Slain Student's Family Wanted Kohberger's Deal Amended

Bryan Kohberger is due in court on Wednesday, where he is expected to plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the killings of four University of Idaho students. Assuming he does so, he will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in late July. Otherwise, a trial will begin next month. News of the shock plea deal emerged Monday, and only two of the victims' families (Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin) have reportedly expressed support for it; the families of Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle are opposed. More:

• ABC News reports Kaylee Goncalves' father has slammed the deal as rushed, saying it was first raised on Friday. "Up until that point, we had never even considered it," Steve Goncalves says. "It was described to me as, like, due diligence. We're going to, like, look at this option, see if it could fit. At the least, justice starts with an interview of the families to ask them what justice is. And we didn't get that."

• The New York Times gives a similar timeline. It reports the father of Madison Mogen had a Zoom call with prosecutors last week to go over trial logistics, and that it was only as the call reached its end that prosecutors asked how he would feel if they were able to secure a guilty plea from Kohberger.
• The Goncalves family tells ABC News they asked prosecutors on Tuesday to amend the plea agreement to require that Kohberger provide a detailed confession and reveal the location of the alleged murder weapon—thought to be a KA-BAR-style hunting knife—which remains missing. The family says prosecutors explained such a change wasn't ethically possibly because the defendant had already accepted their offer.
• Father Jeff Kernodle had this to say to the Times: "I do not agree with this outcome and expressed my concerns before the deal was negotiated. After nearly three years of waiting and being told there would be a trial, with evidence presented to convict him, I'm disappointed in the prosecutors' decision." The deal allows Kohberger to avoid the death penalty.
• CBS News reports the hearing is due to start at 11am local time (1pm ET). A line of people hoping to get in formed at 2:45am.