While serving four consecutive life sentences for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger is receiving financial support from undisclosed sources. Recent court documents confirm that “anonymous donors” have been sending money to the 30-year-old inmate, a practice that began even before his formal sentencing this past July.
Prosecutors are now seeking to redirect these funds. They have filed a motion requesting that any money sent to Kohberger be allocated instead to the families of his victims: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. This legal push comes as part of the financial penalties attached to Kohberger’s plea agreement, which spared him the death penalty. The agreement mandates he pay over $250,000 in criminal fines and an additional $20,000 in restitution to the victims’ parents.
However, Kohberger’s defense team has argued he has no means to fulfill these obligations, citing his permanent incarceration. The identities of those providing him financial support remain hidden from the public, as a list of these “third party supporters” remains under court seal.
Separately, records indicate Kohberger has struggled to adapt to life within the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. Since his transfer, he has filed multiple grievances regarding his conditions. In complaints filed shortly after his sentencing, he reported difficulties accessing systems to receive funds for commissary purchases. In subsequent filings, he alleged persistent verbal harassment from other inmates and requested a transfer, while also criticizing the quality of prison food.
Kohberger is currently held in a restrictive long-term housing unit, where he is confined to his cell for 23 hours each day. He was convicted for the November 2022 stabbing deaths of the four students in their off-campus residence, a crime that shocked the community and led to a nationwide manhunt before his arrest in Pennsylvania.
