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Callaroga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Read Carter, and welcome
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to Celebrity Trials on this Saturday, July twenty sixth. This week,
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we witnessed the end of one of the most horrific
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criminal cases in recent memory. After nine hundred and sixty
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two days of legal proceedings, appeals, and finally a guilty plea,
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Brian Coberger was sentenced to four life sentences for the
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brutal murders of four University of Idaho students. But even
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in defeat, this monster refused to give the families the
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one thing they desperately wanted, answers. We just finished our
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five part zombie Murder series, but today we're closing the
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book on the Idaho case and catching up on the
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week's other major trials. Because while Coburger finally faced justice,
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America's courtrooms never stopped delivering verdicts that shape our understanding
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of crime, punishment, and human nature. Wednesday, July twenty third,
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twenty twenty five, after nearly three years of waiting, the
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families of Kailee Gonkalv's, Madison, Mogen, Zana Kernodle, and Ethan
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Chapin finally had their moment to confront the man who
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destroyed their lives. Judge Stephen Hipler sentenced Brian Coburger to
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life in prison without parole for murdering the four University
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of Idaho students in twenty twenty two. But this wasn't
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just about legal formalities. This was about families finding their
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voices after years of enforced silence. The most powerful moments
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came during victim impact statements, when the people Coburger had
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tried to silence forever finally got to speak directly to him.
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Steve Gonkalves, the father of Kailee Goncalves, turned the podium
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to address Coburger directly. Coburger continued to not react, though
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he made eye contact with Steve Goncalves as he spoke, today,
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we're here to finish what you started, Steve Goncalves said.
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He called Coburger a complete joke and said the families
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of the victims took this disaster and kept it focused
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on their loved ones. All anyone talked about when they
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talked about this case was Kaylee, Jade, Maddie, may Zana,
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and Ethan, Steve Goncalves said, but it was Eliva Gonkalve's
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Kaylee's older sister who delivered perhaps the most devastating rebuke.
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She spoke directly to Coburger, and he maintained eye contact
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with her as she called him a sociopath. No one
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is scared of you today, No one is impressed by you.
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No one thinks you're important, Alavea Gonkalvez said. The courtroom
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erupted in applause after she finished speaking, a rare moment
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of emotion in formal legal proceedings. Dylan Mortenson, one of
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the surviving roommates, spoke with tears about the trauma that
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has consumed her life since that November night. She described
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the anxiety, the fear, and the guilt of surviving when
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her friends didn't. Scott Laramie Madison, Mogan's stepfather, remembered his
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stepdaughter as someone who always brought us joy and who
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prioritized spending time with her family before she was taken
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senselessly and brutally in a sudden act of evil. This
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world was a better place with her in it, Laramie said.
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The Kernodle family spoke about Zana's infectious personality. Jasmine Kernodle,
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her older sister, remembered her as kind, funny and said
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she was everyone's best friend. Each family painted a picture
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of young people with unlimited potential, students, athletes, friends, children
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who were loved deeply and whose futures were stolen by
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a calculating killer. Judge Stephen Hipler delivered what can only
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be described as a sweeping rebuke of Brian Koburger while
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formally sentencing him. He praised the courage of the servi
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viving roommates and the dignity shown by the victim's families.
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They are and should be known as survivors, fighters, and
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foremost as witnesses to the tremendous lives of value and
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unbounded promise of these four young people, Hippler said. But
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the judge's most powerful moment came when he addressed the
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fundamental question that has haunted this case. Why truth be told.
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I'm unable to come up with anything redeeming about mister Coburger,
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Judge Hipler said. He acknowledged that Coburger's motive for the
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slayings remains unknown, but warned against giving the convicted killer
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more power by endlessly seeking an explanation. This was a
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judge who had clearly been moved by what he'd witnessed,
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not just the crime, but the impact on the families
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and community. Throughout the entire proceeding, Coburger maintained the same flat,
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emotionless demeanor that had characterized his court appearances for nearly
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three years. When given the opportunity to speak his sentencing hearing,
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his response was telling, I respectfully decline, Coburger said, think
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about that after nine hundred sixty two days of legal proceedings,
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after listening to families described their anguish, after hearing himself
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called a sociopath and a monster, Coburger had nothing to say.
