MOSCOW, Idaho — There is satisfaction in knowing that the man responsible for killing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin will spend the rest of his life in prison, prosecutors on the high-profile Idaho case agreed.

A week after Bryan Kohberger, 30, was sentenced to four life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of the four University of Idaho students, longtime Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings reflected on the case which has filled much of their time for the better part of three years. 

Judge Steven Hippler ordered the former Washington State University criminal justice graduate student to serve the sentences for each of the murders consecutively, imposing a $50,000 fine and civil penalty of $5,000 for each death. The Ada County judge also ordered Kohberger to serve 10 years in prison on a related burglary charge. 

The sentencing capped a legal marathon that began when Mogen, 21, Goncalves, 21, Kernodle, 20, and Chapin, 20, were discovered stabbed to death in the Moscow home shared with friends Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke.  

The past two-and-a-half years have been hard for everyone involved in the case, including the prosecutors. 

"We're realizing just how tired we are," Thompson said just over a week after Kohberger was sentenced. "We would be right in the middle of jury selection right now had things not resolved as they did and we were prepared for that."   

As the prosecution finalized preparations for trial, they were approached by defense attorney Anne Taylor with a request for a plea deal.  

The prosecution was ready to take the case to trial. Thousands of investigative hours had gone into the case, hundreds of witnesses. It was a strong case, Thompson said, and he is confident of the outcome: a guilty verdict. 

"There's no doubt the evidence would have convicted him," the prosecutor said. "There's no doubt about him being the murderer."  

After being approached by Kohberger's defense team, Thompson, Jennings and the rest of the legal team met with the families in a series of Zoom calls to outline the case. They explained the options, including the request for a plea deal. Some were in favor; other were, and remain, adamantly in favor of a death penalty.  

Thompson said everyone involved in the case respects both sides.  

"We were able to save the victims, families and the community decades of appeals and I realize that some of the family members have different feelings and we recognize that and we respect their feelings," the Latah County prosecutor said. "Not everybody is going to grieve the same. We really hope that this does, down the road, give some closure and some peace to everyone."  

Thompson pointed to the cases of Thomas Eugene Creech and Gerald Pizzulo Jr., both of whom have been on Idaho's death row for decades — Creech for over 40 years following his conviction of two 1974 murders and Pizzuto for more than 30 years after killing two people in 1985.  

Neither has an execution date. Appeals and legal challenges continue in both cases. 

"It would just be unimaginable to subject these poor families to that," Thompson said.

Nothing is guaranteed in a jury trial. And, Thompson added, forcing Kohberger to admit his guilt eliminated his being able to claim the jury got it wrong or file endless appeals.  

"He had to admit under oath that what he was charged with was true and that was a huge accomplishment," Thompson said. "But we weren't afraid to go to trial and if the defense didn't want to agree to that, we'd be picking a jury right now and getting to start trial next week."  

Thompson is proud of investigators who went from two scant pieces of evidence — the DNA found on a knife sheath found next to one of the victims and video of a white sedan leaving the scene. By the time the case ended with Kohberger's guilty plea and sentencing, more than 110 search warrants had been issued and evidence included 10,000 pages of reports and written materials, tens of thousands of photos and more than 9,000 tips. Digital evidence added up to 51 terabytes — the equivalent of almost 13,000 standard-definition movies.  

"Look at what they accomplished," Thompson said. "Look at what we accomplished as a team. I've never seen such teamwork and dedication to a case for so long of a period of time."  

Thompson and Jennings said the case is a prime example of the importance of patience and perseverance in a case. That methodological approach of discipline and patience pays off as it did in this case with an overwhelming depth of evidence resulting in Kohberger spending the rest of his life in prison. 

"We knew we had to do our very best to bring justice to the victims, their families and our communities," Thompson said. "When one of us would flag, when we got a little too tired or overwhelmed, others would pick us right up and keep us focused and going."  

While Thompson credits all involved — law enforcement, investigators and prosecution — Jennings said it is policies and practices established by Thompson early on in his tenure that ensures the teamwork is seamless from the beginning.  

"When this case happened, we already had that connection," she said, adding that it allowed them to move forward in a coordinated manner that was instrumental to its outcome.  

The case is one that will stay with them forever, both in good ways and bad, Jennings and Thompson said. The horror of the murders and death of four young people with their entire lives and bright futures ahead of them.  

"I think it doesn't leave you," Jennings said. "It will always be there, and I think it will always influence me going forward, in good ways and in bad ways."  

A prosecutor for more than 30 of his 45 years in the legal profession, Thompson said no case comes close to the University of Idaho murders.  

"I've never encountered anything like this and I hope to never encounter anything close," he told the Hagadone Media Group. "This case was a perfect storm of horror, evil and tragedy all combined and put together into this dark cloud that descended over us."  

While many are disappointed that Kohberger opted not to comment beyond a terse "I respectfully decline" when asked for a statement at sentencing, Thompson isn't surprised. Defense attorneys rarely like their clients to speak and often, sentencing is a chance for victims and their families to say their piece in open court, to gain some measure of closure.  

"We already knew he was going to prison and he was going to stay in prison until he dies so there wasn't a whole lot for the defense to try and argue," Thompson said. "I think his attorney made a good decision for him not to say anything and I didn't expect anything different from the defendant. And, frankly, if he had something, I don't think we would have believed anything he said."  

Early on, even before Kohberger was identified as a suspect or arrested, FBI behavior analysts told them it was unlikely the question of "why" would ever be answered.  

"They warned us up front that even if we found the person responsible and convicted them, that we would likely never know the reasons and even if the killer had tried to put into words the reasons, it wouldn't make sense to normal people like the rest of us."  

The profilers warned that it was often something "perverted" in that individual's mind that would never follow any normal thought pattern or logic.  

"That proved to be true," Thompson said. "There's nothing that he could have said, that we could have corroborated. It would just have only given him more power to victimize the families.  

"I understand that people want to know the why but that's not the reality in this case." 

As to what they would say to the four students, the message is simple, the pair said.  

"We are so sorry you aren't with us, so sorry that you aren't realizing your lives and enjoying your families and your futures," Bill Thompson said. "I hope you know we've done our best for you."  

"You will not be forgotten," Jennings added.