How Kohberger’s plea agreement stacks up to other famous deals

(NewsNation) — Bryan Kohberger admitted to killing four Idaho college students in 2022, weeks before his murder trial was set to begin, but he’s not the only one to make a guilty plea that shocked many. 

Kohberger's plea marked an unexpected halt to a yearslong legal process for the victims’ families. His switch earlier this month took the death penalty off the table, and he will now spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

At his sentencing hearing this week, the victims' families gave emotional impact statements with some addressing Kohberger directly.

The families of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle are divided on the plea. The Goncalves family has criticized the deal, calling it hurried and secretive, while the Chapins said it brought them "closure."

How last-minute plea deals come about 

A lot of factors can go into last-minute plea changes, Thea Johnson, a professor of criminal procedure at Rutgers Law School, told NewsNation. 

Sometimes defendants change their plea closer to the trial because they start realizing it’s actually happening and that they can lose, she said. 

“They may be more motivated to take a plea than in an earlier phase of the case where the reality of the trial feels a little bit more vague and distant,” she said. 

Johnson added that as a trial gets closer, there is usually more exchange of information, which gives both sides a better sense of the evidence.

Defendants might see a strong case against them, or prosecutors may want to get a deal if they get the sense that their case might be weaker than they thought it was. 

“Prosecutors could go back and talk to witnesses and realize those witnesses aren't as compelling as maybe they thought they would be, or they're not going to do well on the stand or maybe they realize a witness is missing,” Johnson said. 

It’s not uncommon for pleas to flip until the 11th hour because "the parties will play chicken until the very end,” she noted. 

Hunter Biden’s guilty plea to tax fraud 

Former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter entered a surprise guilty plea to nine federal tax evasion charges the day his trial was set to begin in September 2024. 

He was accused of running a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes while pulling in millions from foreign business entities from 2016 to 2019. 

Biden had pleaded not guilty to the charges after a judge rejected a previous guilty plea, which put him on a path to trial. He faced a maximum of 17 years in prison and up to $1.3 million in fines.

His attorneys argued he didn’t act “willfully” or with intent to break the law, citing his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. 

Hunter Biden steps into a vehicle as he leaves federal court, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles, after pleading guilty to federal tax charges. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Under his 11th-hour plea, he admitted to evading taxes and filing false returns. 

The plea deal was meant to clear the air for Hunter Biden and avert a trial that would have generated weeks or months of messy and distracting headlines. 

Despite pleading guilty, Biden was never sentenced because he was pardoned by his father during his last few days in office. 

BTK serial killer changes mind 

Dennis Rader, who is known as the BTK serial killer, surprised many after he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder the day his jury trial was set to begin in June 2005. 

After pleading guilty, he gave a chilling matter-of-fact account of the slayings that terrorized the area around Wichita, Kansas, from the 1970s to the early 1990s. 

This move was unexpected, as he had previously pleaded not guilty at his arraignment four months prior. Prosecutors had said before the hearing that no plea deal had been made before he admitted to the murders. 

The sentence was a minimum of 10 life sentences without a chance of parole. 

“The defense worked with me real well,” Rader told the judge. “We went over it. I feel like I’m pretty happy with them.” 

When asked by the judge if he was pleading because he was guilty, Rader answered, “Yes, sir.”

Dennis "BTK" Rader pleas guilty on June 27, 2005 (KSN File Footage)

The letters BTK stood for "Bind, Torture, Kill," which described his method of operation in the murders. 

Rader had been the president of the church council at Christ Lutheran Church and a Boy Scout leader. He avoided the death penalty because the crimes were committed before the state adopted a new capital punishment law.

Highland Park shooter gives surprise plea before opening statements 

Robert Crimo III pleaded guilty to killing seven and injuring dozens at a 2022 July 4 parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, minutes before opening statements in his criminal trial in March.  

Crimo had previously pleaded not guilty and rejected a prior plea deal.

The shooter pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of each person killed, and dozens of attempted murder charges. 

His mother, Denise Pesina, had a brief outburst when hearing the plea, and the judge gave her a warning.

The judge accepted the guilty plea, stopping what would have been three to five weeks of testimony and evidence presentations.

He was sentenced to seven life sentences.

Crimo displayed erratic behaviour up to this trial date. 

He was expected to accept a plea deal and give victims and relatives a chance to address him publicly but changed his mind at the last minute, shocking even his attorneys.

Robert E. Crimo III watches the jury selection process Feb. 24 during the first day of his trial. Crimo was accused of opening fire on a suburban Chicago Independence Day parade, killing seven people. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, Pool, File)

He also fired his public defenders and said he would represent himself. Then he abruptly reversed himself. As potential jurors were questioned last week, he sporadically appeared in court, at times refusing to leave his jail cell.

9/11 plotters' plea deal

In 2024, Pentagon officials reached a plea agreement with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other accused 9/11 plotters, allowing them to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison and avoiding a potential death sentence.

Military prosecutors called the arrangement “the best path to finality and justice.” 

But after outcries from some 9/11 victims’ families, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rescinded the deal. He said victims’ relatives, U.S. troops and the American public “deserve the opportunity” to see military commission trials play out.

Defense attorneys and the government fought in courts over whether Austin was legally able to scrap the deal for many months. The deal was on-again, off-again repeatedly.  

FILE- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan Saturday March 1, 2003. (AP Photo, FILE)

But this month, a panel of appeals judges issued a ruling saying that Austin had the authority to rescind the agreement. 

With the plea deal now thrown out, the case is back in the pretrial stage within the military commission system, with the legal and logistical complications that it has faced. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.