The parents of Ethan Chapin, one of the four University of Idaho students fatally stabbed by Bryan Kohberger in 2022, have broken their silence on the murderer’s controversial plea deal.
Kohberger pleaded guilty on July 2 to murdering Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves on November 13, 2022, at their off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. Now, Stacy and Jim Chapin are speaking out for the first time since Kohberger entered the plea.
“I really don’t care what happens to the guy,” Jim told Today. “He’s off the streets. He can’t hurt any more kids. And that’s the most important.”
Kohberger entered his plea a month before his trial was set to start as part of a deal with prosecutors. As a result, he will no longer face the death penalty.
The Chaplins came face-to-face with Kohberger for the first time at the hearing, during which he admitted to killing their son. Hearing the charges being read out in court was “tough,” his parents admitted.
“It was cold and calculated and weirdly like an automatic phone message,” Stacy said of Kohberger’s demeanor. “I mean, it was just like, you expected some, I don’t know, remorse, emotion, something. There was just zero.”
The 30-year-old will be sentenced on July 23 and is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. The victims’ loved ones will have a chance to read impact statements at that hearing. Stacy and Jim are not planning to attend.
Stacy says she’s relieved “we just all get to go live our life.”
“There’s no appeal system to it, and there were so many kids, including our own, that had been subpoenaed that no longer have this hanging over their heads,” she told Today.
Some parents aren’t as relieved, however.
The Goncalves family said they were “beyond furious” when news of the plea deal broke. The family also released a statement slamming prosecutors and Judge Steven Hippler for their handling of the case.
“The plea began with the Defendant claiming responsibility for his actions with one word responses,” the Goncalves family said shortly after Kohberger’s hearing. “All were sufficient for the Court and the Prosecution team. Because that is what this plea was about today – the Court and the Prosecution. A plea that makes everything go away from them and lets them get back to their normal routine.”
During the hearing, Hippler asked Kohberger if he had murdered each of the four college students. One by one, Kohberger answered each question with “yes.” Later, when Hippler read out each charge and asked Kohberger how he pleaded, he responded with one word: “guilty.”
When asked about other parents’ reactions, Stacy said, “everyone’s entitled to grieve and feel how they want.”
“It’s just not how we feel,” she said.
“He’s going to get what’s coming to him,” Jim added.
The Chapins also spoke with King 5 last month, just hours before prosecutors announced the plea deal with Kohberger in late June. The couple reflected on what life has been like without their son.
When asked what they miss most about him, Stacy recalled “hugging him in his blue Patagonia coat.”
“Oh my God, right,” Jim said. “I’d give anything. Yeah, that was the last thing I did. It was the last time we saw him. It was in the parking lot at the Sigma Chi house. I told him, I always tell my kids, ‘Be safe.’ Yeah, you be safe. He goes, ‘Oh, yeah, I will.’”
The couple said they’re coping with the grief by staying positive.
“You just have to stay positive,” Jim told King 5. “Because it’s so easy to go negative, and negative is not going to get you anywhere.”
“Honestly, there’s, there’s something good you can find in every single day, even on the worst day, sometimes it’s the taste of your coffee, and it’s like, okay,” Stacy added.
