Bryan Kohberger’s mother was visibly emotional throughout his sentencing hearing despite the killer’s stone-cold demeanor.
MaryAnn Kohberger was in the courtroom alongside Kohberger’s lookalike sister Amanda, as Judge Steven Hippler handed down four life sentences for the ‘grotesque murders’ of Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
At several points during the victim impact statement portion of the hearing, MaryAnn ‘shuddered’ with emotion.
The killer’s mom is understood to have quietly wept throughout court proceedings, and briefly sobbed when Mogen’s grandmother spoke of her grief for the other victims’ families, as well as the Kohbergers.
She and her daughter sat quietly near the defense table, the only two people in the gallery there to support Kohberger.
His father did not attend, but he was present when Kohberger pleaded guilty earlier this month.
MaryAnn and Amanda were pictured slipping out a back door of the courtroom after Kohberger was told he would spend his life in prison with no possibility of parole.
The shattered mom wore dark glasses to cover her face. Her hair was swept up in an updo, and she wore a black floral dress with dangly earrings.
Kohberger’s sister Amanda, their mother MaryAnn and his defense attorney Anne Taylor were escorted out of the Ada County Courthouse by police after the intense hearing
The Kohberger family issued a statement just days after his arrest, saying they would be standing by him
Amanda, meanwhile, looked straight down the lens of the camera as she exited first from the courthouse.
She and MaryAnn had traveled from their home in Pennsylvania to witness the conclusion of one of the most infamous crimes of the 21st century.
They were escorted from the courtroom by police after and did not make any statement.
The family issued a statement just days after Kohberger’s arrest, saying they would be standing by him.
The statement said they ‘care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children’ and that they were cooperating fully with the investigation.
They added that ‘as a family we will love and support our son and brother.’
Kohberger has never explained his motive for carrying out the murders. He sat in court Wednesday as he heard heart-wrenching statements from families of the four students he stabbed to death.
He was asked if he’d like to address the court, but said: ‘I respectfully decline.’
Cara Northington, the mother of victim Xana Kernodle, wipes her eye during the sentencing hearing
Pictured left to right: Housemates Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke in 2022
Judge Hippler said the heartbroken families may never know why Kohberger killed their loved ones.
‘The need to know what is inherently not understandable makes us dependent upon the defendant to provide us with a reason, and that gives him the spotlight, the attention and the power he appears to crave,’ he said.
‘In my view, the time has now come to end Mr Kohberger’s 15 minutes of fame.
‘It’s time that he been consigned to the ignominy and isolation of perpetual incarceration.’
Kohberger was studying for a doctorate degree in criminology at Washington State University in 2022 when he drove to the small town of Moscow, Idaho and broke into the victims’ shared house.
He went from room to room stabbing four of the six occupants to death.
Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania thousands of miles away on December 30 that year, after DNA found on a knife sheath was traced to him.
He continued to deny the charges, despite mounting evidence, and appeared set to go to trial until this month when a shock plea deal was announced – sparing him the death penalty.
Amanda Kohberger delivered a glare that hauntingly resembled the expression her killer brother sported in court
Kohberger has never explained his motive for carrying out the murders. He sat in court Wednesday as he heard heart-wrenching statements from families of the four students he stabbed to death
After the victim impact statements concluded on Wednesday, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson offered more details about how that plea bargain came about.
On June 18, Kohberger’s final motions were argued before the court – to delay the trial and to be able to accuse others of being alternate suspects.
‘The following week, we were approached by the defense on a possible plea,’ the prosecutor said.
This was the first mention of a possible plea as the defense ‘maintained from the beginning that he was innocent.’
Thompson, the prosecutor, said his office met with the victims’ families about the potential of a plea deal.
‘We understand, recognise and acknowledge that there was a difference of opinion among representatives of the different families,’ he said.
His office decided to take the plea deal, but accepts that not everyone supported his decision.
‘I accept that. It’s my responsibility,’ he said.
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