Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing Sept.13, 2023, in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho.
BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the , multiple media outlets reported Monday.
The news was delivered to families of the victims in a letter from prosecutors, according to ABC News. A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday. Kohberger's trial had been set to begin in August.
, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times.
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Goncalves' family expressed outrage in a Facebook post: "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected."
A flyer seeking information about the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found dead is displayed on a table along with buttons and bracelets on Nov. 30, 2022, during a vigil in memory of the victims in Moscow, Idaho.
Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
In a court filing, his lawyers said Kohberger was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed.
The killings shook the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years. The trial was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defense expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn't get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred.
In the letter to families cited by ABC, prosecutors said Kohberger's lawyers approached them seeking to reach a plea deal. The prosecutors said they met with available family members last week before deciding to make Kohberger an offer.
"This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family," the letter said. "This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals. Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice."
A private security officer sits in a vehicle Jan. 3, 2023, in front of the house in Moscow, Idaho, where four University of Idaho students were killed in November 2022.
In Idaho, judges may reject plea agreements, though such moves are rare. If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea.
Earlier Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defense attorneys would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial.
The defense subpoenas were granted regarding a boxing trainer who knew Kohberger as a teenager, a childhood acquaintance of Kohberger's and a third man whose significance was not explained.
A gag order has largely kept attorneys, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial.
Photos: Scenes following the killings of 4 University of Idaho students
Red evidence markers and yellow police tape are wrapped on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, on the front door of the home where four University of Idaho students were found dead on Nov. 13, 2022 in Moscow, Idaho. The university will be holding a system-wide vigil on Wednesday evening, Nov. 30, 2022, in memory of the students, as investigators continue to look for a suspect and motive in the killings. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Flowers, a stuffed animal, and a framed image featuring the photos of the four people found dead at a house on Nov. 13, 2022 in Moscow, Idaho, rest in the snow in front of the house on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. The university will be holding a system-wide vigil, Wednesday evening, Nov. 30, 2022 in memory of the students, as investigators continue to look for a suspect and motive in the killings. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
People attending a vigil for the four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, hold up their phones during a moment of silence, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A person attending a vigil for the four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, cries as she listens to family members talk about the victims, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
People attending a vigil for the four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, fill the Kibbie Dome before the start of the event, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Idaho State Police Trooper Brandalyn Crapo stands guard on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022 as she works near the podium at a vigil for the four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Two people attending a vigil for the four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, lean against each other as they listen to family members talk about the victims, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
People attending a vigil for the four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, listen to family members talk about the victims, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
FILE - The moon rises on Nov. 29, 2022, as a Moscow police officer stands guard in his vehicle at the home where four University of Idaho students were found dead on Nov. 13, 2022 in Moscow, Idaho. It's been nearly three weeks since four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death in a home near campus, but there are still more questions than answers surrounding the investigation. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
FILE - Bracelets with the names of the four University of Idaho students who were killed on Nov. 13, 2022, are displayed on a table at a vigil for the victims, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. Investigators have yet to name a suspect in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students who were found dead in a home near campus last month. But would-be armchair detectives and internet sleuths have come up with several of their own, the conclusions often based on conjecture and rumor. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
FILE - A photo and the names of four University of Idaho students who were killed over the weekend at a residence near campus are displayed during a moment of silence, Nov. 16, 2022, before an NCAA college basketball game in Moscow, Idaho. Investigators have yet to name a suspect in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students who were found dead in a home near campus last month. But would-be armchair detectives and internet sleuths have come up with several of their own, the conclusions often based on conjecture and rumor. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
FILE - A Moscow police officer stands guard in his vehicle, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, at the home where four University of Idaho students were found dead on Nov. 13, 2022 in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho Police investigating the stabbing deaths of the students say they're working with law enforcement in Eugene, Ore., to determine if a white sedan found on the side of the road there is related to the Idaho case. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren,File)
Bare spots are seen on Nov. 29, 2022, in the snowy parking lot in front of the home where four University of Idaho students were found dead on Nov. 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho, after vehicles belonging to the victims and others were towed away earlier in the day.
