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'I just was too overtaken': Kaylee Goncalves' parents 'couldn’t take eyes off' Bryan Kohberger

Bryan Kohberger, 28, has been accused of fatally stabbing Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20

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MOSCOW, IDAHO: The devastated parents of murdered Kaylee Goncalves said they “couldn’t take [their] eyes off” alleged killer Bryan Kohberger when they saw him in court. “I just was too overtaken by the fact that I was, you know, in a courtroom going over a case that had to do with … people that I cared [about] and loved,” Steve Goncalves told NewsNation’s Ashely Banfield.

“I just looked at him … and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, his every movement,” his wife, Kristi Goncalves, said. She explained that she “expected to feel … just this immense amount of hate" and said that she is “a little bit in shock still.”

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Kohberger, 28, has been accused of fatally stabbing University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in their off-campus three-story rented home on November 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, on Friday, December 30. 

"I just could not believe that … he has done what he has done,” Kristi said of Kohberger. Steve said he was surprised to find the accused was “a guy that looks like a normal everyday … kid.” “I didn’t see anything there that caught my eye,” he said.

Goncalves' parents said they hope their daughter's killer faces the death penalty. “Justice is when you leave the planet, and the whole world is able to rejoice and be glad that you’re not there,” Steve said. “For me, [justice is] gonna look a lot like an end,” he added. 

Kohberger was arrested more than 2,000 miles away from where the murders took place and agreed to be extradited to Idaho from Pennsylvania. His lawyer reportedly said that he was shocked after being arrested and was reportedly planning to deny the murders. The weapon used to stab the students to death is believed to be a fixed-blade Ka-Bar-style knife.

Kohberger was reportedly charged with four counts of murder in the first degree as well as felony burglary in connection with the deaths of the four students. Investigators have not publicly confirmed a motive for the murders. Kohberger is a PhD student in Washington State University’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology and is said to have lived just minutes from the scene of the crime.