncalves family, Kohberger’s admission offers no sense of closure. “The state is showing BK mercy by removing the penalty. BK did not show Kaylee ANY mercy,” Kristi said.
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