Families of Bryan Kohberger’s “victims” will seek the death penalty for the Idaho murder suspect and comment on a “plea deal.”

FAMILIES of victims of murder suspect Bryan Kohberger in Idaho have said they will seek the death penalty at the alleged killer’s trial.

Kohberger was indicted by a grand jury in early May and pleaded not guilty in connection with the November 2022 deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.

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Goncalves and Mogen’s families have submitted statements expressing their support for the death penalty.

“We spoke to the District Attorney about the case, Mr. Thompson. He will meet with each family individually and then make a decision based on that. So the Goncalves family obviously supports the death penalty in this case,” said Shanon Gray, the Goncalves family attorney NewsNation.

“They want justice for the deaths of their daughter and Maddie and Xana and Ethan,” Gray said.

“It’s part of the process. You know, the claim for damages that I’ve filed is just standard proceeding.

“This is something that needs to be submitted to protect not only the interests of the families but also the victims and the community.”

Meanwhile, Gray said the families are seeking legal action against the city of Moscow, Idaho, where the killings took place.

Filing by the Goncalves and Mogen families on May 3 and 11 indicated they could sue the city for damages, documents obtained show abc news.

Gray told the outlet that the claims filed protect the families’ right to file a lawsuit for the next two years.

“Filing a lawsuit for damages is really just a protective measure,” Gray told ABC News.

“It’s a safeguard to protect the interests of the families, the victims and really the whole community, because if something goes wrong or is done wrong, someone will be held accountable.”

Similar claims have been filed with Washington State University, the University of Idaho and the Idaho State Police, Gray told ABC News.

“They should do nothing but protect the interests of the families and the victims in the future,” Gray said.

Eerie silence

Kohberger appeared in court on May 22 to file a lawsuit.

He was wearing orange prison-display jumpsuits and was unhandcuffed. He was seen smiling briefly as he escorted his attorney, Anne Taylor, into the courtroom.

When asked if he understood the charges and penalties, the accused killer resolutely replied, “Yes,” to Judge John Judge.

Kohberger sat emotionless as the judge read out the names of each victim and announced the four first-degree murder charges against him.

When asked about his plea, Kohberger was silent.

Taylor stood and said, “Your Honor, we are silent,” and the judge then entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

If a defendant remains silent in court, he is exercising his right to remain silent.

Mogen’s and Goncalves’ families were also in the courtroom, according to an Idaho Statesman reporter AngelaPalermowho was in court on the charge.

The hearing is scheduled for October 2nd and is expected to last around six weeks.

Following the indictment, the judge held a strict non-disclosure hearing, which prohibited police officers or lawyers from speaking to the media about the case.

The judge made no ruling on the mouth gag order and scheduled another hearing for June 9 to consider it.

KILLED FRIENDS

Kohberger is accused of killing the group of friends at their off-campus residence in Moscow on the morning of November 13, 2022.

The 28-year-old graduate student in criminology at Washington State University in Washington has been in an Idaho jail since his arrest at his parents’ home in Monroe County. Pennsylvaniaon December 30, 2022.

Before the killing, investigators said Kohberger had visited the King Road home 12 times since June 2022.

According to court documents, Kohberger’s visits typically occurred in the late evening or early morning hours.

According to investigators, in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, Kohberger sneaked into the three-story house undetected through a sliding glass door.

The 28-year-old then allegedly brutally stabbed Mogen and Goncalves in a second-floor bedroom, and subsequently killed Kernodle and Chapin in their third-floor room.

The case remained unsolved for over a month until investigators announced Kohberger’s arrest.

Investigators linked the 28-year-old suspect to the crime scene after matching his DNA on an abandoned knife sheath lying next to victims Mogen and Goncalves

Moscow police officer Brett Payne said he noticed the two best friends, 21, had “visible stab wounds”.

He added that when he later surveyed the room they were in from the doorway, he “noticed what appeared to be a tan leather knife sheath lying on the bed to the side of Mogen’s right.”

The scabbard was later edited to bear “Ka-Bar,” “USMC,” and the United States Marine Corps eagle globe,” court documents revealed.

On December 27, 2022, after targeting the 28-year-old as a suspect, police recovered the trash from the Kohberger family home in Monroe County.

The next day, an Idaho lab reported a DNA profile from the trash, and the DNA profile extracted from the casing identified a man as the suspect’s non-excluded biological father.