The trial will not be for a few months, but many after this case have asked questions… will Bryan Kohberger face the death penalty for the brutal murder of the four University of Idaho student??
The 28-year-old was arrested in a surprise raid on his parents’ Pennsylvania home last month. We later learned that the police had gathered surprising evidence against Kohberger in the murder Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Magen, Xana Kernodleand Ethan Chapin. At Washington State University the criminology grad student’s car was caught on camera, the phone data put someone close to the student, there was blood in the apartment, and his own DNA was left at the crime scene – on the knife sheath. It’s all in addition to the surprising fact that one of his roommates saw a masked man walking by his “bushy” eyebrow description matching his. And someone told him he could pick those eyes out of a lineup.
So we have a crime that is shocking not only the small college community in Moscow but also the entire country. Prosecutors have a lot of evidence against the suspect. Will they ask for the death penalty??
Related: Kohberger Follows All 3 Female Murder Victims on Instagram
The death penalty is legal in Idaho, if not as widely used as, say, Texas. Only 29 executions have been carried out since 1864, and only three since 1976. The last one was over a decade ago in 2012. But considering this crime … it certainly seems like a possibility, right?
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani think so! He told me people it is very likely that the DA will impose the death penalty on Kohberger:
“If you believe in the death penalty, this is a death penalty case. You have multiple victims, you have evidence of premeditation, you have the victim’s family wanting the death penalty, so there are many aggregating factors here.
Kaylee Goncalves’ parents have openly called for the death penalty. Steve GoncalvesHis 21-year-old father, said in an interview with NewsNation:
“Justice is not having a room where you can read a book and you can go to school and you can eat three meals and you can have a vegan diet. For me, that is not justice. Justice is when you leave the planet, and the whole world can rejoice and be glad that you are not there there.
His wife Kristi so far as he says he is “happy” they live in Idaho where the death penalty is legal.
That’s a sentiment we imagine many parents in Idaho share about this crime. Rahmani explains:
“Prosecutors are elected officials, and there will be a lot of political pressure to seek the death penalty in a case like this and not offer something like life without the possibility of parole. This is one of the most horrific murders in the history of the state of Idaho, so all of these factors make I believe that it is very likely that the prosecutor will seek the death penalty in this case.
In essence, Rahmani also weighed in on whether he thought Kohberger would offer an insanity defense — something he could see as a plan after the suspect’s reported behavior in prison. But the court lawyer said:
“Kohberger’s lawyers will likely argue that he did not do it, instead of offering an insanity defense. He has done enough as a scholar to be a PhD student and showed no indication of mental illness before the stabbings, so there is little justification for the defense to argue he is incompetent to stand trial.
That’s a fair point. Despite the disturbing internet messages Kohberger found describing the symptoms of a rare neurological disorder known as visual-snow syndrome, it’s clear he can still make rational decisions and actions. You cannot pass school without significant mental facility control.
But how would he argue that he didn’t do it? With so much evidence?? We will be learning for a few months…
[Image via KREM 2 NEWS/Youtube/Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram.]