Kohberger begins ‘life and death in prison’ for University of Idaho murders

BOISE, Idaho – Bryan Kohberger will spend the rest of his life in prison, but the details about how and where he’ll be kept are still emerging.

The 30-year-old former criminologist received four consecutive life sentences plus another 10 years for the murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

A source with knowledge of the case told Fox News Digital Kohberger was already in custody at the state prison in Kuna, about 16 miles from the Ada County courthouse, by Wednesday afternoon.

Kohberger’s sentence amounts to “life and death in prison,” as Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson put it during a rare news briefing after the hearing.

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Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago. (Kyle Green/AP Photo, Pool)

The Idaho Department of Correction declined to give specific details about the transfer process.

“Once in IDOC custody, the person goes through a Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) process to evaluate their needs and determine appropriate housing placement; this process takes 7-14 days,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We wait until a person completes RDU to determine their classification, housing placement, and privileges.”

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That evaluation will include a psyche check to determine whether Kohberger may be a threat to himself, other inmates, or prison staff, said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor who has closely followed the case.

He’ll probably be placed in solitary confinement, Mauro said, at least for a while. But inmates are typically not kept there indefinitely, he said, and eventually he could wind up in general population with other killers.

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Exterior view of Idaho State Correctional Complex in Kuna, Idaho, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Bryan Kohberger is being housed at this facility after being sentenced in the stabbing murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

“In the general population, he is vulnerable, and he’s notorious — and in prison, especially for lifers, your reputation as being dangerous and just your reputation in general is the currency,” he said. “So there could be somebody looking to do him. On the other hand, we do want to remember Idaho is a death penalty state, and if you’re in for life, and you kill somebody, well, that’s going to get you to death penalty.”

Kohberger could try to request an out-of-state transfer, but that would be a rare move, according to Josh Ritter, a criminal defense attorney and the host of “The Courtroom Confidential” podcast.

“He’s not going anywhere,” he told Fox News Digital.

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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)

During their impact statements during Kohberger’s sentencing Wednesday, the victims’ families delivered a range of messages, from outrage to forgiveness.

“They ran the gamut, right, you have people who were willing to forgive him, and saying you know, ‘If you ever want to talk, please call me I’ll hear you out,’ and then you had people who we’re wishing death on him,” Mauro told Fox News Digital.

Kristi Goncalves, Kaylee’s mother, invoked the words Kohberger is believed to have said to the victims, overheard by one of the surviving roommates.

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A fellow inmate thought Kohberger was a “f—ing weirdo” who he would’ve assaulted if he wasn’t worried about repercussions during their time incarcerated together.

“When those prison doors slam shut behind you, I hope that sound echoes in your heart for the rest of your meaningless days,” she said. “I hope it reminds you of what we all already know. You’re nothing. May you continue to live your life in misery. But it’s OK because they’re there ‘to help you.’ Hell will be waiting.”

Goncalves’ father and sister also alluded to how he may be treated poorly by people bigger than him behind bars.

“They want to be in his head. They want him living in fear. They want him thinking in terms of that not only is he a failure, which is what they were calling him, but that he is a target,” Mauro said. “They want that on his mind, which is a very wearing thing.”

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Kohberger’s already been rubbing fellow inmates the wrong way, according to files released by the Moscow Police Department Wednesday evening.

Investigators overheard a male inmate talking with a female prisoner about Kohberger during jail transport. He called Kohberger a “f—ing weirdo” and said he would’ve beat him up if he wasn’t worried about getting punished for it.

Asked if he thought Kohberger committed the crimes, he said yes.

“His eyes tell a story,” he said.

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Another inmate told investigators that Kohberger spent hours each day video chatting with his mother while in custody.

According to the interview, the inmate was watching sports during one of those calls and said “you suck” at a player on TV.

Kohberger, who overheard the comment, allegedly “immediately got up and put his face to the bars” and “aggressively asked if [the inmate] was talking about him or his mother.”

The inmate said this was the only time he witnessed Kohberger lose his temper.