'Does he realize what he has taken?': Idaho victim Kaylee Goncalves' parents speak out on Bryan Kohberger
MOSCOW, IDAHO: With the arrest of Bryan Kohberger in the brutal killing of four University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, the parents of one of the slain students have spoken out. Steve and Kristi Goncalves, parents to Kaylee, spoke out in an interview on Thursday, January 5, after Kohberger’s first court appearance. The parents looked distraught as they said that they might ‘forgive him’ one day, but he will have to “pay for what he’s done," as per NewsNation.
The parents had previously spoken out at the time of Kaylee's funeral when Kristi had said it made her "sick" that the person who killed her daughter "could be right among us." She also went on to add that she somehow felt that the killer knew her daughter because Moscow is a small town. More than a month after that statement, Kohberger was arrested by the police.
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On their most recent joint appearance, Kristi and Steve had some choice of words to say about the arrest. “Justice is when you leave the planet … and the whole world is able to rejoice and be glad that you are not there. That’s justice, and we will forgive him,” Steve said. Kristi then went on to talk about her feelings about Kohberger’s court appearance. “I just could not believe that he has done what he has done. … I just was numb.”
Steve and Kristi Goncalves give their thanks to @TVAshleigh and @BrianEntin for their dedicated and continued coverage of the Idaho murders.#Banfield pic.twitter.com/AQ28R0jyvB
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) January 6, 2023
She then went on to express her grief about the victims and the loss of their families. “Does he realize what he has taken from us … from these four families? Ethan was a triplet … Maddie was an only child. Xana had siblings. Kaylee was one of five. The immense loss … He did really think about it, which makes it really hard," as per NewsNation.
“My girls have been through a lot, and they weren’t the ones to pick on somebody. They were the ones to stick up for you,” Steve said while saying that Kohberger "picked the wrong community." He also apologized to the Moscow law enforcement, saying while he was initially hard on them, he now understands that they’ve done a good job and that "all is forgiven."
“These guys did an amazing job. They need more credit than they had. They hit a homerun. That affidavit is impressive,” Goncalves said. “I was concerned, but I was wrong, they were right, and I’m OK with that.”