Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in a brutal stabbing attack, appears to have agreed to a plea deal that would see him spend the rest of his life in prison, according to statements made by one victim’s family and their attorney. The Goncalves family, whose daughter Kaylee was among those murdered, said they were notified of the development via a letter from prosecutors.

The letter, reported by both the Idaho Statesman and ABC News, was said to have come from Moscow Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson and outlined the rationale for the agreement. “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,” it reportedly read.

Kohberger, 30, was facing four counts of first-degree murder and a burglary charge in the 2022 killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. The attack, which took place at a rented home near the University of Idaho campus in Moscow, shocked the country and triggered an extensive investigation that eventually led authorities across the country to Pennsylvania, where Kohberger was arrested on December 30.

From top left, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.

“Appears there is a plea deal that has been offered and accepted,” said Shanon Gray, the attorney for the Goncalves family. While prosecutors have not publicly confirmed the agreement, the family’s public statement on Facebook expressed both shock and frustration. “They have failed us,” the post read. “Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.”

Kohberger’s trial was originally slated to begin August 11 in Boise. A doctoral student in criminology at Washington State University in nearby Pullman, Washington, Kohberger had maintained his innocence. His attorneys had claimed he was driving alone at the time of the murders and was not involved.

But the evidence against him painted a chilling timeline. Authorities cited cell phone location data, security footage, and DNA collected from a knife sheath left at the scene as central elements tying him to the crime. Chapin and Kernodle, both 20, along with Mogen and Goncalves, both 21, were found murdered on November 13, 2022, in a case that immediately drew national attention for its brutality and mystery.

As of now, the specifics of the plea deal have not been disclosed publicly, but if confirmed, the move would eliminate the possibility of the death penalty and bring the criminal proceedings to a close without trial. For the victims’ families, though, the news has stirred fresh waves of anger and grief.