The unexpected confession of a man once studying criminal behavior has left his former friend haunted by thoughts of what might have been.
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty Wednesday to the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, avoiding the death penalty in exchange for a life sentence without parole, the New York Post reported.
Authorities arrested Kohberger, then a criminology PhD student at Washington State University, in December 2022 and charged him with fatally stabbing Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, and Xana Kernodle.
The killer attacked the victims as they slept in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on the night of Nov. 13, 2022. The gruesome murders shocked the nation and prompted a months-long investigation that ultimately led investigators to Kohberger.
Though he had long maintained his innocence, Kohberger reversed course during Wednesday's court proceedings. By doing so, he avoided a possible death sentence, which in Idaho could have included execution by firing squad.
Some relatives of the victims expressed anger and disappointment over the plea deal, arguing that it left essential questions unanswered and denied them full justice.
Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves, criticized the state's decision to offer a plea, stating that prosecutors “failed my whole family.” Many family members had hoped a trial would bring more clarity and public accountability.
Kohberger’s sudden admission also deeply affected those who knew him in his earlier years, such as Casey Arntz, who grew up with him in the Poconos region of Pennsylvania. She described feeling emotionally unmoored after hearing the news.
Arntz admitted to spiraling emotionally, saying the confession made her question whether she and others close to Kohberger were ever in danger themselves. She told media outlets that the revelation led her to wonder if he had ever considered harming her or their mutual friends during their childhood.
“Did he ever have thoughts like that before? Did he ever think that he wanted to kill me or my friends?” she questioned. “Were we spared because we were friends with him?”
In the same interview, Arntz said she found it hard to reconcile the Kohberger she once knew with the man who committed the murders. She called his actions “disgusting” and said she sympathized with the victims’ families seeking justice.
While Arntz was shaken by the guilty plea, her younger brother, Thomas Arntz, said the confession brought a sense of closure. He described feeling “relieved” that Kohberger admitted to the killings, though he also expressed compassion for Kohberger’s parents.
“I’ve always thought they were kind people, and they didn’t deserve this,” he said, adding that he hoped they would find peace. “And for Bryan, God have mercy on his soul.”
Other friends from Kohberger’s youth offered theories about what might have driven him, including a suggestion that his academic interests may have played a role. Jack Baylis, who also knew him growing up, speculated that Kohberger committed the crimes to gain insight into the mind of a killer.
“If he wanted to write a paper about what killers feel and why they kill,” Baylis said, “to be accurate, you have to experience it yourself to truly understand it.” He added, “To get into the mind of a killer, you have to be a killer, would be my guess.”
Comments from former school faculty also emerged in response to the plea. Donna Yozwiak, who served as Kohberger’s high school guidance counselor, expressed sorrow for everyone involved – the victims and the accused.
“I hope that his family will survive this horrendous ordeal and be able to get on with their lives,” she said. “I also hope that the victims’ relatives gain much-needed closure and heal after this tragedy.”
With the sentencing now resolved and no possibility of parole, some see the plea deal as the best available outcome—removing Kohberger from public life permanently while sparing victims' families a prolonged court process.
“There was never any guarantee that he’d be given the death penalty,” Casey Arntz acknowledged. “So I think him taking the plea deal was better for everyone. He’s locked up for life. Let the inside deal with him.”
