Bryan Kohberger, sentenced on Wednesday for the killings of four University of Idaho students, was also ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of financial fines and penalties.
During the sentencing hearing at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Kohberger to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for the murders of the Idaho students, as well as 10 years for burglary. Additionally, the judge ordered the killer to pay $270,000 worth of fines and penalties.
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For each of the five counts, Kohberger was ordered to pay $50,000 in fines. He also must pay $5,000 in civil penalties to each of the families of the four victims.
Kohberger was transported to the maximum security state prison in Kuna, Idaho, by Wednesday afternoon.
If the Idaho killer eventually decides to tell the story of his crimes, he likely will not be able to profit. Similarly to New York’s 1977 “Son of Sam” law, the state of Idaho has legislation that helps prevent criminals from making money through detailing their offenses.
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According to Idaho law, if a criminal signs a deal to profit from telling their crime story — including through a movie, book or magazine article — the profits first go to the state treasurer and are then placed in an escrow account. Victims or victims’ families, who must be notified of the funds, can claim the money through civil lawsuits within five years of the account opening.
However, if no civil suits are filed after five years, the money could then possibly be returned to the convicted person.
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Idaho also has civil and criminal forfeiture laws — which allow the government to seize assets related to criminal activity — but they are primarily focused on drug offenses.
Bryan Kohberger entered a written confession and pleaded guilty on July 2 to the November 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
The victims were Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
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