Family of slain Idaho student returning GoFundMe donations for Kohberger murder trial
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The father of one of the slain University of Idaho students said he is working on giving back the donations his family received to support their expenses during Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial.
Steve Goncalves, dad to Kaylee Goncalves, told TMZ he will not “bait and switch these beautiful people like (Latah County prosecutor) Bill Thompson did to our family.”
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Kohberger’s quadruple murder trial was scheduled to take place in August, but in a deal with the prosecutor’s office last week the accused pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the 2022 deaths of Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in exchange for life in prison and no death penalty.
The Goncalves family took to Facebook to share they are “beyond furious” with the state. They noted how the deal was “very unexpected” and they needed time to process the news, adding Idaho “failed us.”
A few days later, they issued a longer statement on Facebook.
“I am sorry if you don’t agree with our recent decisions on the plea deal. BK literally is too afraid to die, but he wasn’t afraid to kill,” the family wrote on July 3.
“BK wanted a plea deal and he was given one. Kaylee wasn’t offered a plea deal. The state is showing BK mercy by removing the death penalty. BK did not show Kaylee ANY mercy.”
The family noted how some people suggested that life in prison without parole is a good thing since Kohberger will never get out, but they wanted his sentence to go one step further.
“We knew it would be decades before he ever would face the firing squad,” they said.
“We knew that his execution was not going to happen anytime soon, BUT his life on DEATH ROW while serving his time would have been much worse than serving his time as life in prison. He doesn’t deserve life in prison. He deserved life on death row.”
The GoFundMe page had raised $85,583 before it stopped accepting donations. The family said they are trying to figure out how to refund donors their money.
“Please give me time to figure out the best way to do this,” the post says, noting the complexities in reimbursing everyone.
“I understand this is a priority for many people … Steve and I need a few days alone to process what has just happened.
“It is so hard to describe what we are going through right now. It is VERY mentally and emotionally exhausting. My whole body aches, from my fingertips to my toes. Please give us some grace, I promise we won’t skip town.”
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The August murder trial was expected to last at least three months and reveal more details into the killings.
Instead, the July 2 plea hearing lasted less than an hour, in which Thompson detailed that Kohberger first killed Mogen and Goncalves, then killed Kernodle, who was still awake at the time, and Chapin, who was asleep.
More details could emerge when Kohberger returns to court for his sentence on July 23. That date overlaps with the Goncalves’ plans to drop their other daughter off at university, so they said it was unlikely they will attend the hearing to face Kohberger one last time, Steve told TMZ.
He added they have asked for the hearing to be delayed, but doubted the request will be granted “since they haven’t done anything else we’ve asked them to do.”
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