The grieving parents of late University of Idaho student Ethan Chapin expressed their relief that their heartbreaking journey is nearly over as confessed-killer Bryan Kohberger‘s sentencing hearing looms.
On July 2, Kohberger pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the gruesome killings of the Idaho Four – Ethan, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21 – as a part of a plea deal that allowed him to avoid a trial, and with it, the possibility of receiving the death penalty.
Days before his sentencing was scheduled to take place, Stacy and Jim Chapin confessed they were at peace with how the situation played out, despite others’ opinions that the plea deal was unfair to the victims.
“He’s going to get what’s coming to him. I really don’t care what happens to the guy,” Jim shared on a Monday, July 14, sit-down with Today. “He’s off the streets. He can’t hurt any more kids.”
Stacy added, “I think our initial response was like, an eye for an eye. But we’ve spent a ton of time talking about it with prosecutors, and for us, we always felt like this was a better deal. I mean, [Kohberger] gets put away, and there’s no appeal system to it.”
Now, more than two years after the tragic deaths, Jim revealed that he’s “so ready” for this to come to a close.
“I’m ready for my kids to move on. I’m ready for us to move on,” he said. “I mean, it’s been almost two and a half years, and it’s, just, it’s over.”
This comes after Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson relayed details from a witness who allegedly saw Kohberger leave the victims’ Idaho home on November 13, 2022. Following the 30-year-old’s guilty plea, Thompson told the court that Kohberger had been carrying a “container” when he left the scene of the crime.
“There were two other roommates in the house, and they were already asleep during the course of [the murders] and one of those roommates awoke,” Thompson explained at the time, according to People.
“She looked out her door, not knowing what was going on,” he continued, “and saw the defendant, who was dressed in black with a back balaclava on, holding some sort of container in his hand.”
While it is unclear exactly what was inside of it due to a standing non-dissemination order, it’s been speculated that it could have been a memento of the crime.
Kohberger’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 23.
