Accused quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger could end up on death row at Idaho’s gnarliest maximum-security prison, according to a legal expert.
“I would certainly think [the death penalty] would be [requested],” Idaho criminal defense attorney Jim Siebe told NonStop Local this week of Kohberger, 28, who is accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in a knife attack that has captivated the nation.
Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, home last week in connection to Nov. 13 murders and is being extradited today. In Idaho, he faces four murder charges in addition to one charge of felony burglary.
“Of course, I can’t speak for [Latah County prosecutor] Bill Thompson,” Siebe continued.
“He’s the one that makes the determination … based on consultation with law enforcement people, with the families [of the victims], [and] some determination as to the personal circumstances of a defendant, where maybe a defendant is subject to a severe mental illness.”
Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at Washington State University in Pullman, lived around 10 miles from the off-campus residence where the early-morning killings took place. Classmates described him as a quiet and “perpetually exhausted” loner, but noted he became “chattier” in the wake of the murders.
Bryan Kohberger pictured following his extradition hearing on Jan. 3. Paul MartinkaAt his extradition hearing Tuesday, presiding Judge Margherita Worthington asked: “Mr. Kohberger, do you suffer from any mental health diagnosis or take prescribed medication or medication that would impact ability to understand what we are doing here today?”
“No,” he answered.
Prosecutor Bill Thompson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Attorney Jim Siebe predicted prosecutors seeking the death penalty for Kohberger. KNDU
The Moscow, Idaho, home where four University of Idaho students were killed on Nov. 13. Kevin C. Downs for NY PostEven if Idaho officials do seek the death penalty for Kohberger, it is unlikely the punishment will be carried out. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the Gem State has only executed three people since the practice resumed in 1976.
The state’s last inmate to be executed, Richard Albert Leavitt, spent 26 years on death row before dying by lethal injection in 2012.
Here’s the latest coverage on the brutal killings of four college friends:
- Why Bryan Kohberger’s guilty plea means he may get the last laugh — and torment his victims further
- Byran Kohberger’s former criminology professor fears her serial-killer courses inspired him
- Prosecutors offered Bryan Kohberger a plea deal despite a mountain of damning evidence — here’s what they had
- Deluded Bryan Kohberger fans known as ‘probergers’ insist he’s innocent – despite guilty plea deal: ‘Reeks of a coverup’
- Families of slaughtered Idaho students vow to fight Bryan Kohberger plea deal: ‘Idaho has failed’
As of 2023, there are eight inmates — including one of the country’s few women sentenced to capital punishment, Robin Row — on Idaho’s death row. If found guilty and then sentenced to death, Kohberger would likely await execution at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.
The final picture of the four victims, just hours before they were killed in their Moscow home.
Located in the South Boise Prison Complex, the intimidating campus includes a double-perimeter fence reinforced with razor wire, an electronic detection system and a 24-hour armed patrol.
News about Kohberger’s possible future accommodations in Idaho comes as Warden Garry Handle dismissed rumors that the suspect taunted guards at Pennsylvania’s Monroe County Correctional Facility over the weekend.
“His confinement … was uneventful,” he told the Idaho Statesman.
The Idaho Maximum Security Institution, where the state’s death row is housed. Idaho Department of CorrectionKohberger was reportedly escorted from the Monroe County facility early Wednesday, and is expected to arrive in Idaho within several hours.
