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I'm Jennifer Gould. In a stunning development that sent shockwaves across the nation,

Brian Koberger, the man accused of savagely stabbing four University of Idaho students in November of 2022,

has accepted a plea deal that spares him from the death penalty.

The agreement ensures the former criminology PhD student will spend the rest of his life behind bars without any possibility of parole.

Koeburger 30 was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the

brutal deaths of Madison Mogan, 21, Kaley Gonzalez, 21, Xana Kurnodal 20, and Ethan

Chapin 20.

The four students were found with fatal stab wounds in their off-campus, Moscow, Idaho rental home

during the early morning hours of November 13th,

2022. Investigators believe they were attacked between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., likely while sleeping,

with no signs of sexual assault reported by the coroner. This dramatic plea deal comes just weeks

before Coburgers' highly anticipated

trial was set to begin on August 4th, with opening statements set for August 18th. The timing

is particularly significant given recent setbacks for the defense. Judge Stephen Hippler

recently dealt a critical blow to Koberger's

legal team rejecting their alternate perpetrator theory, which attempted to implicate four

other individuals. The judge dismissed the theory as, quote, wild speculation, end quote,

emphasizing the complete lack of evidence, connecting those individuals to

the gruesome crime scene. Hipler also denied a defense request to delay the trial, despite

claims of slow discovery and intense public scrutiny threatening a fair trial.

Prosecutors have meticulously built a compelling case against Coburger. Their evidence

...