Guilty plea by Kohberger doesn’t end quest for more details in Idaho college student slayings

With a series of yes replies to a judge a man accused of killing four Idaho college students pleaded guilty in exchange for life in prison and no death penalty But left untold so far What motivated Bryan Kohberger to commit the middle-of-the-night knife attacks and why those casualties More details could emerge when Kohberger returns to court for his sentence on July Particular answers could also be in the hundreds of documents filed by prosecutors and defense lawyers that have been under seal and out of general view starting in It is major that a full record be available as if the matter and the evidence was exposed at trial if we re going to have a complete understanding of what went on reported David Leroy former Idaho attorney general Kohberger s hearing in a Boise Idaho courtroom was finished in less than an hour Wednesday A trial where loads of details would have been revealed was expected to have lasted at least three months We deserve to know when the beginning of the end was the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves commented in a Facebook post Horror near the University of Idaho Goncalves Ethan Chapin Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were stabbed multiple times after a m at a rental home in Moscow Idaho on Nov Kohberger first killed Mogen and Goncalves and then killed Kernodle who was still awake at the time and Chapin who was asleep commented Bill Thompson the Latah County prosecutor Two other people in the house were not harmed The -year-old killer was pursuing an advanced degree in the criminology effort at Washington State University in Pullman miles kilometers away Thompson stated there was no evidence that Kohberger had previous contact with the casualties but he noted that phone records established him in the neighborhood nearly two dozen times A knife sheath left at the crime scene turned out to be crucial evidence for investigators A search of trash at Kohberger s parents home in Pennsylvania was critical too It produced a Q-tip that was used to match his genetic material on the sheath No sunshine on plenty of court filings Since there have been more than orders to seal court filings in the Kohberger development typically at the request of lawyers including at least this year alone The Associated Press revealed Those documents included trial briefs filed by each side witness lists jury instructions evidence exhibits and the defense association s alternate perpetrators of the murders Idaho court rules allow a judge to seal or redact records to preserve the right to a fair trial On a separate issue Wendy Olson an attorney for news organizations including the AP appealed a judge to lift a gag order that has greatly restricted what the prosecutor and defense lawyers can say to reporters There is no need to preserve Mr Kohberger s right to a fair trial because he has already admitted guilt Olson explained in a court filing Leroy the former attorney general stated he believes additional information about the crimes would be crucial to the casualties families law enforcement experts and the general inhabitants I m very interested in knowing to the extent we can what combination of the attempt to commit the perfect crime or attempt to deal with his demons drove Mr Kohberger to these acts Leroy declared AP writer Rebecca Boone in Boise Idaho contributed to this story Guilty plea by Kohberger doesn t end quest for more details in Idaho college attendee slayings