Dr. Kris Mohandie on Kohberger plea deal
After Idaho student murders killer Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to avoid the death penalty, the forensic psychologist warns that life without parole may not mean the same thing in the future.
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Bryan Kohberger admitted to killing four University of Idaho students to avoid the death penalty, but his life could still be in danger, according to a former prison pastor who is in touch with convicts around the country.
Kohberger, 30, was a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University when he snuck into a home 10 miles away and butchered Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in a 4 a.m. knife attack. Some of them were asleep.
The motive remains a mystery. He left behind a Ka-Bar knife sheath with his DNA on it.
In exchange for his plea, he avoids the potential of facing a firing squad and instead gave up his right to appeal or seek a reduced sentence on four consecutive life prison terms without parole, plus another 10 years.
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Bryan Kohberger arrives at Monroe County Courthouse in Pennsylvania in advance of the extradition hearing then sent him back to Idaho to face justice. He has pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
“He’s going to have a target on his back as soon as he walks in the door in general population,” said Keith Rovere, a former prison pastor who is now the host of the Lighter Side of Serial Killers podcast, in which he interviews a sampling of the nation’s most notorious murderers and other convicts.
“Those who are doing life have nothing to lose,” Rovere told Fox News Digital. “The badge of honor they would receive will get them much notoriety and respect in the prison and probably get them countless letters from the outside world — which could mean more money for them that people donate $5 here or $10 there for their commissary… Funny how notoriety will get you killed and how notoriety will get you respect in the same prison.”
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The convicts are going to eat him up.
According to Kohberger’s own lawyers, he is noticeably awkward. A psychiatrist hired by the defense diagnosed him with autism spectrum disorder, finding he has “poor insight into his role in relationships,” a sense of humor and speaks in canned phrases.
His former boxing coach revealed last week that he never actually sparred in the gym and only showed up after his father, Michael Kohberger, brought him there to boost his confidence.
“The convicts are going to eat him up in Idaho state prison,” said Seth Ferranti, a former prisoner and now a documentary and film director whose most recent work is “A Tortured Mind,” which explores post-prison psychology.
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Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
“He’ll probably get protective custody, because of the high-profile case,” he told Fox News Digital. “But killers don’t respect people who kill kids or students. He will get attacked even in protective custody, and some lifer might just end his miserable existence.”
Death row could be a more comfortable option, said Rovere the former prison pastor, at least while it lasts.
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“He would have been away from general population and much safer — and more than likely die of natural causes in prison rather than the state putting him to death, with all the appeals,” he said.
According to the Idaho Department of Corrections, inmates who either pose a higher risk to other inmates or who are “especially vulnerable” can be housed with higher security.
Bryan Kohberger pictured after his transfer to the Ada County jail in 2024, following a change of venue that took his case out of Latah County, where he has admitted to killing four University of Idaho students. (Ada County Sheriff’s Office)
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Ron McAndrew, a longtime Florida prison warden who for a period oversaw the “Gainesville Ripper” serial killer Danny Rolling, said prison officials could place Kohberger in isolation, have him escorted around by extra guards or take other increased security measures while he is in custody.
“Some inmates, especially those that are vicious or have mental problems, see killing someone like this as a status symbol,” McAndrew told Fox News Digital. “Especially if they’re already on death row, and they kill another inmate, what are you going to do?”
Rolling, like Kohberger and fellow serial killer Ted Bundy, killed multiple college students.
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McAndrew took part in a half-dozen executions, including a botched one that turned him against them. He is now a board member of Death Penalty Action, a nonprofit that opposes capital punishment.
University of Idaho students from left to right: Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21. All four were stabbed to death in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. (Jazzmin Kernodle via AP, Instagram/@kayleegoncalves)
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He said that Kohberger will have to work between 40 and 60 hours a week at a prison job while serving life without parole, as opposed to “getting room service three times a day” on death row while lazing away in protective custody.
“To sentence someone to prison for life without the possibility of parole means that they’ll be making a contribution for the rest of their lives as a worker at that prison,” he said. “If he was on death row, that would not be the case. He would, in fact, be a burden on the prison, a burden on taxpayers, and waiting for a date to be executed some 25 or 30 years later.”
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Rovere suggested Kohberger might be better off seeking a transfer to a prison in another state. While Idaho has fewer violent inmates than places like California, Texas and New York, prisoners there could have potential ties to the Pennsylvania man’s victims.
“You also have to take account of how many friends and family members of the victims might have a friend in there,” he said. “Or a friend of a friend of a friend, who they can reach out to and make sure he’s taken care of — or at least beaten very badly.”