On the third anniversary of the brutal murders that shocked the nation, Bryan Kohberger has been instructed by a judge to provide additional financial compensation to the families of two of his victims.
The ruling, delivered by Judge Steven Hippler on Thursday, mandates that the convicted killer pay around $3,000 to cover the cost of urns for Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Judge Dismisses Inability to Pay Claim
Judge Hippler firmly rejected Kohberger's assertion that he is unable to meet restitution payments due to his life sentence. The court revealed that while awaiting trial in Latah County and Ada County jails, Kohberger received a staggering $28,360.96 in donations.
Although his defence team argued that much of this money came from his family to facilitate communication, the judge noted this demonstrated a capacity to receive funds. 'He has received nearly enough through donations to cover the amount of restitution already ordered,' Judge Hippler wrote in his order.
Breaking Down the Financial Orders
The specific amounts ordered are $1,587.79 to Madison Mogen's mother, Karen Laramie, and $1,420 to Kaylee Goncalves's parents, Steve and Kristi Goncalves. These payments will accrue interest at a rate of 9.125 percent per year.
This latest ruling adds to the substantial financial penalties already imposed on Kohberger, which include:
- $251,227.50 in criminal fines and fees to the state
- $20,000 civil judgment for each of the families
- $28,956.88 restitution to the families of Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin and the state's crime victim's compensation fund
Future Earnings and Legal Complexities
In a significant legal interpretation, Judge Hippler indicated that Kohberger could potentially earn money in future from selling his story, despite Idaho's 'Son of Sam'-type law designed to prevent criminals profiting from their crimes.
The judge clarified that Idaho law 'leaves open the potential for Defendant to receive money from media contracts in the future', though such earnings would not be accessible to victims for restitution payments. Kohberger's attorney, Elissa Massoth, had previously insisted there is 'no movie or book in the works' and dismissed such speculation.
The ruling coincided with the third anniversary of the November 13, 2022, murders that devastated the University of Idaho community in Moscow. Kohberger broke into an off-campus home and stabbed to death the four students: best friends Goncalves and Mogen and the young couple Kernodle and Chapin. Two roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, survived the attack.
Kohberger is now serving life imprisonment without the possibility of parole at Idaho's maximum security prison in Kuna, having pleaded guilty as part of a deal that spared him the death penalty.
