The Sentencing of Bryan Kohberger | "48 Hours" Podcast | Forensic Files

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He is a hollow vessel, something less than human, a body without empathy, without remorse.
He chose destruction. He chose evil. He feels nothing. [Music] >> For the first time, Dylan Mortonson, one
of the two surviving roommates in the house on King Road, courageously spoke in court about her grief and trauma as
the murderer of her friends, sat facing forward with no emotion. >> He tried to take everything from me, my
friends, my safety, my identity, my future. He took their lives, but I will continue
trying to be like them to make them proud. On Wednesday, a shackled Brian Coberger,
who admitted earlier this month to the mass murder of University of Idaho students Kaylee Gonzalez, Madison Mogan,
Zana Kernodal, and Ethan Chapen was forced to hear the cries, the anguish, the frustrations, and the righteous
anger of the loved ones left behind at his sentencing hearing in Boise. Today we are here to prove to the world that
you picked the wrong families. >> Instead, I will call you what you are. Sociopath, psychopath,
murderer. >> We are done being victims. We are taking back our lives. >> I'm 48 hours correspondent Peter Vans
and this is the Idaho student murders inside the Brian Coberger case. Today you're going to hear what happened
inside the courtroom. And joining me to discuss it all is CBS News legal analyst, attorney Mary Fuljiniti, and
Washington State University Muro School of Journalism Professor Matt Loveless. And Matt, you live in Pullman, just a
stones throw down the road from Moscow. You're the one that went over to that house on King Road after you learned of
these murders. You saw that that tragic sight of some blood seeping down the outside of the building which gave us
all a sense of what was going on on the inside. Give me a sense of what this day
was like for you. >> It was an emotional day, Peter. And as this case has gone on for close to a
thousand days now, I hesitate to call it closure, but it was nice as a community
member just to hear the families be able to speak and release a little bit today.
And I think we'll get to the fact that they released quite a bit today. So, it did feel like a little bit of closure
and also it felt incomplete. I know we'll talk about that as well. For the victim's families and surviving
roommates, they had been expected to give impact statements after a trial when their words would influence the
sentencing, but that trial never came to be. >> Yeah. No, it didn't. I mean, Brian
Coberger ended up signing a plea agreement and on July 2nd in court admitted his guilt to each charge in the
indictment. And part of that agreement and part of those admissions included him agreeing to fixed terms, fixed life
sentences for each of the four murder counts as well as a 10-year count for the felony burglary, all to run
consecutively. Uh, and in addition, he waved all rights to appeal. And for all of us who have watched this from the
beginning, to see all those loved ones in that room and be able to look at the man across the way who was so stoic,
emotionless, lacking remorse sitting there, the man who had wielded that knife and and and and created all this
pain was just extraordinary, wasn't it? >> Yeah. Watching him was was eerie to be
perfectly honest. I think the one thing to me that stood out out of all the tears and emotion was that Brian
Cobberger did not shed a tear. He did not show any emotion. >> Even the judge was wiping away tears
throughout. And for me, in the dozens and dozens of court cases I've been involved with, I'd never seen that
before, Mary. What about you? >> Yeah, you know, I've never seen a judge shed a tear in a case. The prosecutor
was tearing up. The the judge was tearing up. We had the victims. We had the family members. I was even tearing
up throughout much of it because you sit there and you hear how heinous and horrific the crimes were. And as a
mother to a daughter who's in college at a sorority, it just it hits home. >> In addition to Dylan Mortonson, we heard
from her fellow surviving roommate Bethany Funk. Good friend Emily Alant read Bethy's words inside a packed
courtroom. >> For some reason, I am still here and I got to live. I still think about this
every day. Why me? Why did I get to live and not them? >> People always ask that, the survivors.
