MOSCOW, Idaho (Court TV) — Shortly after Bryan Kohberger was handed four consecutive life sentences for the murders of four University of Idaho students, some of the victims’ family members addressed the media outside the courthouse, delivering raw and emotional reactions to the end of a case that has haunted them for nearly three years.

‘He took my daughter’s life! You look at me!’

Steve and Kristi Goncalves, the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, did not hold back.

(L to R) Kaylee Goncalves’ father, Steve, brother, Steven and mother, Kristi speak to the press after Bryan Kohberger was sentenced for killing their daughter and her friends Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle. (Court TV)

“It’s almost been three years and today’s the end of a long hard-fought battle,” Steve said. “But we have our person. We have him where he belongs…it was a little ugly, but we got that conviction and we’re glad to be moving on.”

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The Goncalves family expressed frustration with the prosecution’s decision to accept a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table.

“Despite the magnitude and brutality of the crime, ” Kaylee’s brother Steven said, “the prosecution chose to accept a plea deal behind closed doors, without trial, without ever consulting our family in any meaningful way. In fact, we learned that the plea deal had been finalized from an email from the prosecution team. Not in person, not with warning, not with respect.”

Kaylee’s brother went on to express his disappointment in the prosecutors, who he believes didn’t fight for his sister the way she deserved.

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“She’s not just one of the ‘Idaho Four,'” he said. “She was a daughter, a sister, a best friend, and the light in every room she walked into.”

Steven also took a moment to provide a glimpse into who his sister was.

“If you knew her, you knew joy, you knew light, you knew someone who made everything better just by being in the room.”

Kristi spoke as well, expressing frustration in Kohberger’s decision not to speak or interact at his own hearing, saying, “He took my daughter’s life! You look at me!”

‘We had a stare down, and he’s just filled with demons’

The family also shared previously private and painful details.

“It was horrific what Kaylee went through,” said Steve. “She was stabbed over 30 times, and she was struck, and there was quite a bit of damage to her face. So this guy’s just an absolute monster…When I was looking at him, we had a stare down, and he’s just filled with demons. He has dark pits of eyes, and there’s something seriously wrong with that man.”

Steve did manage to make eye contact with Kohberger at one point and his takeaway was as follows: “I looked him straight in the eyes and I seen [sic] black holes and just anger at me.”

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The family also confirmed specific details about their daughter’s murder that had been previously unverified.

Slain University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves with roommates Dylan Mortensen (left) and Bethany Funke (right). (Court TV)

“We do know that another weapon was used on Kaylee,” said Kristi. “We don’t know what that weapon was.”

Neither weapon was recovered.

When asked why he defied court protocol by moving the podium during victim impact statements, Steve had this to say:

“He’s a coward. He’s been protected by the court from day one, the minute that he was arrested. So I want to let him know that I was directing everything towards him and his days of being protected are coming to an end.”

‘This way, his fate is sealed’

Scott Laramie, stepfather of Madison Mogen, spoke briefly but powerfully.

“Karen and I just left the courtroom,” he said. “The judge imposed the maximum sentence. A trial might not have led to death, and even if it had, it would’ve taken years of appeals. This way, his fate is sealed. Society is protected.”

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Laramie said the family remains devastated but committed to rebuilding: “We remain lost without her. But we will find our way.”

When Kaylee’s brother Steven ended his remarks, he made a promise.

“I will always carry her with me for the rest of my life, and I will never stop being her brother.”