Idaho Killer Bryan Kohberger Reportedly Pushing Back On $27,000 Restitution

Bryan Kohberger is trying to put his money where his mouth is!

The Idaho killer, whose gory act shook the country, appeared in court in an attempt to find a way out of the huge financial obligation placed before him in relation to his victims' families.

Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life behind bars without the option of parole for killing four University of Idaho students in 2022.

The killer's lawyer showed up in court today, insisting that her client should not have to pay $27,000 in restitution, given that he would still sort out the funeral costs for his victims.

Massoth claimed that the families of her client's victims already received money from GoFundMe accounts to help cover travel and accommodation expenses.

Prosecutor Bill Thompson countered Massoth's argument and claimed that the killer had a history of receiving compensation from his family, friends, and other people despite his incarceration.

He added that his current financial situation, as alleged by his lawyer, is not permanent, as he could later earn enough to afford paying that restitution. The 27k in question, as stated by TMZ, is meant to offset two of the victims' families' travel expenses.

Massoth dismissed Thompson's claims about Kohberger paying in the future as mere speculations and added that he would not even be able to afford his initial commitment of paying $3K for urns.

In October, The Blast shared that a judge in Boise, Idaho, issued a crucial order that barred authorities from releasing images connected to the fatal stabbing incident.

Kohberger's victims were identified as four students of the university, namely Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Ethan Chapin.

The judge ordered that spreading upsetting images from the scene of the murder on social media was not acceptable and would be termed an unwarranted invasion of privacy. This was reportedly done to prevent the victim's family from ever coming across these gory images on the internet.

The judge added that the authorities must also redact any portion of graphic content showing the victims' bodies or blood surrounding them.

She, however, gave the press a pass to release other non-graphic photos, videos, and documents connected to the case, noting that the public reserved the right to access investigative records.

The 30-year-old's days in prison as he served out his four consecutive life sentences have been described as slow and lacking any interesting development. He has, however, broken his silence when expressing complaints over his treatment behind bars.

For instance, he raised a complaint around late July and mid-August over his inability to access JPay, a financial system used to send money to an inmate's trust account.

As seen in the "Residents Concern Forms" which he filed around that period, Kohberger had expressed his wish to place a complete commissary order via the platform.

He also expressed that his request for a supply bag was never granted, which meant authorities forgot to treat it. In a third filing, Kohberger was seen penning a message of gratitude to a prison official who provided him with printouts and bubble sheets for the commissary.

He also commended them for resolving his JPay issues, hence granting him access to the platform without glitches.

A very significant event shaped the former criminology student’s decision to cop a plea deal, and it was the appearance of his sister’s name on the witness list. The Blast noted that the prosecution team had planned to call his sister, Amanda, into the witness booth. 

Sources claimed that he rescinded on his initial resolve to fight his case days after this development. Amanda was reportedly the only immediate family member on the list, which raised eyebrows about how much information she may have about Kohberger’s act.

His final conversation with his mother before his arrest also raised eyebrows as she sent him a new article about the case via a text message before they proceeded on a phone call.

However, experts stated that no clear evidence connected Kohberger’s mother to the crime in any way, adding that she might have sent him a text about the murder out of panic.

An act that had been argued was done with the best of intentions. The 30-year-old had informed the court about his mental health diagnosis via a written note. He explained that he was diagnosed with four mental health diagnoses in February, as he waited in custody for his mass murder trial.

Kohberger revealed that he was diagnosed with "Autism (level 1); OCD; ADHD; ARFID," and had been using levothyroxine, a popular prescription drug in the United States, which is also used to treat hypothyroidism, to address his illness.

The killer's claim was subsequently dismissed as the judge noted that his four conditions do not typically influence a person's everyday life to the point of doing something harmful.

Will the judge grant Bryan Kohberger's plea, or will he become $27k shorter in cash?