Matt, what do you think? >> It's still hard to explain. You know, we know Bethany had a basement room in that
place. I think people are learning the layout of that three-story uh building there on 1122 King Road. We know Dylan
came down to be with Bethany. She had a second floor bedroom. She went downstairs after she says she opened the
door and saw a man with bushy eyebrows. And I know there was a lot of confusion over the 911 call, the fact that it took
more than 7 hours for them to make that call. >> When I first woke up that morning, I had
no idea what happened. I woke up around 7:00 with a terrible toothache. So, I called my dad who is a dentist and he
asked what I should do. He told me to take Advil. So, I did and I went back to sleep. I was still out of
it and still didn't know what happened. If I had known, I of course would have called 911 right away. I still carry so
much regret and guilt for not knowing what had happened and not calling right away. Even though I understand it
wouldn't have changed anything, not even if the paramedics had been right outside
the door. I was so frantic that morning and scared to death, not knowing what had happened.
And when I made the 911 call, I couldn't even get out the words. And from then on, I don't remember a
thing. It was like my brain wiped that whole memory. That was the worst day of my life and I
know it always will be. >> You know, much of the information in this case, it's sort of been that leaky
faucet. We'll get a drip here and a drip there and a drip there. And one of those
drips came recently as we found out a little bit more about why there was so much chaos on that call. There's still a
lot of confusion, but we hear some context now from the Amazon series about how friend Emily Alant, friend Hunter
Johnson, and another friend had come and how Hunter had found Ethan and Zanna and
reported that they should call the police for an unconscious person, essentially sparing his friends the
trauma of knowing what happened. And we also know now that at the time they weren't even aware that Maddie and Kaye
had been killed as well. And so we are just beginning to learn this little trickle of information about what had
happened that morning. And it is starting to make a lot more sense. >> And while Bethany did not attend, we
learned more from Dylan who lived on the second floor of the house. And she sat down at the prosecutor's table and took
moments to compose herself. >> Dylan, just take your time. I'm all right. I'm sorry.
Thank you, your honor. And the presentation that Dylan Mortonson had in that courtroom. This
was a a young teenage girl at the time of these murders, overwhelmed by what had happened there, and she had been
savaged in social media. Well, the Dylan Mortonson that showed up today was mature and eloquent and profound and and
so impressive. >> I was barely 19 when he did this. We had just celebrated my birthday at the end
of September. I should have been figuring out who I was. I should have been having the
college experience and starting to establish my future. Instead, I was forced to learn how to survive the
unimaginable. I couldn't be alone. I had to sleep in my mom's bed because I was too terrified to close my eyes.
Terrified that if I blinked, someone might be there. I made escape plans everywhere I went.
If something happens, how do I get out? What can I use to defend myself? Who can
help? Then there are the panic attacks. The kind that slam into me like a tsunami out of nowhere. I can't breathe.
I can't think. I can't stop shaking. All I can do is scream because the emotional pain and the grief is too much
to handle. My chest feels like it's caving in. >> The the enormous consequence of murder.
uh was just expressed there. And I hope those who tortured this young woman take
a moment perhaps to send off something kind now that you know the context of what had happened cuz she doesn't
deserve anyone's sworn. She didn't speak at the sentencing hearing about what she saw that day.
mostly just talking about the pain she continues to endure. We got to hear her talk about a lot of the coverage that
was about her early on in the coverage of this case and it was it was just devastating to hear.
Mattie Mogan's stepfather Scott Laramie spoke on behalf of himself and Mattiey's
mother Karen who stood beside him in tears. He said he refused to waste words on the defendant, saying evil doesn't
deserve time and attention. It helps us to know that he is in heaven now, freed from the trials of this earth.
We, however, continue to live on without the grace and support of her presence. We will grow old without our only child,
our bright, beautiful friend and daughter. In the end, there are no words that can
accurately capture the devastation of losing Maddie. You know, one person who was so moving to me was Mattiey's
father, Ben Mogan. This is a man who's been through a lot in life. And he said that Maddie was the only child he ever
had. She was the only great thing he ever really did and the only thing he was ever proud of. Boy, those hit me.
That was so sad. and he was honest about his struggles with addiction and how Maddie helped him.
