BOISE, Idaho (Court TV) — Bryan Kohberger says he doesn’t want to pay the requested additional court-ordered restitution to the families of the University of Idaho students he murdered, arguing in a new court filing that the victims’ relatives received money through GoFundMe campaigns and that he has no ability to pay while serving life in prison.
The convicted killer’s defense team filed an objection to the state’s request for an additional $27,329.64 in restitution for travel and accommodation expenses incurred by the families of victims Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen during court proceedings in Boise.
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse, for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)
Kohberger’s attorneys argue that Steve and Kristi Goncalves and Karen Laramie should not receive the additional restitution because they received extensive funds through multiple GoFundMe campaigns that specifically covered the expenses being sought.
The filing details three separate GoFundMe campaigns that raised more than $200,000 combined for the families, including $85,583 specifically to help the Goncalves family attend court hearings after the venue was changed to Boise and $48,815 to help Mogen’s family attend the Idaho trial.
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Kohberger’s attorneys wrote in the court document that, given the specific funds sought and obtained for expenses to travel to Boise, the request should be denied because neither family suffered an economic loss.
Kohberger pleaded guilty in July to murdering University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus home in November 2022. He was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences plus 10 years for burglary.
Under his plea agreement, Kohberger agreed to pay funeral expenses and reimbursements to Idaho’s Crime Victim Compensation Fund. He has already been ordered to pay $28,956.88 for those expenses, along with $251,227.50 in criminal fines and fees and $20,000 civil judgments to each victim’s family.
The state is now seeking an additional $20,409.32 for the Goncalves family and $6,920.32 for Karen Laramie to cover travel and accommodation costs, plus $1,420 and $1,587.79, respectively, for urns.
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Kohberger’s defense team argues that he will never be able to pay restitution, given his life sentence. While inmates can earn small amounts of money through prison jobs, the amounts are minimal compared to what he owes in total restitution.
The families indicated after Kohberger’s sentencing that they planned to refund GoFundMe donations, though the defense filing notes it’s unclear whether they were able to accomplish this or if donors requested refunds.
The court has not yet ruled on the defense’s objection to the additional restitution request.
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