Kohberger Lawyers Say Families’ GoFundMe Windfall Is Enough

Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger are pushing back against efforts to make him pay an additional $27,000 to the families of two of the Idaho murder victims, arguing those expenses were already covered by generous public donations.

Under his plea agreement, Kohberger is required to pay $20,000 each to the families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, the four University of Idaho students he admitted killing in November 2022. Those mandatory payments are not being contested.

However, Kohberger’s defense team is challenging separate requests from the state—roughly $20,000 for the Goncalves family and nearly $7,000 for Mogen’s mother, Karen Laramie—to reimburse travel and lodging costs related to court proceedings in Boise. The defense contends those expenses were already covered by online fundraising efforts.

According to Fox News, court filings cite three GoFundMe campaigns “that specifically asked for and covered the expenses sought”: one campaign raised $73,493 for both the Goncalves and Mogen families, another brought in $48,815 for Laramie to attend court hearings, and a third collected $85,583 for the Goncalves family’s travel costs. Kohberger’s attorneys argue that, as a result, “the additional funds sought do not qualify as an economic loss.”

CourtTV reports the defense did acknowledge that family members had previously said they would refund donations after the trial was canceled due to Kohberger’s plea deal, but it remains unclear if that refund occurred.

In a People interview this past July, Kaylee Goncalves’ father, Steve, said he intended to return the funds, explaining he did not want to “bait and switch these beautiful people like [Latah County Prosecutor] Bill Thompson did to our family.” The Goncalves family has been outspoken in opposing the plea agreement.

original source