>> I went through a lot of uh issues with addiction and with uh with substance abuse and and um when I wasn't
wanting to live anymore, she was what would keep me from just not caring anymore. and um
knowing that she was out there and that she was just such a beautiful person uh kept me alive a lot of a lot of rough
moments and for for her father Maddie's Maddie helped put him back on the rails and even though she's lost her life in
some ways she has saved his and that was very poignant. Ben Mogan Scott Laramie and Mattiey's paternal grandmother
expressed their support of the plea agreement. Now, in contrast, Kaylee Gonzalez's family has been outspoken
about their disappointment about that plea deal agreement. Her father, Steve, called it a deal with the devil and has
called out the prosecution and judge in the case. When Steve Gonzalez got up to speak, he dramatically turned the podium
in the direction of Coberger. Today we are here to finish what you started. Today you've lost control.
Having interviewed Steve Gonzalez a couple of times for many hours and other members of the family. What he had to
say about when the family learned of this tragedy and the shock and the horror and they're holding each other
and what they decided to do as he tells that story. For me, that was one of the most memorable moments in that courtroom
today. >> My kids turned around, looked at me, and said, "What do we do, Dad?" I told them, "You get to work.
You get your ass to work." And we started calling. We started texting. We started emailing. And you know what?
Within hours, within hours, we had your white car on a camera. We knew. We knew from the very beginning we had you.
The police officers tell us within minutes they had your DNA. Like a calling card. You were that careless,
that foolish, that stupid. Master degree, you're a joke. Complete joke. >> This family, they came out fighting
right out of the box. you know, from the day they heard what happened to their sister, their daughter, um they were on
it and they wanted to find out who did it, how did it happen, what happened, and uh and they haven't really stopped,
you know, and I think that that's very telling of sort of the dynamic in the family and and and how, you know, and
how they express, you know, their own feelings and handle situations. Kayle's older sister, Olivia, um, who I
I've met along the way, who had done such research and found breakthroughs in this investigation, and listen to what
she had to say. >> I will ask the questions that reverberate violently in my own head so
loudly that I can't think straight most any day. Some of these might be familiar, so sit up straight when I talk
to you. How was your life right before you murdered my sisters? Did you prepare for the crime before
leaving your apartment? Please detail what you were thinking and feeling at this time.
Why did you choose my sisters before making your move? Did you approach my sisters? Detail what you
were thinking and feeling. Before leaving their home, is there anything else you did?
How does it feel to know the only thing you failed more miserably at than being a murderer is trying to be a rapper?
Did you recently start shaving or manually pulling out your eyebrows? Why November 13th?
Did you truly think your Amazon purchase was untraceable because you used a gift
card? How do you find it enjoyable to stargaze with such a severe case of visual snow?
Where is the murder weapon, the clothes you wore that night? What did you bring into the house with
you? What was the second weapon you used on Kaye? What were Kayle's last words? Please describe in detail the level of
anxiety you must have felt when you heard the bearcat pull up to your family home on December 30th, 2022.
Which do you regret more? Returning to the crime scene 5 hours later or never ever going back to Moscow, not even
once, after stalking them there for months. If you were really smart, do you think
you'd be here right now? What's it like needing this much attention just to feel real?
You're terrified of being ordinary, aren't you? Do you feel anything at all or are you exactly what you always
feared? Nothing. >> She came mad, but mad and prepared. I sat there at various points and said,
"Can he can we get some answers to those questions?" She asked a number of questions we've all wanted to ask since
the beginning of this case. Not only that, she talked about reports of his heroin use. She talked about his efforts
to be a rapper. She made fun of him taking a online IQ test. >> The truth is, you're as dumb as they
come. Stupid, clumsy, slow, sloppy, weak, dirty. Let me be very clear. Don't ever try to convince yourself you
mattered just because someone finally said your name out loud. I see through you.
