Bryan Kohberger has another chance to explain why he killed 4 Idaho college students. But experts say he’s unlikely to speak

CNN Bryan Kohberger has one last chance Wednesday to give the grieving parents of four University of Idaho students he admitted to killing the answers they ve desperately sought for nearly three years Why did he do it Kohberger will have an opportunity to reveal those details before his sentencing Wednesday following a remarkable change-of-plea hearing on July that spared him the death penalty and his highly anticipated murder trial by admitting guilt to burglary and first-degree murder in the November killings of Ethan Chapin Xana Kernodle Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen Kohberger will be granted an allocution the formal opportunity defendants are given to speak directly to the court before they are sentenced by the judge Traditionally defendants use allocution to humanize themselves and express remorse or offer an apology or even an explanation for their actions anything that could be taken into account during sentencing according to the American Bar Association But legal experts think it s unlikely he ll say a thing What we can expect in sentencing would first be the victim impact statements by the families We already know that there are several that are going to speak which should be horrendous legal analyst and trial attorney Mercedes Colwin informed CNN I m sure it s going to be gut-wrenching and then he will be given the opportunity to address the court before the judge sentences him That s where he can say I m sorry for what I ve done which I don t expect any of that to take place Colwin announced The question of whether Kohberger will speak about his crimes even invited a comment from President Donald Trump who stated in a post on Truth Social on Monday the judge should make the -year-old explain why he did these horrible murders before the sentencing In every previous court appearance Kohberger has remained expressionless silent and unmoved as prosecutors recounted the chilling details of the late-night killings how he entered a home through a sliding door and savagely stabbed four young students to death while two survivors terrified texted each other about a masked figure moving through the hallway Despite Kohberger admitting to the crimes the July change-of-plea hearing left one giant hole in the story why he targeted the residents of the King Road house It s unclear whether the population will ever get an answer as it s not required by the plea deal Allocution may offer one final chance for him to address it in court Here s what to expect Allocution does not require him to divulge any details During the change-of-plea hearing Judge Steven Hippler formally questioned Kohberger to ensure he fully understood the charges the consequences of pleading guilty and his rights before accepting the plea Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty the judge appealed Yes Kohberger noted Did you on November enter the residence at King Road in Moscow Idaho with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder Hippler sought Yes Kohberger again responded as one of the casualties family members silently wept while other loved ones listened intently But that was all The judge inquired Kohberger only basic confirmation questions There was no inquiry into why he committed the crimes or whether he felt any remorse The plea agreement and the written factual basis offer little insight into Kohberger s motive Several key concerns were left unaddressed including what drove Kohberger to carry out the killings why he targeted the students specifically and why two roommates were spared The plea agreement doesn t necessitate that Kohberger disclose any details about the murders at his sentencing I had hoped the agreement would include conditions that required the defendant to explain his actions and provide answers to the a large number of questions that still remain especially where evidence is missing or unclear Xana Kernodle s father Jeff Kernodle announced in a announcement following the guilty plea At Wednesday s sentencing allocution will offer Kohberger a confronting choice stay silent or face the families of his four casualties and attempt to explain the horror he inflicted Allocution rights can be traced to when English courts recorded that in cases in which defendants faced achievable death sentences the failure to ask defendants directly whether they had anything to say prior to sentencing constituted a basis for reversal according to the American Bar Association Numerous historic allocution statements have been delivered over the years including John Brown s address to the court after his death sentence in and Susan B Anthony s defiant speech following her arrest for voting in Several convicted murderers have also given allocution statements including serial killer Ted Bundy Timothy McVeigh convicted for the Oklahoma City bombing and John Wayne Gacy known as the Killer Clown Allocution rights appear at the state level though they vary across jurisdictions But according to Idaho law the defendant has the right of allocution or the right to personally address the judge if they choose to Before imposing sentence the court must give counsel an opportunity to speak on behalf of the defendant and must ask the defendant personally if the defendant wishes to make a declaration and to present any information in mitigation of punishment Idaho s Criminal Rule states Allocutions are not made under oath and and Kohberger will not be subjected to cross-examination according to the state law Their families may never hear why he targeted this house and their children what made him do it He s not required to answer the why although we know he killed them because he s already taken this plea Colwin revealed They may never get true closure He may one day speak to the media A pile of questions over the killer s method and motive have haunted the occurrence since the four students were discovered stabbed to death in their off-campus home in Moscow Idaho with no signs of forced entry But even if Kohberger remains silent now and does not exercise his right to allocution there s still a possibility he will speak out later There is no stipulation in Kohberger s plea agreement to prevent him from doing interviews with media or writing a book A trove of documents and discovery that could also shine more light on the scenario remains sealed by the court and is expected to stay that way until after his sentencing on July But it s unclear how the court will handle the large volume of material The families who want an explanation believe the ultimate closure is understanding why Colwin disclosed Even if he someday explains his motivations I shudder to think of what he might say For a few the plea deal was injustice For others closure After the casualties families were informed of the plea deal fathers Jeff Kernodle and Steve Goncalves harshly criticized prosecutors for not consulting the casualties families before agreeing to conditions of the deal The Goncalves family members revealed in a comment earlier this month they had expected more answers from the change-of-plea hearing when Judge Hippler questioned Kohberger before accepting his guilty plea In contemporary times was the day the day for answers the day to find out what happened to find out really anything about what the Defendant did that night and why he took the lives of beautiful people At least that s what we hoped for but hope is really all we had this day the Goncalves family s July comment read We ll never see this as justice Steve Goncalves narrated CNN s Jim Sciutto Others voiced acceptance saying that despite a lack of answers they were relieved to avoid a drawn-out trial and the possibility of a yearslong appeals process Mogen s father Ben Mogen notified the Idaho Statesman he viewed the deal as an opportunity to avoid the pain and spectacle of a trial and focus on healing We help the plea agreement While we know there are selected who do not advocacy it we ask that they respect our belief that this is the best outcome feasible for casualties their families and the state of Idaho noted Leander James who represents Mogen s mother and stepfather Karen and Scott Laramie The Chapin family s initial response was an eye for an eye Stacy Chapin Ethan Chapin s mother informed NBC s Currently But we ve spent a ton of time talking about it with prosecutors and for us we unfailingly felt like this was a better deal she disclosed Had Kohberger gone to trial a death sentence was not guaranteed And even if he had received one it likely would have taken years possibly decades to carry out with no certainty it would ever happen Kohberger will be sentenced this week to life in prison without parole and he ll forfeit his right to appeal He will no longer be allowed to appear in the civilian shirt and tie he usually wears for hearings according to Hippler The next time he sets foot in the courtroom he will be dressed in prison garb To the families of Kaylee Madison Xana and Ethan we will never forget the beautiful light your precious children shone brightly in the world Colwin explained No evil will ever take that away