Admitted murderer Bryan Kohberger will serve life in prison for the grisly slaying of four University of Idaho students, but the surviving families likely will never get an explanation behind his motive for the brutal killings.

Despite demands from the victims’ families, as well as from President Trump, Kohberger declined the opportunity to explain his violent actions to the court and those in attendance.

“I respectfully decline,” the seemingly remorseless Kohburger said to the court when asked if he wanted to make a statement.

The Ada County court judge, Steven Hippler, called Kohberger a “coward” who “now stands unmasked” and said the motives behind his killings may never be known.

“We are now certain who committed these unspeakable acts of evil, but what we don’t know, and what we may never know, is why,” the judge said. “By continuing to focus on why, we continue to give Mr. Kohberger relevance.”

“Even in pleading guilty, he’s given nothing hinting of remorse or redemption,” Mr. Hippler said, adding that he would not speak of him further beyond sentencing him.

The former criminal justice Ph.D. candidate at Washington State University entered guilty pleas to all charges on July 2, just weeks prior to his scheduled trial date. Under the terms of his plea agreement, prosecutors removed the death penalty as a possible sentence. 

He received four consecutive life sentences for first-degree murder, plus the maximum 10-year term for burglary, in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students — Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. 

The victims were found dead in their off-campus home at Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022, in a case that shocked the local community and garnered national attention.

Before his sentencing was formally announced, the families and friends of the victims were given the opportunity to speak directly to Kohberger with impact statements.

The lone surviving roommate, Dylan Mortensen, spoke directly to Kohberger as the defendant sat emotionless in court, calling him a “hollow vessel, something less than human — a body without empathy, without remorse.”

“He didn’t just take their lives, he took the light they carried into every room,” she said through tears as she read her statement, adding that Kohlberger “took away my ability to trust the world around me” and “shattered me in places I didn’t know could break.”

“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. Living is how I honor them,” Ms. Mortensen said.

Mogen’s stepfather, Scott Laramie, also read a statement on behalf of himself and Karen Laramie, Mogen’s mother, saying, “Evil does not deserve our time and attention.”

“Since Maddie’s loss, there’s emptiness in our hearts, home, and family — an endless void,” he said. “We support the plea agreement. Society needs to be protected against this evil. As for the defendant, we will not waste the words, nor will we fall into hatred and bitterness. … Evil does not deserve our time and attention. We are done being victims. We will take back our lives.”

The most pointed comments directed at the defendant came from Goncalves’s father, Steve Goncalves, who said, “Today you have no name.” After turning the podium to make direct eye contact with his daughter’s killer as he spoke. “Today we are here to finish what you started. Today you’ve lost control,” Mr. Goncalves said. “Your actions have united everyone in their disgust for you.”

“Nobody cares about you,” he added. “From this moment, we will forget you. You picked the wrong family and we’re laughing at you on your trip” to prison.

Kaylee Goncalves’s sister, Alivea, received applause from the court after demanding that Kohberger explain his actions.

“Where is the murder weapon, the clothes you wore that night? What did you bring into the house with you,” she said. “What were Kaylee’s last words?”

“You didn’t win. You just exposed yourself as the coward you are. You’re a delusional, pathetic, hypochondriac loser who thought you were so much smarter than everybody else,” she added before saying to Kohlberger that her sister would have “kicked your f—ing ass” had he not attacked them in the middle of the night while they were asleep.

Mr. Trump weighed in on the impending verdict on social media, saying that Kohberger should be compelled by the court to disclose his motive.

“These were vicious murders, with so many questions left unanswered,” he said earlier this week on Truth Social. “While Life Imprisonment is tough, it’s certainly better than receiving the Death Penalty but, before Sentencing, I hope the Judge makes Kohberger, at a minimum, explain why he did these horrible murders.” 

“There are no explanations, there is no NOTHING.”