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Bryan Kohberger’s restitution hearing ends with no decision, but prosecutor admits slip-up

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Bryan Kohberger’s restitution hearing ends with no decision, but prosecutor admits slip-up

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Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson admitted to a major miscalculation in what the University of Idaho victims’ families should be owed in restitution, telling a judge Wednesday that he would no longer be seeking roughly $27,000 in travel expenses that were not outlined in Bryan Kohberger’s plea deal — asking the court to award about a tenth of that in funeral expenses instead.

Kohberger’s lawyers noted that the travel expenses were not part of the plea deal after Thompson mistakenly thought they would be covered by a victims’ compensation fund and agreed that the funeral expenses amount to $3,075.58. However, they argued Kohberger still shouldn’t have to pay.

Judge Steven Hippler grilled attorney Elisa Massoth about the terms of the deal and why Kohberger shouldn’t have to live up to them. He ended the hearing without issuing a decision, which is expected to come later in writing.

The judge also revealed that Kohberger had already received a “five-figure” donation to his jail funds. Massoth claimed that it was mostly for communication purposes, although the cost of sending a message at Kohberger’s former jail is just a few cents at a time.

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UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO VICTIMS’ FAMILIES ASK JUDGE TO PERMANENTLY BLOCK CRIME SCENE IMAGES

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

A plea deal is essentially a contract, Hippler said, and as a result, the prosecution can’t seek restitution for travel expenses outside the terms of the deal.

However, he also rejected claims from the defense that Kohberger has no potential future income. There was the unspecified “five-figure” donation, he said, and Kohberger or a relative could potentially profit off of his story in a movie, book or TV deal.

“There’s no way that BK is ever going to profit from any sort of movie or book because Idaho…specifically precludes that,” Massoth countered.

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Hippler said that’s not exactly how the law works. Money earned from such a deal would be earmarked to cover debts to the victims if it existed, he said. 

“If there’s no debt for those certain things, does the money not go then to the defendant?” he asked.

“That’s not my reading of the code,” Massoth said.

INSIDE THE HORROR: IDAHO FOUR CRIME SCENE PHOTOS REVEAL BLOODY AFTERMATH OF ATTACK

Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)

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Kohberger did not appear, although lawyers on both sides attended remotely.

His defense had previously said he shouldn’t have to pay up since the victims’ families received money from donors on GoFundMe.

Prosecutors, however, counter that he has “a history” of receiving “compensation” from his family and unidentified third parties while behind bars — money they say should go toward the victims’ families.

At issue was roughly $27,000 to be split between the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and the mother of Madison Mogen, her 21-year-old best friend, to cover travel and other expenses incurred during Kohberger’s case.

He killed the two young women in an upstairs bedroom at their rental home in Moscow, Idaho, then went downstairs to kill their roommate, 20-year-old Xana Kernodle, and her sleeping boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, also 20.

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IDAHO POLICE CALL OUT ‘GROSS INACCURACIES’ IN KOHBERGER TV SPECIAL, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR INVESTIGATING LEAKS

Exterior view of Idaho State Correctional Complex in Kuna, Idaho, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Notorious killer, Bryan Kohberger is being housed at this facility after being sentenced in the stabbing murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

The sources of Kohberger’s prison funds are not immediately clear, but throughout his case, supporters have claimed to have sent money to his commissary in posts on social media.

Prosecutors filed his jailhouse financial history under seal.

Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor who has been following the case, said some of the money could be coming from female supporters, but large sums could come from media outlets seeking exclusive interviews.

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Kohberger has never told his story, and told the judge he would “respectfully decline,” when given the opportunity to speak at his sentencing.

He said it’s not unrealistic to think that someone would offer Kohberger between five and six figures to break his silence.

If Kohberger does eventually speak out, he likely will not be able to profit, Fox News Digital reported previously. Like New York’s 1977 “Son of Sam” law, Idaho has legislation that helps prevent criminals from making money through detailing their offenses.

According to Idaho law, if a criminal signs a deal to profit from telling their crime story — including through a movie, book or magazine article — the profits first go to the state treasurer to be sent to an escrow account. Victims or their families, who must be notified, can claim the money through civil lawsuits within five years.

As part of his plea deal to avoid the death penalty, Kohberger agreed to pay more than $250,000 in criminal fines and fees plus another $20,000 in civil judgments to each victim’s family.

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His lawyers argued last month that he shouldn’t have to pay another roughly $20,000 to Goncalves’ parents or nearly $7,000 more to Mogen’s mother, Karen Laramie, in travel and accommodation expenses requested by the prosecution.

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“The additional funds sought do not qualify as an economic loss under Idaho Code 19-5304 because Steve and Kristi Goncalves and Karen Larmie (sic) received extensive funds through multiple GoFundMe campaigns that specifically asked for and covered the expenses sought,” attorneys Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Bicka Barlow wrote in a court filing.

Fox News’ Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

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Denver, CO

Police searching for information after fatal assault in Denver

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Police searching for information after fatal assault in Denver


Denver police are looking for information that could help them identify the suspect in a fatal assault overnight.

Officers were called to the scene in the 9700 block of E. Hampden Avenue around 2:08 a.m. They said an injured man at the scene was taken to a hospital for treatment, but he has been pronounced deceased.

DPD says they’re investigating the case as a homicide. They did not provide the identity of the man who was killed or further details on the case.

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Police encouraged anyone with information about the attack or the possible suspect(s) involved to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers.



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Seattle, WA

Detectives Investigating Robbery, Shooting Over $20 Necklace – SPD Blotter

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Detectives Investigating Robbery, Shooting Over  Necklace – SPD Blotter


Seattle police detectives are investigating a robbery and shooting of a 23-year-old man over a $20 necklace in Pioneer Square this morning.

At about 12:40 a.m., patrol officers responded to a shooting in the 500 block of 2nd Avenue. There, they found a victim, bleeding, with a gunshot wound to his right thigh. Police and the Seattle Fire Department treated his injury. Medics took him to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in stable condition.

Police determined that the victim just left a bar, getting into the passenger seat of his friend’s car, when the suspect, wearing a ski mask and armed with a firearm, approached him and demanded his necklace. They struggled over the item, and the suspect shot the victim in the leg. The shooter fled in a vehicle with the necklace before police arrived. The value of the “chain” is about $20.

Detectives in the Robbery Unit responded to the scene and HMC. Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted.

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Incident Number: 2026-57536



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San Diego, CA

Here are the 9 San Diego County communities that set or tied heat records

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Here are the 9 San Diego County communities that set or tied heat records


San Diego County is known for having wet, cold weather in February. But it had numerous hot spells this year. And when the month ended on Saturday a high pressure system produced heat that broke or tied temperature records in nine communities from the desert to the sea, the National Weather Service said.

The most notable temperature occurred in Borrego Springs, which reached 99, five degrees higher than the previous record for Feb. 28, set in 1986. The 99 reading is also the highest temperature ever recorded in Borrego in February.

Escondido reached 95, tying a record set in 1901.

El Cajon reached 92, three degrees higher than the record set in 2009.

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Ramona topped out at 88, five degrees higher than the record set in 2009.

Alpine hit 88, four degrees higher the record set in 1986.

Campo reached 87, four degrees higher than the record set in 1999.

Vista hit 86, four degrees higher than the record set in 2020.

Chula Vista reached 84, one degree higher than the record set in 2020.

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Lake Cuyamaca rose to 76, four degrees higher than the record set in 1986.

Forecasters say the weather is not likely to broadly produce new highs on Sunday. Cooler air is moving to the coast, and on Monday, San Diego’s high will only reach 67, a degree above normal.

 



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