Mystery Surrounds $10,000 Donations Flooding Bryan Kohberger’s Prison Account—Who Is Behind the Money?

So, here we are again—diving into a story that’s part true crime, part financial mystery. Bryan Kohberger, the dude locked up for the brutal murders of four Idaho college students, has decided to drop his prison financial records in court as he tries to yank back his guilty plea. Sounds like a soap opera, right? Yet, here’s the kicker: despite admitting to those horrifying crimes last year, Kohberger now claims innocence, calling his plea a tangled web of “false promises and blatant disinformation.” And oh, he’s not just rethinking his plea—he’s got a whole new lawyer and a surprisingly detailed expense report from behind bars. What in the world is the commissary selling that burns through over $10,000 so fast? Is this another twist in the trial, or just a bizarre side show? Buckle up, because this saga is far from over. LEARN MORE

Bryan Kohberger, the man jailed for the murder of four Idaho college students, has disclosed his prison financial records as he attempts to get his plea overturned.

Last year, Kohberger, 31, pleaded guilty to killing Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21.

All four were killed in the early hours of 13 November 2022, as their terrified housemates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke heard sounds of an intruder and locked themselves in their rooms. Kohberger’s motive was never discovered.

Since his sentencing, he has resided in Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, and is confined to his cell for 23 hours a day.

But last month, Kohberger announced he wanted to change his plea to not guilty, telling the New York Times: “My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn.”

In a handwritten note asking a judge to provide new counsel, he complained his previous lawyer had pressured him into a guilty plea through a ‘gross misrepresentation of death row in Idaho’.

He is now being represented by Greg Rauch, of Moscow, Idaho, but interestingly, Kohberger attached his financial records from prison to the request.

Bryan Kohberger was jailed for the murder of four Idaho college students (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)

Court documents reviewed by Law&Crime have revealed that he pocketed more than $10,000 in donations – mostly from his mother Maryann Kohberger, who has sent him more than $9,000.

But it isn’t just his mother who is sending him money.

Fox News journalist Michael Ruiz, who has also reviewed the documents, said that 19 other people have donated money to Kohberger, alongside regular cash injections from Maryann.

Surprisingly, he has also spent most of the money – receiving a total of $10,812.13 over the last year, and spending $10,635.10 – with only $177.03 left.

How has Bryan Kohberger spent $10,000 in prison?

Trying to unpack how Kohberger has spent so much money in prison, former federal prison warden Dr DeWayne Hendrix told Law&Crime that Kohberger spent over $100 every time he visited the prison commissary, which sells snacks, skin and haircare products, clothing, dietary supplements, televisions and CD players.

Kohberger killed Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle (Instagram)

He said the items ‘are very expensive in prison and it does add up fast’, but he added that Kohberger could be using the money to pay off other inmates to make sure he stays safe.

The state also typically takes a 20-25 percent cut out of inmates’ prison commissary accounts to pay for restitution for their victims and court fees.

What could happen next for Bryan Kohberger?

According to The Guardian, Kohberger waived his right to appeal his conviction when he signed his plea deal.

However, a civil petition for post-conviction relief could see a new trial granted.

And, if Kohberger were to be convicted, he could face the death penalty.

A new trial could put the death penalty back on the table (Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images)

Responding to Kohberger’s bid to change his plea, Idaho Attorney General Raúl R. Labrador said: “My office stands ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out.”

Kristi Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee was one of the four students killed by Kohberger, slammed his appeal as ‘judicial games’.

She told Newsweek: “We’re very confident that this will go nowhere. But in the case that a judge were to accept it and give him a new trial, we’re all for it.”

A timeline of the Idaho murders

12 November 2022

Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, attend a party at Chapin’s fraternity Sigma Chi. Meanwhile, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, go to sports bar the Corner Club.

13 November 2022

1.45am – Kernodle and Chapin return home to their house on King Road

1.56am – Goncalves and Mogen arrive home

2.44am – Kohberger’s Hyundai sedan is spotted by a CCTV camera at Washington State University. Shortly afterwards, the car is seen again heading towards a road that connects Pullman, Washington, to Moscow, Idaho, where the victims live.

4am – Bryan Kohberger is believed to have entered the property

4.17am – A security camera reveals the sound of a barking dog, voices and what sounds like a thud. At some point around this time, their housemate Dylan Mortensen is awoken and hears a male voice say: “It’s OK, Kaylee, I’m here for you.” She later hears crying and sees a masked man in the property.

4.19am – Mortensen attempts to call Kernodle, Goncalves and Mogen, but all calls go unanswered. She started texting Bethany Funke, saying she’s ‘freaking out’ after seeing a man in a ‘ski mask’. Mortensen joins Funke in her room and they lock themselves in.

11.58am – After Mortensen calls her friend Emily Alandt, she and her boyfriend Hunter Johnson come over to the King Road property. Johnson discovers Chapin and Kernodle’s bodies and calls 911.

17 November 2022

Preliminary autopsy results show all four victims were attacked with a large knife

7 December 2022

Police say they are looking to speak to any occupants of a white Hyundai Elantra from 2011-13.

30 December 2022

Kohberger is arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. Police later reveal they used DNA on a knife sheath to link him to the crime scene, and tracked his car and phone across the area.

22 May 2023

Kohberger remains silent when asked to enter a plea during his arraignment. The judge enters a not guilty plea on his behalf.

26 June 2023

Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty.

28 December 2023

The King Road property where the murders took place is demolished to allow the community to heal.

17 April 2024

Kohberger’s defence team claims in court documents that phone mast data shows Kohberger was miles away from Moscow, Idaho at the time of the murders.

4 March 2025

Kohberger’s defence team say he exhibits traits of autism spectrum disorder, and putting him to death would be unconstitutional.

2 July 2025

Weeks before the trial is set to begin, Kohberger pleads guilty to burglary and four counts of first-degree murder.

23 July 2025

Kohberger is sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, plus 10 years for the burglary charge.

He comes face to face with the families of his victims for the first time, who read out impact statements.

Goncalves’ sister Alivea gives a powerful statement in court, while Mortensen says she’s suffered from debilitating panic attacks since the night of the murders, telling Kohberger he has taken away her ‘ability to trust the world’.

27 July 2026

Kohberger announces he is seeking to take back his guilty plea and overturn his conviction.

He tells the New York Times: “My actual innocence is my truth, and the plea, hinged on by false promises and blatant disinformation, MUST be withdrawn.”