University of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves’ sister Alivea Goncalves described what it was like coming face-to-face with killer Bryan Kohberger at his sentencing hearing.
On Wednesday, July 23, Alivea delivered a searing victim impact statement in which she directly addressed Kohberger, 30, at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho. In addition to telling Kohberger to “sit up straight when I talk to you,” a defiant Alivea informed her sister’s killer that Kaylee would’ve “kicked your f***ing ass” had he not attacked her and best friend Madison Mogen in their sleep.
Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences Wednesday for the murders of Kaylee, Mogen, roommate Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, in the early hours of November 13, 2022, at an off-campus student house in Moscow, Idaho.
In an interview with NewsNation correspondent and true-crime YouTuber Brian Entin published on Friday, July 25, Alivea described facing Kohberger in court, declaring, “He is not human.”
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“My speech wasn’t to Kaylee and Maddie; it was for them. If Kaylee and Maddie had been here today, it would have been something that I feel like would have rung true to them,” Alivea said.
Alivea and her father, Steve Goncalves, both directly faced Kohberger as they read out their victim impact statements. Before Alivea took the stand, Steve moved the podium so he could directly address Kohberger during his speech.
“I wanted to maintain that eye contact as much as I possibly could, and when I tell you, there’s not a human there,” Alivea described facing her sister’s killer. “I’m not scared of this individual. I’m not intimidated by him. But when I tell you there is a primal sense of alarms … my body was telling me, ‘Run! Get out! This is a threat. This is not a human.’ … The best description I can give you is, like, if I had come face-to-face with an alien. Because, back behind there, there’s no human being, there’s no humanity.”
According to Alivea, she felt there was “raw anger” and “raw rage” in Kohberger’s eyes as she addressed him. Ultimately, though, she was there for justice for her sister Kaylee and Mogen, who was Kaylee’s childhood best friend.
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“I could feel that specific stare the entire time. It was unrelenting. All I remember feeling is, ‘This guy’s pissed. This is anger I’ve never experienced firsthand before,’” she said.
Alivea continued, “I was ready to stand on business. There was nothing that was going to make me back down from that moment. All I felt was rage, almost from the very beginning.”
“My whole purpose of that speech was taking back this power and giving it back to Kaylee and Maddie. Xana and Ethan as well. I wanted to give them the hero moment that I truly feel like they deserve,” Alivea said of her statement.
She added, “For me, it was about taking back that control from him … getting under his skin, as best as I psychologically could with my limited understanding of what he is. It was all genuine. It was all incredibly true. Everything I did say was accurate to who he is and who they were.”
As for her closing remark during her statement, she told Entin, “I truly do believe Kaylee would’ve kicked his ass.”