You want the truth? Here's the one you'll hate the most. If you hadn't attacked them in their sleep in the
middle of the night like a pedophile, Kaye would have kicked your ass. >> Yeah, she was brilliantly angry. Mary,
what did you think? >> Yeah, I know. I I thought she was incredibly articulate and frankly poised
given how angry she was. Uh but I you know she also you know brought up things like do you feel anything at all? Do you
have any remorse? What you know what's wrong with you? Are you a sociopath? Are you a psychopath? I mean she was really
grappling with you know what the heck are you and and don't think that this is going to make you powerful or important.
And I'm a little shocked that the judge sort of allowed that vilification, but uh but she clearly got across how she
was feeling and and what she and the family I think wanted to know. >> And following Olivia's blistering uh
comments, Kayle's mother, Christy, also called him a loser and referenced the death penalty, which had been taken off
the table when Coberger took that plea agreement. While I'm disappointed the firing shodd won't get to take their
shots at you, I'm confident that the men in prison will have their way with you in more ways than one. You will finally
get what you wanted. Physical touch. Just probably not how you were expecting it. See, you haven't beat the system.
You've simply entered a new one where the rules are cruel and the consequences will never end.
You are entering a place where no one will care who you are and no one will ever respect you. You will be forgotten,
discarded, used, and erased. You will always be reme remembered as an as a loser, an absolute failure. And when
those prison doors slam shut behind you, I hope that sound echoes in your heart for the rest of your meaningless days. I
hope it reminds you of what we all already know. You're nothing. May you continue to live your life in misery.
You are officially the property of the state of Idaho where your fellow inmates are anxiously
awaiting your arrival. But it's okay cuz they're there to help you. Hell will be waiting.
>> I don't have a word to add to what she just said. The things Chrissy told me in
in the interview we did was that she wanted this firing squad because she wanted Colberger to have just that
moment of fear of deep fear that she knew her daughter had experienced as he was attacking her. And then she had one
last thought. She shared a message from Kayle's younger sister. Listen to this. You may have received A's in high school
and college, but you're going to be getting big D's in prison. >> Thank you. A spattering of applause there.
Something that I've never heard in a in a courtroom, too. >> Yeah. I mean, again, you typically don't
hear such strong language uh ever really at a sentencing hearing. And outside the courthouse after that
hearing, Steve and and Christy uh re referenced 34 stab wounds that they believe their daughter suffered. And
Christy said the details are far more horrific than anybody ever imagined. We do not know at this point if the
families learned of information that came out after the hearing in documents released by the Moscow Police
Department, but here's some of what we have learned from one of the first officers at the scene. He said, "I
looked inside the bedroom. Zanna was lame and it was obvious an intense struggle had occurred. Zanna was
obviously deceased." Quick side note, when I interviewed Zana's family, they said they were so proud. They had been
told that she had fought for her life and that they were very proud of that. They mentioned that in the interview
they did with 48 hours. Ethan was found on the bed. Quote, "The midsection of Ethan's body was covered by a blanket.
Kaye and Madison were covered by a pink blanket which was covered in blood. And Kaye, the report shows, was
unrecognizable as her facial structure was extremely damaged. >> I would caution anybody who feels like
they're curious to take a second thought before reading through these documents because the details are just awful.
And as far as Zana Kernodal's family, the court heard from her father, Jeff, and her sister, Jasmine. I walk with the
comfort of knowing I will see my sister again. Zana didn't get the future she deserved.
She won't be the maid of honor at my wedding. The cool aunt to my future children.
I'll never hear her laugh or see her light up a room ever again. But I will carry her with me for the
rest of my life. I will live in her honor. Fight to be the best kind of woman and someone she's proud of. To
make sure the world never forgets who she was. Zanna's story doesn't end with what was taken from her.
>> Aunt Kim spoke of forgiveness at this hearing. One of the few people who did.
Brian, I'm here today to tell you I have forgiven you because I no longer could live with that hate in my heart. And for
me to become a better person, I have forgiven you. And anytime you want to talk and tell me what happened, get my
number. I'm here. No judgment because I do have answers or questions that I want
you to answer. And I'm here. I'll be that one that'll listen to you. Okay. >> And then in contrast, Zanna's
stepfather, Randy Davis, he turned to Coberger with disgust. He did not have forgiveness on his mind.
