Bryan Kohberger appeared in court to make his controversial plea deal legal in the eyes of the law ... admitting guilt to four murders -- and, the judge has signed off on the plea.

The judge began proceedings Wednesday by asking for people in the courtroom not to be disruptive ... and, he chastised the public for calling his office to dispute the plea deal. He said he hasn't read or listened to any of the messages left at his office.

Kohberger stood up in the courtroom and was sworn in by the clerk, and said "yes" when asked if he's pleading guilty because he's actually guilty and not just to avoid the death penalty.

Two of the families of the Idaho college student murder victims are furious over the Bryan Kohberger plea deal ... but the other two families are fully behind the move.

Jim Chapin, father of Ethan Chapin -- who was murdered along with three other college students -- tells TMZ the family will appear in court Wednesday to support the plea deal.

Jim Chapin is not alone. Ben Mogen, father of Madison Mogen -- who was also stabbed to death -- says he supports the plea deal, which takes the death penalty off the table ... because Kohberger will have to think about what he did for the rest of his life behind bars.

The family of Xana Kernodle is livid over the plea deal offered to accused murderer Bryan Kohberger ... and they told prosecutors they had better not dare go through with it.

Kim Kernodle, Xana’s aunt -- who was so furious she was in tears -- tells TMZ ... prosecutors floated the idea of a plea deal a few days ago and the family made it clear ... NO WAY.

When we spoke with Kim, she was on a conference call with prosecutors. She says prosecutors told her the defense approached prosecutors with a plea deal, and the prosecution went along to "spare the families" the pain of a trial. Kim says that's ridiculous, because at least 2 of the families -- hers and the Goncalves family -- wanted Kohberger to face a jury.

Bryan Kohberger may never face a jury for allegedly slaughtering 4 University of Idaho students ... he has just struck a plea deal to save his own life, and the family of one of the victims is furious.

Kohberger was charged with 4 counts of first-degree murder, and prosecutors were seeking the death penalty. Kohberger pled not guilty.

According to the deal, Kohberger will plead guilty, but prosecutors will no longer seek the death penalty. Instead, they will recommend life without the possibility of parole.

Bryan Kohberger's defense has to go back to the drawing board ... after the judge in his criminal case denied his legal team's efforts to point the finger at four other suspects.

Kohberger is gearing up for a trial this summer after being accused of murdering four University of Idaho students ... and he was planning to argue someone else was the real murderer.

But in legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge blocked Kohberger's defense team from presenting evidence to the jury alleging someone other than Kohberger could be the true killer, blasting their evidence as "wild speculation" and "entirely irrelevant."

Bryan Kohberger's alleged search history is pretty eerie ... cops say he was looking up Ted Bundy and nonconsensual pornography in the weeks before and after he allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students.

Kohberger used his phone to browse the internet for porn with the key words "forced," "passed out," "drugged" and "sleeping" ... according to NBC News. He also searched for "Ted Bundy" ... a notorious serial killer.

The alleged murderer's search history is featured in an upcoming episode of "Dateline" ... and NBC also says they obtained surveillance footage showing a white car circling the area where the students were stabbed to death in their off-campus house in 2022.

Bad news for Bryan Kohberger ... prosecutors in Idaho just got the green light to seek the death penalty if he's convicted of murder in his upcoming trial.

A judge ruled Thursday that capital punishment will be on the table if Kohberger is found guilty of murdering four University of Idaho students.

Kohberger's legal team was trying to have the death penalty ruled out ... citing his recent autism diagnosis ... but the judge ruled against him.

The 911 call from the night of the shocking University of Idaho murders has been released ... and, it gives a glimpse into how terrified the two surviving housemates truly were.

Authorities released the audio Friday ... and, it begins with the dispatcher asking about the emergency -- while the woman on the other end of the phone shrieks in a terrified voice that something is happening in the house, but they don't know what.

The first woman is so overcome by terror, another person -- who says she lives next door -- takes the phone and speaks with the dispatcher.

Bryan Kohberger's defense team is "really spinning" in their favor the recent news that blood from two unidentified males was collected from the crime scene where four Idaho students were brutally slain -- but it's all smoke and mirrors, so says Nancy Grace.

TMZ caught up with Nancy on Thursday during a Zoom call, and the famous legal commentator weighed in on the Kohberger murder case in which four University of Idaho students -- three females and one male -- were found fatally stabbed inside a house in 2022.

Specifically, Nancy zeroed in on the big news -- which broke in the media several days ago -- about the blood from two mysterious males found on the handrail of a stairway inside the house and on a glove just outside the residence.

Bryan Kohberger is back in court ... appearing before a judge for the first time in 2025 -- and, he looks all cleaned up.

The alleged murderer of four University of Idaho students arrived in a Boise courtroom Thursday ... wearing a full suit and shaving the scruff off his face. Remember, he was sporting a thin beard when his last mug shot was taken in September.

