The families of the four University of Idaho students who were brutally murdered in 2022 by Bryan Kohberger have filed a negligence lawsuit against Washington State University, where the confessed killer was working towards a Ph.D. in criminal justice and criminology and employed as a teaching assistant.
The lawsuit, reviewed by the Idaho Statesmen, makes additional wrongful death and violations of federal education protections claims.
Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, just over the border from Moscow, Idaho, was obligated to control Kohberger as a student, employee, on-campus resident and school internet user, the complaint said, alleging Title IX violations, for which a private party may litigate.
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The lawsuit asserts that the school was aware of Kohberger’s unusual conduct, noting he was the subject of at least 13 formal complaints. The suit claims university administrators were aware of these complaints but did nothing to intervene.
The plaintiffs in the civil suit are Steve Goncalves, the father of victim Kaylee Goncalves, and parents for each of the four murdered victims.
Back in July, Kohberger avoided a trial and a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to fatally stabbing the four students on November 12, 2022.
The “plaintiffs seek to hold WSU liable for its own decisions and actions to remain idle in the face of known extreme and repeated instances of discrimination, sexual harassment and stalking by Kohberger occurring in its educational program,” the Statesmen quotes from the 126-page complaint, filed in Skagit County Superior Court in Washington. “… That ultimately culminated in Kohberger stalking and murdering the decedents.”
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified monetary damages.
Kohberger, 31, killed Goncalves, 21, as well as Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. All four were murdered in the middle of the night at their off-campus housing in Moscow.
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Kohberger was arrested and charged with their four murders approximately seven weeks later.
Kohberger, as part of his plea deal, waived all of his rights to appeal and has no chance of being paroled. At his sentencing, he received four life terms plus an additional 10 years and owes more than $300,000 in fines.
The four families are represented by attorneys at Wagstaff & Cartmell in Kansas City, Missouri, with two attorneys in Tacoma, Washington, acting as co-counsel. “The information now coming to light paints a disturbing picture of institutional inaction in the face of repeated and dire warnings,” the families’ attorneys said in a statement to the Statesman.
“These failures were not the result of a lack of authority or available safeguards, but rather a breakdown in accountability and responsibility at critical moments,” the statement continued. “The victims’ families have come together with a shared purpose to seek transparency, accountability, and meaningful reform. This effort is not about vengeance or speculation. This is about ensuring that institutions entrusted with the safety of young people take threats seriously and act decisively when warning signs are present.”
Washington State University could not be reached for comment Friday.
