Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger requested a judge excuse the convicted killer from paying tens of thousands of dollars to the grieving families of two college students he slaughtered — arguing they have banked enough from GoFundMe donations.
Kohberger, 30, was previously ordered to pay roughly $290,000 in restitution when he pleaded guilty to savagely stabbing University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, to death in their off-campus home.
Prosecutors have now slapped the former criminology student with an additional restitution bill, requesting he shell out over $20,400 for Goncalves’ parents and roughly $7,000 for Mogen’s mother, Karen Laramie, to cover their travel expenses, court documents obtained by The Post show.
Kohberger’s legal team blasted the request for additional funds in a court filing earlier this month.
“The additional funds sought do not qualify as an economic loss under Idaho Code 19-5304 because Steve and Kristi Goncalves and Karen Larmie [sic] received extensive funds through multiple GoFundMe campaigns that specifically asked for and covered the expenses sought,” Kohberger’s legal team wrote.
His attorneys also argued that Kohberger has no means to pay the restitution now or in the future as he remains behind bars in an Idaho Maximum Security prison to serve four consecutive life sentences for the Nov. 13, 2022 murders.
The filing referenced three separate GoFundMe fundraisers for the families, including one campaign for Mogen and Goncalves that raised $73,493.
Another fundraiser for Laramie to “Help Maddie’s Family Attend the Idaho Trial,” raised $48,815.00 for travel to Boise for hearings, the defense wrote.
A third fundraiser raked up $85,583 in donations for Goncalves’ family for similar travel purposes.
“Given the specific funds sought and obtained for expenses to travel to Boise, the request
should be denied because neither family suffered an economic loss for that which the State seeks
reimbursement,” Kohberger’s defense wrote.
His legal team noted that the families intended to refund donations after the sentencing, but “whether they were able to accomplish this or donors’ requested funds returned is not included in the State’s motion,” the document said.
Weeks before he was set to go to trial, Kohberger accepted a plea deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty.
He was sentenced to life without parole in a hearing packed with the four students’ loved ones, who delivered emotional testimony directed at the cold-hearted killer.
After his sentencing, Kohberger was transferred from jail to a prison in Kuna, where his fellow inmates have been psychologically tormenting him by yelling into the vents that lead to his cell at all hours.
A restitution hearing to discuss the request for funds has been scheduled for Nov. 5, documents show.
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