I was feet away as Bryan Kohberger admitted to four brutal murders. It was chilling how normal it all seemed to him

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A chilling hush fell over the Idaho courtroom as Bryan Kohberger stood, impassive, and admitted to carrying out the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students.

I was just feet away from the former criminology PhD student, whose crimes have haunted the state for more than two years, and now he was about to speak for the first time.

The 30-year-old showed no emotion as he responded to the judge’s questions — no apology, no visible regret, just an eerily measured tone as he sealed his own fate.

It was the first time Kohberger has publicly admitted to the killings that shattered the college town of Moscow in November 2022.

The plea deal hearing on Wednesday wasn’t the dramatic courtroom showdown many expected. Instead, it was devastating in a different way — quieter and heavy.

As I sat in the gallery, the silence was broken only by muffled sobs by some of the victims’ family members, who looked down or away as the names of their slain loved ones were read aloud.

Judge Steven Hippler asked Kohberger if he had murdered Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on that night two years ago. One by one, Kohberger answered each question with a simple but confident “yes.”

Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson revealed few new details during the plea hearing but what he did share was haunting.

Kohberger had planned the murders for months. He scouted the neighborhood, visited the King Road house in Moscow at least a dozen times, and researched how to cover his tracks.

After the murders, he bought a replacement knife sheath for the one he left behind, scrubbed his home and office, and even disassembled parts of his car, Thompson said.

One of the most chilling details was that at least one of the victims, Xana Kernodle, was awake. She had just received a DoorDash order when she came face to face with Kohberger, Thompson said.

He had already murdered Mogen and Goncalves upstairs, and then stabbed Kernodle and her boyfriend Chapin, who was likely asleep.

There’s still no clear motive.

Prosecutors say there’s no known connection between Kohberger and the victims and that no evidence of sexual assault was found. And although police used DNA from a knife sheath and cell phone data to connect him to the scene, the murder weapon itself remains missing.

Kohberger, who had just finished his first semester at nearby Washington State University, was arrested six weeks after the murders at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.

Investigators used genetic genealogy to identify him, recovering a used Q-tip from the family trash to match his DNA.

After taking the court through the timeline of the murders on Wednesday, Thompson became emotional, his voice cracking as he read the name of each victim, before the prosecutor sat down and wiped his eyes.

Kohberger’s trial was set to start in August and was expected to last more than three months. But after his attorneys failed to have execution stricken as a possible punishment, he agreed to the plea deal earlier this week.

The plea deal came as a shock to many, dividing the victims’ families — and the public.

Kaylee Goncalves’ family, who has been among the most vocal throughout the case, strongly opposed the plea.

“This ain’t justice, no judge presided, no jury weighed the truth,” they wrote in a statement on Facebook.

“Thompson robbed us of our day in court. No negotiations, no jury of our peers, not even the pretense of cooperation and fairness.”

Kernodle’s father told The New York Times that he does “not agree” with the plea deal, and said he is “disappointed in the prosecutors’ decision.”

Earlier this week, Kernodle’s aunt said the prosecution told the family the deal was to “spare” them from hearing grisly details of the murders in court. “We know the graphics. They were not trying to spare us,” she said.

But the families of Chapin and Mogen supported the plea deal.

“While we know there are some who do not support it, we ask that they respect our belief that this is the best outcome,” Attorney Leander James said in a statement on behalf of Mogen’s family outside the courthouse on Wednesday.

“We now embark on a path of hope and healing.”

Members of the media and local Idaho residents flocked to Ada County Courthouse on Wednesday to witness Kohberger enter his guilty pleas.

Local residents, who had lined up as early as 4 a.m. to get a seat in the courtroom, processed the day’s events with visible dismay.

Julie Lorenz and Sarah Parry, who had both planned on attending the long-awaited trial later this summer, were surprised by the plea deal.

“It’s a shock. We weren’t expecting it,” Lorenz told The Independent. “It’s a disappointing decision for sure. When you’re a mom and it happens to kids, you just… you have a heart for the family. You want to see justice.”

Lorenz’ mother used to take her to court to hear cases open to the public and now she does the same with her own daughter Emma, who is a teacher and has the summer off.

They were often first in line at Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial in 2023. It’s where they met Parry and several other women, and have since formed a close bond, attending other trials across the state and beyond.

Sarah Beattie, a Boise resident, who was also a regular at Vallow Daybell’s trial, told The Independent that people in the community have been just as interested in the Kohberger trial, but that they are “more angry or disgusted more than ‘intrigued’ as they were with Lori’s trial.”

“Had things gone to trial for Bryan, I think there would have been more intrigue, but the religious aspects and delusion of Lori’s case captured people’s attention more than this,” she added.

“I think the interest also had to do with the multiple murders over time that had to be connected versus this one which appeared to be a heinous and hateful crime.”

Trina, another courtroom regular who attended the Vallow Daybell trial, agreed.

“The Daybell story had so many bats**t crazy onion layers involved that there can never be anything like it,” she said. “But Kohberger is still a fascinating and emotional story. A lot of people feel the families were cheated out of justice by not getting a trial.”

Kohberger will serve four life sentences without the possibility of parole. The plea deal removes the death penalty from the table and also strips him of the right to any future appeal.

In a rare statement issued by Kohberger’s family on Tuesday, they wrote: “In light of recent developments, the Kohbergers are asking members of the media for privacy, respect, and responsible judgment during this time.

We will continue to allow the legal process to unfold with respect to all parties, and will not release any comments or take any questions.”

His parents, Michael Jr and Maryann, were in court on Wednesday as their son pleaded guilty to the four stabbing murders and burglary. Kohberger’s father kept his arm over his wife’s shoulders and at one point motioned to the bailiff for a cup of water.

Kohberger will be formally sentenced on July 23 at the Ada County Courthouse where many people are expected to give victim impact statements.