Kohberger appeared solemn during proceedings ... paying close attention while his lawyers argued with the prosecution over potential key pieces of evidence.

Bryan Kohberger's defense team is planning to bring in a tech expert to help support his alibi as he stands trial for a quadruple murder -- namely, he was nowhere nearby.

Bryan's attorney is arguing he was out driving miles away from Moscow, ID the night 4 University of Idaho students were slain in their home. Kohberger's team claims they have cell phone tower records and a radio frequency expert set to corroborate this defense.

According to new docs detailing this, Bryan was south of Pullman, WA and west of Moscow, Idaho on the night in question. The defense claims this was normal for the former criminology student ... as he liked to hike/run in the area and look at the night sky.

The home where 4 University of Idaho students were brutally murdered has been demolished ... this coming a year after suspected killer Bryan Kohberger was arrested.

The demo crew got to work early Thursday morning on razing the property in Moscow, ID ... the sun was barely up when demolition began, and the whole front of the building was out of sight in roughly 15 minutes.

The university claimed the demolition could take several days, although the property already looks completely unrecognizable. University officials said the decision to tear it down was an attempt "to decrease further impact on the students who live in that area."

As you know, it's been almost a year since 29-year-old Kohberger was arrested for the November 2022 murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, who were all found dead inside the home.

The Goncalves and Kernodle families issued a statement Wednesday, asking the university to wait to tear the building down until Kohberger's trial is completed -- even though a trial date has not been set.

La casa donde 4 estudiantes de la Universidad de Idaho fueron brutalmente asesinados ha sido demolida, un año después de que el presunto asesino Bryan Kohberger fue arrestado.

El equipo de demostración se puso a trabajar temprano la mañana del jueves para arrasar con la propiedad ubicada en Moscú, Idaho. El sol apenas había salido cuando comenzó la demolición y en unos 15 minutos todo el frente del edificio desapareció de la vista.

La universidad dijo que la demolición podría durar varios días, aunque el inmueble ya luce completamente irreconocible. Funcionarios de la universidad dijeron que la decisión de derribarlo fue un intento de "disminuir el impacto en los estudiantes que viven en esa zona".

Como saben, ha pasado casi un año desde que Kohberger, de 29 años, fue arrestado por los asesinatos de Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen, Xana Kernodle y Ethan Chapin en noviembre de 2022, quienes fueron encontrados muertos al interior de la casa.

Las familias Goncalves y Kernodle emitieron una declaración el miércoles, pidiendo a la universidad que espere para derribar el edificio hasta que el juicio de Kohberger se haya completado, a pesar de que la fecha del juicio no se ha fijado.

The suspected killer of four University of Idaho students has served up an alibi for that fateful night ... claiming he routinely drives around alone late into the evening.

Bryan Kohberger filed a motion in Latah County Court in connection with the fatal stabbings of classmates Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves in an off-campus house last November.

Kohberger, a former criminology student at Washington State University, is charged with all four slayings and faces the death penalty if convicted. He has pled not guilty.

In his court filing, Kohberger says he "has long had a habit of going for drives alone" and "often he would go for drives at night."

He noted that he "did so late on November 12 and into November 13, 2022," during the time of the murders, indicating he had nothing to do with them.

As we reported, Kohberger was arrested at his parent's home in Pennsylvania weeks after the deadly attack.

Bryan Kohberger had an interaction with police exactly one month before the grizzly murders of 4 Idaho college students, and body cam video reveals how he schmoozed his way out of a ticket.

Police body cam footage shows Kohberger getting pulled over by a patrol cop on the Washington State University campus in October 2022.

What's striking about the nine-plus-minute video was just how nice and respectful Kohberger acted toward the officer. His demeanor belies any notion he would commit such a gruesome crime ... but authorities say that's exactly what he did.

The footage began with the officer walking up to the open driver's side window of a car in which Kohberger was seated behind the wheel.

The cop told Kohberger -- a WSU criminal justice graduate student at the time -- he was stopped for running a red light. Kohberger responded that he was forced to turn left because he got stuck at an intersection. The officer then schooled Kohberger on Washington state traffic laws, basically outlining for him what he did wrong.

Kohberger fully accepted the officer's reasoning, going so far as to apologize to her for asking too many questions. At one point, he admitted that he wasn't familiar with the traffic laws because he's originally from Pennsylvania.

After checking his license and registration, the officer let Kohberger go without writing him up. Of course, the cop had no clue that the following month Kohberger would be embroiled in a quadruple homicide involving four University of Idaho students.

As we reported, Kohberger allegedly slipped inside an off-campus home on November 13 and fatally stabbed Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and his girlfriend, Xana Kernodle.

Kohberger was eventually arrested and charged with the murders after police discovered his DNA at the crime scene and unearthed more evidence pointing to his possible guilt. Investigators have not disclosed his motive.