Bryan Kohberger sent ‘thousands’ amid demands he gives money to Idaho victims’ families
Idaho prosecutors are pushing for the families of Bryan Kohberger’s victims to have access to any and all money that he receives from selling his story. The 30-year-old criminology student, who murdered four University of Idaho students in 2022, has received significant amounts of money through donations while behind bars. In a recent hearing, Judge Steven Hippler revealed that Kohberger’s prison fund had reached ‘five figures’ through donations sent to him during his nearly three years in custody. (Picture: Getty Images)
Exactly where the money came from remains rather unclear at the point, as the details are sealed by the courts. Kohberger’s lawyer, Elissa Massoth, claimed that most of the cash came from family members so they could ‘have communication with their son and brother’. Yet messages from Ada County Jail cost just 10 cents each – and calls just 25 cents a minute – raising questions about how such a large amount of money built up so quickly in his account, Daily Mail reports. (Picture: EPA)
The latest hearing took place remotely on November 5, with Kohberger deciding to waive his legal right to appear in person. He opted, instead, to remain at Idaho’s Maximum Security Prison in Kuna, where he’s currently serving a life sentence without parole. The court session was held a week before the third anniversary of the killings, marking the first major development since Kohberger was sentenced in July following his guilty plea to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. (Picture: REUTERS)
During that plea deal, Kohberger avoided being handed down the death penalty. Judge Hippler reportedly ordered him to pay $251,227.50 in fines and fees, $20,000 in civil damages to each family, and a further $28,956.88 to cover funeral costs and related expenses through Idaho’s Crime Victim Compensation Fund. (Picture: AP)
Prosecutors later filed for additional sums linked to extra things such as travel and accommodation. However, at this week’s hearing, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson admitted that his office mistakenly assumed the state’s compensation fund would cover the families’ travel to court. It did not. Judge Hippler called this a ‘unilateral mistake’ and ruled that no new restitution could be added to the existing plea deal. Thompson has since dropped the request for those extra travel costs but continues to pursue repayment for the victims’ urns. (Picture: EPA)
Those remaining costs, totalling $3,075.58, have also been challenged by Kohberger’s defence team. They argue that the convicted killer cannot afford to pay any more and that he has no potential income while incarcerated. Prosecutors counter that claim, saying Kohberger’s steady stream of external prison donations proves otherwise. They are now asking the court to ensure that any future profits from any and all books, films or interviews about the murders go directly to the victims’ families to help them cover costs associated with the fallout from the man’s heinous crimes. (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
Massoth dismissed this idea, insisting there is ‘no movie or book in the works’ and calling the prosecution’s claim ‘speculation’. She also cited Idaho’s ‘Son of Sam’-type law, which prevents criminals from profiting off their crimes. Judge Hippler, however, countered this – saying that the law could be open to interpretation. If no debts are owed to victims, he suggested, any future income might still go to Kohberger himself or through his family’s contributions. (Picture: Getty Images)
The hearing is just the latest in a long and drawn out legal battle following Kohberger’s violent and murderous 2022 rampage in Moscow, Idaho. He broke into an off-campus home and fatally stabbed best friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21, along with 20 year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Two other roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, survived. Kohberger lived ten minutes away in Pullman, Washington, and was arrested six weeks later at his parents’ Pennsylvania home. (Picture: Getty Images)
Investigators linked him to the murders through a brown leather Ka-Bar knife sheath left at the crime scene. DNA on the sheath matched Kohberger and became the key evidence in the case. He had purchased both the sheath and the suspected murder weapon on Amazon months before the killings, although the knife itself has never been found. At his sentencing, Kohberger refused to speak or explain his motive for the shockingly brutal crimes. (Picture: Getty Images)
Since being transferred to Idaho’s maximum-security facility, Kohberger has reportedly filed a number of complaints about fellow inmates. His legal disputes continue to generate headlines nearly three years after the murders, as the families of his victims still wait for full financial restitution. Judge Hippler has yet to issue a final ruling on whether Kohberger’s prison donations or any future earnings could be redirected to those left grieving the loss of their loved ones. (Picture: Getty Images) Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
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