>> I want to I want to just be out in the woods with you just so I can teach you
about loss and pain. I'm not I love God. I wouldn't take your life. That's up to
him. But I guarantee you, you are weak. God, I would just give a moment, man. Five minutes out in the woods.
Oh man, you're gonna go to hell. >> Zana Kernodal's mom, Karen Northington, also spoke. She has been open about her
struggles with addiction. She previously said she hit rock bottom and relapsed when Zana was killed and went to jail.
She is now sober and has spoken recently about how her faith has helped her cope
with this tragedy. However, Ethan Chapen's parents and siblings were not in court. Ethan's father, Jim Chapen,
said last week that he preferred to spend this time on their boat with his children. Ethan was a triplet and his
brother Hunter and sister Maisie also attended the University of Idaho. With the impact statements complete,
prosecutor Bill Thompson held back tears while reading the sentence for each count as photos of the victims were
displayed. Cries could be heard in the courtroom. He then showed that photo we all know so well of the roommates on
that game day weekend taken just hours before the murders. He called them a family. The prosecutor said Coberger
would die in prison. Colberger was given the opportunity to speak. This was a moment all of us were waiting for. And
here's what it turned out to be. >> All right, Mr. Coberger. Uh, you have an opportunity to make a statement if you
wish to. I take it you are declining. >> I respectfully decline. >> He said, I respectfully decline. Our
producers inside the courtroom heard murmurss of surprise, surprise, and coward. Judge Steven Hipler said he
couldn't force Coberger to speak. But even if he could, how could we know it's the truth? Mary, he has a point there,
doesn't he? >> Yeah. He I mean, first of all, you can't force a defendant to speak. they have
their fifth amendment right and under Idaho law a criminal defendant can't be forced to speak at sentencing and it
can't be used against him or her in any way shape or form um procedurally the court must ask for alocution but again
it's optional >> Mary I think one of the questions we have though is why can't we ask him
anything why can't we get any information and I'll ask it by offering a little context I think a lot of us
look at what had happened and if anything hope that there was a warning sign there that future young men and
women who go to these universities, could we possibly find that out? Would there not be a benefit to trying to get
at some of those answers? >> Look, absolutely. I mean, there's a benefit to understanding the why, you
know, and and and a benefit to understanding everything, the plotting, how did he figure out who they were? Did
he know who they were? Did this just become a happen stance? I mean, but at the end of the day, you guys have to
realize that there is a process in place here. And there are protections that are
afforded not only to the victims, but obviously to the defendant. And this is a capital case. And just like any other
criminal case, you can't compel them to talk. You couldn't compel them to take the stand. You can't even compel them to
take a plea agreement. After all of these uh passionate words um eloquent um spoken through pain, broken hearts, the
judge sentences Kobberger to what was agreed to in this plea agreement. He received four consecutive life sentences
without the possibility of parole along with 10 years for burglary. I remand the
defendant to the custody of the IDO State Board of Corrections for to be imprisoned in an appropriate facility
and execution of the sentence where he will remain until he dies. >> Also, uh Coberger has waved his right to
appeal, but he can file a notice of appeal. What does that mean, Mary? Uh it seems to be contradictory.
>> Yes. uh under the law, and this is the Supreme Court of the United States, if a
defendant asks to file a notice of appeal, his attorneys must do so. And failure to do so is a huge procedural
problem they found. But it's really done to protect those defendants that might not have entered into a waiver of appeal
voluntarily, who who might not have plead guilty knowingly and voluntarily. So here, although he has the right to
file that notice of appeal, and they must do so if he asks, uh, I predict that an appellet court, if he did, would
look at the the basis for the waiver and make sure that it's adequate and determine that it was in this case and
that the waiver was knowing and voluntary uh, and therefore reject any appeal. We've touched on this a bit, but
at this point, after hearing all that people had to say and all the questions they still have, everyone wonders, why
did Brian Coberger murder Maddie, Kaye, Zana, and Ethan? Even President Trump weighed in days before the hearing,
posting on Truth Social, "I hope the judge makes Cober at a minimum explain why he did these horrible murders. There
are no explanations. There is no nothing." At a presser, Lieutenant Darren Gilbertson of the Idaho State
Police said, "We have never to this date found a single connection between him and any of the four victims or the two
surviving roommates." Detectives also said they found no social media connection between Coberger and the
victims. There was also evidence he wiped his devices regularly, using software to clean, and he also used VPN.
