More than two years have passed since four University of Idaho students were murdered in their off-campus home on November 13, 2022. Now, the primary suspect has accepted a plea deal in which he’s sentenced to life without parole.

In the wake of the surprise guilty pleas, Peacock is taking a deeper look at the night that Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death by 28-year-old criminology student Bryan Kohberger in the documentary The Idaho Student Murders, streaming now. The 90-minute film features never-before-seen interviews with the victims’ friends, as well as Kaylee Goncalves’ brother, Steven.

“There’s no closure. As of now, I don’t even think I’ve begun the grieving or mourning process,” Steven reflected in the documentary.

Steven Goncalves details the moment he learned of the murders

In the documentary, Steven reveals that the family received a phone call from a cousin who said that “something bad had happened.” 

For several hours after the phone call, the Goncalves waited for answers, calling local-area hospitals for information. Then, an officer showed up at their home to inform them that four students were found murdered in their off-campus home on Kings Road in Moscow, Idaho, which has since been demolished.

“I don’t know if I really accepted anything that’s happened yet,” he said.

The victims’ friends, Kaylee McConkey, Sophia Whitehead, Ruby Simpson, and Leah Sullivan, also spoke out about that day in November 2022, revealing in the documentary that they had all received a campus alert (known as a “Vandal Alert”) notifying them of an incident that happened off-campus. 

“I didn’t think anything of it,” McConkey said of the message.

It was only later in the day when Mogen’s boyfriend told them of the murders that the girls’ worst fears were realized.

“Why would someone do something like this?” Ruby remembered thinking.

The Goncalves family’s reaction to Kohberger’s plea deal

Reactions to Kohberger’s plea deal were mixed, with the Goncalves family expressing outrage and others, like the Mogens, stating they are relieved to avoid a trial. 

“After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details,” the Goncalves’ wrote in part on Facebook. “Our family is frustrated right now and that will subside and we will come together as always and deal with the reality that we face moving forward.”

Steven shared his family’s concerns about a plea deal in The Idaho Student Murders documentary, saying, “I don’t think, for the crimes that were committed, that life in prison is even acceptable. It’s just not a fitting punishment for what happened.”

Madison Mogen’s father said in a statement (per the documentary) that his family is “relieved” they don’t have to relive the events of November 2022 in a highly-publicized trial, which was set to take place in August. 

“We can actually put this behind us and not have these future dates and future things that we don’t want to have to be at, that we shouldn’t have to be at, that have to do with this terrible person,” he said. “We get to just think about the rest of our lives and have to try and figure out how to do it without Maddie and without the rest of the kids.”

The Kohberger family is similarly looking to the future, with their family attorney saying in a statement to CBS News that they request “privacy, respect, and responsible judgement during this time.”

The victims’ loved ones will have the opportunity to share impact statements at the sentencing hearing scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

To learn more about the investigation into the killings and who Kohberger is, watch The Idaho Student Murders, streaming now on Peacock.