Bryan Kohberger Took Plea Deal Days After Learning His Sister Was on Prosecution Witness List By Chris Spargo

Bryan Kohberger might have been forced to face off with his sister in court had his case gone to trial.

Amanda Kohberger was listed as one of the witnesses that prosecutors might call to testify at her brother’s murder trial.

She was the only immediate member of the Kohberger family on that witness list, which was recently ordered unsealed by Ada County Judge Steven Hippler.

It was just a few days after this motion was filed on June 25, 2025, that Kohberger agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors.

Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson had previously said that he did not believe Kohberger’s family had anything to help his case should he call them to testify, but Amanda might’ve been the one exception because her brother had been charged with misdemeanor theft for allegedly stealing her cell phone in 2014.

It was Kohberger’s father who reported the theft, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.

Other notable names included among the more than 180 potential witnesses whom prosecutors might have called to testify at trial were surviving roommates Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen and victim Ethan’s Chapin’s triplet brother and sister, Hunter and Mazie Chapin.

Those two siblings were the only immediate family members of any of the victims who were set to testify, likely because they were both at the scene on the morning the victims’ four bodies were discovered.

In the wake of Kohberger accepting a deal with prosecutors that saw him plead guilty to four counts of murder to avoid execution, Stacy Chapin — the mother of Ethan and the triplets — said that she was relieved her children and the surviving roommates would no longer be required to testify and relive their painful memories of that day.

In addition to the list of witnesses prosecutors planned to call during the guilt phase of the trial, Judge Hippler also unsealed the list of witnesses the defense planned to call during the mitigation phase of the trial.

Kohberger’s sister would have potentially been pulling double duty, as her name also appears on her brother’s witness list.

Amanda is one of the 56 individuals the defense planned to possibly call in order to provide testimony that might reduce Kohberger’s culpability in the murders of Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen.

The other names on the list included Kohberger’s other sister, Melissa; his parents Michael and Maryann; and Washington State University professor John Snyder.

Kohberger worked as a teaching assistant for Snyder at WSU.

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His inclusion on the list is a bit of a surprise, however, as Snyder complained about Kohberger after a verbal altercation between the pair, which resulted in the criminology department issuing Kohberger a warning about his conduct.

In a meeting with members of the faculty, which took place two weeks before the murders, Kohberger was given an improvement plan.

There was some improvement in Kohberger’s professional behavior at first, but by the end of the first semester things had again deteriorated to the point where he was informed he would no longer have his position when he returned the following semester.

After his arrest, WSU issued a letter that prohibited him from ever stepping foot on campus again.

There won’t be any chance for that to happen as Kohberger is currently serving four life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Amanda and Kohberger’s mother Maryann were both present for his sentencing on July 23, 2025.

Upon learning his fate, Kohberger left the courtroom while ignoring both women.