Cara Kernodle, the mother of University of Idaho student Xana Kernodle, told a church audience that she has forgiven Bryan Kohberger, the man who pleaded guilty to killing Xana and three others in November 2022.
Kohberger, 30, entered guilty pleas in July and was sentenced that month to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole or appeal. Speaking Saturday at the Journey of Forgiveness event at Altar Church, Cara Kernodle said, "I don't hate Bryan Kohberger," and that she has told him she forgave him while "washing my hands" of him and not spending more time thinking about him, according to the Coeur d'Alene Press and The Spokesman-Review.
Cara Kernodle recounted that she was in jail when her daughter Xana was killed alongside her boyfriend Ethan Chapin and friends Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen in November 2022. She said that a decade behind bars for a separate matter — and a 30-year struggle with drug addiction — led her to turn to religion during roughly 10 months in custody. She credited the church's Good Samaritan Rehabilitation program with helping her overcome addiction and said, "The Lord just had me surrender it all... And I did, and I haven't gone back."
Cara Kernodle has previously described falling into a dark place after her daughter's death, including a relapse that resulted in new charges and detention shortly after the killings. Court records cited in news reports show she was released from custody in late 2024 and remains on probation until late 2027. Friends of Kernodle had organized a GoFundMe to help support her while she attended Kohberger's trial before he accepted a plea agreement.
At Kohberger's sentencing hearing on July 23, Cara Kernodle said she would not recount positive memories of her daughter because she did not want Kohberger to hear them; she told the defendant that she prays for him and hopes he will one day accept God into his heart. Kohberger declined to address the court when given the opportunity, responding, "I respectfully decline," according to reporting from the hearing. Court documents tied to his case include a handwritten guilty-plea statement in which he cited diagnoses of four mental-health disorders; he has declined to provide details about the killings.
The slayings and subsequent prosecution drew sustained national attention. The guilty pleas and life sentences ended the criminal case against Kohberger, who faces no possibility of parole or appeal under the terms imposed at sentencing. Families of the victims and members of the community have continued to speak publicly about grief, recovery and the long-term impacts of the killings.
Cara Kernodle spoke about the ongoing personal toll of her daughter's death, saying she sometimes replays the massacre in her mind and has trouble sleeping. Her public declaration of forgiveness at a church event frames her response to the crime in terms of faith and recovery, reflecting a path she says began while she was in custody and entered a treatment program. The case has intersected with broader conversations about criminal justice, mental health and campus safety as communities and lawmakers consider how to prevent similar tragedies and support survivors and victims' families.