The prosecutor who handed Bryan Kohberger a controversial plea deal last week has never secured a death sentence for any of the killers he’s convicted during his 33 years in office.
Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson cried during the July 2 hearing that saved Kohberger’s life, and put him in prison for life without appeals for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students.
The Democrat prosecutor faced massive backlash over the deal, including from some of the victims’ relatives, who said they felt cheated out of their day in court and the opportunity to see the killer face the details of his crime.
He had initially indicated to the terrified Moscow community that he would seek the death penalty against Kohberger, a former Washington State University graduate student of criminology.
But the plea deal is not a shock to those familiar with the 68-year-old’s career – Thompson has a history of striking a deal rather than seek capital punishment for the killers he’s prosecuted, as highlighted in a new report by the Idaho Statesman.
The last mass murder caser Thompson prosecuted, eight years before the Kohberger case, had a similar conclusion.
Thompson brokered a deal that saw John Lee, 29, admit to killing three people in 2015, including his adoptive mother, in exchange for removing the possibility of the death penalty.
Similarly, in 2014, Thompson struck a deal with Silas Parks, 25, who agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter after he strangled his pregnant wife to death.
Prosecutor Bill Thompson choked up as he laid out the timeline of the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022 at a hearing on Wednesday
Thompson grew emotional shortly after Bryan Kohberger (pictured) broke his silence in court as he confessed to murdering Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21
Thompson broke down again as he read the names of Kohberger’s victims, Ethan Chapin , 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21
In that case, Thomas did not seek the death penalty because there was not enough evidence that the killings were premeditated. Instead, Parks was sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison.
The only death sentence obtained by Thompson was in 2000, after Dale Shackelford, 37, killed his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend and burned their bodies. However, the death sentence was later revoked by the Supreme Court and Thompson did not push to have Shackelford returned to death row.
Kohberger’s plea deal will be the last Thompson brokers – the veteran prosecutor, who plays guitar in a local band in his free time, is expected to retire following the case’s conclusion.
He was first elected as Latah County’s prosecutor in 1992, which makes him the longest-serving prosecutor in Idaho, after eight re-elections.
Moscow Mayor Art Bettge told the Idaho Statesman he believes Thompson only ran for office the last time so he could see the Kohberger case through, rather than inflict it on a rookie replacement.
Last week, Thompson choked up as he laid out the timeline of the shocking murders of Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21.
‘On November 13, 2022, excuse me…,’ Thompson said, growing emotional as he reached for a sip of water and a colleague patted him on the back.
Kohberger stared coldly ahead as Thompson laid out the timeline, saying that he stalked the students’ home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho before the slayings.
The only death sentence obtained by Thompson was in 2000, after Dale Shackelford, 37, killed his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend and burned their bodies. But the death sentence was later revoked by the Supreme Court and Thompson did not seek capital punishment again
Thompson struck a deal with Silas Parks, 25, who agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter after he strangled his pregnant wife to death
Thompson brokered a deal that saw John Lee, 29, admit to killing three people in 2015, including his adoptive mother, in exchange for removing the possibility of the death penalty
Thompson said the state would have argued in court that Kohberger slipped in through a side door before killing Mogen and Goncalves on the third floor.
He said Kohberger then encountered Kernodle as she came down the stairs to pick up a Doordash order, and killed her with the same Ka-Bar knife he used on her roommates.
He then entered Kernodle’s bedroom and stabbed her sleeping boyfriend Chapin to death, Thompson said.
As Kohberger’s victims’ loved ones sobbed in the courtroom, the killer showed no emotion and stared ahead.
He repeatedly said the word ‘yes’ when asked if he’d committed the horrific killings, understood the terms of the plea deal and that it meant he could never apply for parole.
Madison Mogen’s father Ben Mogen hung his head and his legs shook as the judge asked Kohberger if he admitted to stabbing his daughter to death.
Kaylee Goncalves’ mother Kristi Goncalves, who was flanked by several family members, cried as the judge asked Kohberger if he had murdered her daughter and Kohberger replied in the affirmative.
The Goncalves family previously vented their fury at Thompson after he offered Kohberger the plea deal that spared him the death penalty.
They declared on Facebook that the State of Idaho ‘failed us’ as they hit out at prosecutors for failing to notify them that a plea deal was going through.
Kohberger’s plea deal will be the last Thompson brokers – the veteran prosecutor, who plays guitar in a local band in his free time, is expected to retire following the case’s conclusion
‘We weren’t even called about the plea; we received an email with a letter attached,’ family members said in a statement. ‘That’s how Latah County’s Prosecutor’s Office treats murder victims’ families.
‘Adding insult to injury, they’re rushing the plea, giving families just one day to coordinate and appear at the courthouse for a plea on July 2.’
The family of Chapin — one of three triplets who attended the university together — supports the deal.
Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, told CBS News he was relieved by the agreement.
‘We can actually put this behind us and not have these future dates and future things that we don’t want to have to be at, that we shouldn’t have to be at, that have to do with this terrible person,’ he said.
‘We get to just think about the rest of lives and have to try and figure out how to do it without Maddie and the rest of the kids.’
