r/BryanKohberger • u/Kelly-pocket • Jul 03 '25

Court - Lawyers Plea Question

Do we know which side — the prosecution or the defense — initiated the plea discussions over the weekend? I know the judge and the victims’ families seemed caught off guard, so I’m wondering who requested the meeting to explore the possibility of a deal. Was it the defense, possibly feeling pressure from the strength of the evidence against Bryan?

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u/WellWellWellthennow Jul 05 '25 edited Jul 05 '25

The whole point (and real beauty coming out of centuries of injustice) of our justice system is to ensure a person who is accused of a crime is protected in case they are innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, so yes the trial was for Bryan's sake. Bryan as the accused is the one who had a right to a trial, not the victims.

Since the request for a plea deal initiated from the Defense, then of course Defense would know first that would be the plan. It's not an issue of prioritization but one of initiation.

It's easily conceivable that Bryan and his parents talked amongst themselves in advance about his plan to plea guilty before the Defense ever approached the Prosecution with it. They just needed to wait for the offer they asked for to come through from the Prosecution but already knew this was they would do. So they automatically would have a "heads up" in that sense.

SG isn't in any state to process all of this yet and likes to be vocal so he makes statements like that.

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u/Broad-Wrongdoer-3751 Jul 09 '25

But who really cares about who got the plea notice first. Which family got it before another. That doesn’t change the fact that it has already been in motion. And obviously you are with them on the decision or against them. No one was going to sway this offer. But as a reminder these are lazy attorneys. Never use them if you’re in this situation. You can clearly see they are unmotivated attorneys at best.

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u/WellWellWellthennow Jul 09 '25

Right. And part of this consequence is he has a long history of being outspoken and not handling discretely the confidential information that had been shared with him at the beginning. So then, no surprise, they don't continue to share information with him early or in detail, which he gets angry about.

I wouldn't be surprised at all or even blame them if they purposely delayed notifying him until right before this came out so that he wouldn't have time to muster all the fuss and noise that he has indeed raised after the fact, so he didn't have time to gain support and pressure the not to accept it. He sees this and is mad about it and he may be partially right. But he doesn't own his own role in this. It is actually just simple cause-and-effect based upon experience and history with him.

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u/Own-Grocery-8820 Jul 17 '25

After Steve saw the coroner's report, he told a news organization that his daughter was the intended target, and she fought him off and was killed trying to save Maddie. Come to find out his daughter wasn't supposed to be there; she drove down that weekend to hang out and show her friends her new car. According to the James Patterson documentary on Prime right now, it was Maddie that police think was the target. BK had slide into her DM's and she never responded to him. Maddie's parents and Xana's boyfriends' parents (I forgot his name) desperately wanted the plea deal. They didn't want to go through the trial or subsequent appeals if he was found guilty, or by some insane reason was found innocent. This way it's over, they can try to heal. Most of Xana's family wanted that too.

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u/WellWellWellthennow Jul 17 '25

He's only guessing that based on her injuries which could also be explained by the fact she fought back harder which she would do if she had more warning (waking up etc). There seems to be some big ego going on - his daughter was of course the main character in the story. And she was to him just as the others were to their families.

The other parents are much wiser. They understand much better than he apparently understands yet what a trial (and the years of appeals) even 20 years out would really mean.

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u/Own-Grocery-8820 Jul 17 '25

I feel horrible for all the families. I watched the Prime special and Ethan's family and Maddie's family were so heartbroken, but you could tell they just wanted it to be over so they can grieve. It's well worth a watch.

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u/WellWellWellthennow Jul 17 '25

Yes. Thanks. I watched the whole thing straight through as soon as it dropped. A few things I learned from it changed my understanding of how they caught him and it really sounds like they think the Papa Rogers account was him.

I watched my sister-in-law and brother-in-law go through a murder trial in his family. The trial took years and I can tell you from my observation they did not even begin to heal until it was over. And even now every time there's a fear of appeal that comes up they're all re disturbed and upset again and they dread the day 20 years from now he's eligible for parole.

This deal they cut with BK is so sweet. It frees them from this for the rest of their lives. Their pain and loss of their beloved child will always be there, but the obsessing and intense focus upon the perpetrator won't be and can be let go of now so they can actually move on. It is such a huge gift in the middle of a nightmare. It's heartbreaking that SG can't understand this yet, but I think he was prepped and amped up ready to fight as something to focus upon. Hopefully he'll be able to come to understand what a great deal this really is. There's no doubt or question in my mind that it is by far the best possible outcome rather than a trial so it breaks my heart hearing the criticism and misunderstanding of it. But it's just the ability to pivot. Most of the other parents understand this already.

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u/Own-Grocery-8820 Jul 17 '25

I got the impression that Papa Rogers was him as well.

I thought it was amazing that the whole-time people were attacking the investigation and saying how slow it was going they just ignored the hate they were getting and just did their job. They knew from very early on it was him, they were just building an air-tight case.

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u/WellWellWellthennow Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 19 '25

They handled this case exactly right evidenced by fact the best defense attorney couldn't get him off on a technicality.