And we also heard that they never found the weapon. They never found the clothes
he was wearing that night. >> Uh but I think what we do know is that he's going to that area over 20 times.
So there had to have been some connection. He's going to that area. He's doing something. And it's not like
he's going to random areas. He's going to that particular area. So you don't always know the answer to all the
questions. But I would suspect there's some connection at some point along the way and we might just never know what it
was. Judge Hipler acknowledged the public's need to understand the why. >> I share the desire expressed by others
to understand the why. But upon reflection, it seems to me, and this is just my own opinion, that by continuing
to focus on why, we continue to give Mr. Cobberger relevance. We give him agency,
and we give him power. The need to know what is inherently not understandable makes us dependent upon the defendant to
provide us with a reason and that gives him the spotlight, the attention and the
power he appears to crave. >> Finally, after all of this time, the judge lifted the gag order on this case.
Uh when can we expect to learn new details? What does it mean now that the gag order is gone?
Well, it means that people can talk, right? You're going to hear a lot of people talking. You could hear some of
the victims and the roommates talking and and the police and investigators can all now speak about about the case and
their investigation, the facts, evidence, whatever they found. Um, when it comes to the documents that are
sealed though, the judge made it very clear that he was going to wait until obviously this notice of appeal uh time
lapsed before he would actually review those and decide what to unseal and not to unseal. But that time period is about
42 days. And so I think once that time period lapses, we're going to see the judge looking at these documents closely
and then um hopefully releasing some that will hopefully answer some questions that everybody's been asking.
>> And a number of these documents are already revealing initial reports from arriving at the scene, conversations
with family members. You know, as much as we talk about closure in this case, I think what people need to understand is
we're going to start seeing body cam footage of at least conversations with witnesses and people standing outside. A
lot of information is going to come out. And as of this recording, the Moscow Police Department just posted its police
reports and other documents on its website. As more information comes to light, we will continue to keep you up
to date on this perplexing, disturbing case. And we'll leave it at that for today.
Mary and Matt, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me and thanks to all of you for listening. I'm
Peter Vans.

As a judge told Bryan Kohberger he would die in prison, the families of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle courageously spoke out in court, honoring the lives of their loved ones and speaking openly about the trauma they have endured. The court also heard tearful words from surviving roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, whose lives were forever changed that night on King Road in Moscow, Idaho. "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reflects on the emotional day and how people are coming to terms with not knowing the "why" in this case with CBS News legal analyst Mary Fulginiti and Washington State University journalism professor Matt Loveless. This episode was recorded on July 23, 2025.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Surviving roommates and victims' families confront Brian Coberger at his sentencing for the Idaho student murders, expressing grief and anger.

Key points

Dylan Mortonson Speaks Out. Dylan Mortonson courageously shares her trauma in court, facing the murderer of her friends.
Emotional Courtroom Reactions. The courtroom witnesses emotional reactions from families and the judge during the sentencing.
Kaylee's Family's Anger. Kaylee Gonzalez's family expresses their anger and disappointment at the plea deal.
Aunt Kim's Forgiveness. Aunt Kim forgives Brian Coberger, expressing a desire to move past hate.
Coberger's Silence. Brian Coberger declines to make a statement, surprising many in the courtroom.
Judge's Reflection on 'Why'. The judge discusses the public's need to understand Coberger's motives and its implications.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

We are done being victims.

1:39WatchJul 25, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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