Not Guilty Plea Entered For Bryan Kohberger In Idaho Stabbing

An Idaho judge entered not guilty pleas on behalf of Bryan Kohberger, he was accused of killing four University of Idaho students last fall. Kohberger stood silent in court on Monday as the judge entered not guilty pleas on all murder charges.

According to CNN, Judge John Judge read aloud Kohberger’s rights and each of the murder and burglary charges outlined in the indictment. When asked if he understood the charges, Kohberger replied to each, “Yes.”When asked for his plea to the counts, Kohberger remained silent. His attorney rose and said, “Your honor, we are standing silent,” and the judge then entered not guilty pleas for him.

Kohberger, 28, was indicted last week on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary for the November 13 killings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, at a home just outside the university’s main campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger wore an orange prisoner uniform on Monday as the court read five counts against him, according to NBC, one for burglary and four for first-degree murder in a case and ensuing manhunt that captivated the nation late last year. Prosecutors have 60 days from Monday to tell the court, in writing, whether they plan to seek the death penalty in this case.

Authorities say Kohberger, a graduate student in the Department of Criminology at nearby Washington State University, broke into the students’ home and stabbed the victims to death. The killings and lengthy investigation rattled the community of Moscow, a city of 25,000 people that hadn’t recorded a murder since 2015. After weeks with little information and heightened anxieties, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania in late December and identified as the alleged killer.