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No apology, no explanation, no remorse. The defense has attributed
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Coburger's flat affect to autism spectrum disorder. But this wasn't
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about social communication difficulties. This was about a complete absence
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of empathy or accountability. Even in defeat, Coburger maintained control
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over the one thing he could still control, the family's
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desperate need for answers. Hours after the sentencing, Moscow police
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released hundreds of pages of documents that had been sealed
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during the investigation and trial proceedings. What emerged was a
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picture of calculated brutality that somehow men to be even
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worse than we imagined. Police reports revealed how gruesome the
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crime scene was. Some of the victims were bathed in
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so much blood that officers at first could not sort
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out what additional injuries there might be, and their faces
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were so badly damaged they were unrecognizable, according to the
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police report. The documents also revealed disturbing details about Coburger's
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behavior in the weeks before and after the murders. A
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fellow teaching assistant at Washington State University told investigators that
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Coburger was very intelligent, but also selfish and would mislead
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colleagues about shared work. Most chilling were the observations about injuries.
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The student told investigators about some injuries he witnessed on
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Coburger's face and hands in October and November twenty twenty two,
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around the time of the murders. One was a large
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scratch on Coburger's face, which the student described as looking
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like the scratches from fingernails. When asked about the injuries,
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Coburger claimed he had been in a car accident. We
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now know those were likely defensive wounds from his victims
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fighting for their lives back in a moment. Despite nearly
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two years of investigation, including extensive forensic and digital analysis,
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authorities said they are still unable to explain why Coburger
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carried out the November twenty twenty two attack. We don't
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was the immediate response when investigators were asked directly during
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Wednesday's press conference whether they had uncovered a clear motive.
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Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson said there was no
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evidence Coburger had a background of violence or a criminal
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history before he decided to murder the students. Asked if
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there was evidence that Brian Coburger was following the victim's
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social media, police said, we've looked for a link, and
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we have not found one. This remains one of the
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most baffling aspects of the case. Coburger was a criminology
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PhD student who understood forensic evidence and criminal behavior. He
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planned this attack meticulously, stalking the house multiple times, but
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there's no apparent connection to the victims. Was this a
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random act of violence, Was it sexually motivated? Was it
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some kind of criminal experiment by someone studying criminal behavior?
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We may never know. Former Moscow Police Chief James Frye
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said new information could come out still and noted that
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there's always cases that you know ten years later somebody
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says something. But for now, the families must live with
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the reality that their children were killed for reasons they
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may never understand. Here's what we know about Brian Koeberger's
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life sentence. He'll serve four consecutive life terms plus ten
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years for burglary. There's no possibility of parole. He'll likely
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spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement at
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the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. Correction officials will first evaluate
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Coburger's mental and physical health to determine his housing arrangements
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and the extent of contact with other inmates. I would
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expect him to be in solitary confinement for the rest
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of his life, said David Leroy, Idaho's former Attorney General.
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Coburger waived his right to appeal as part of his
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plea agreement, which means this case is truly over. There
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will be no decades of appeals, no retrials, no more
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legal proceedings that would force these families to relive their trauma.
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At age thirty, Coburger will likely die in prison. That's
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appropriate justice for someone who stole four young lives with
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unlimited potential. While the Coburger sentencing dominated headlines, American courtrooms
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continued delivering justice in other cases. This week. James Craig,
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the Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife with a
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potassium cyanide protein shake, saw his affair partner testify against him.
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Doctor Karen Kane testified that police knocked on her hotel
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room door to let her know Craig had been arrested
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while she was in town for their affair. In Florida,
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Shelby Neely was sentenced for what prosecutors called an in
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law massacre. Neelie told detectives that after strangling his victim,
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he hit her in the head with a hammer to
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make sure she was dead. Brett Hankison, the former Louisville
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police officer, was sentenced to nearly three years in federal
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prison for using excessive force during the twenty twenty Brionna
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Taylor raid. It's a fraction of what many believed he deserved,
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but its accountability nonetheless. In California, Stephan Stearns avoided the
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death penalty with a last minute plea deal in the
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murder of thirteen year old Madeline Soto. Stearns pleaded no
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contest to murder and guilty to twenty sex crimes where
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Soto was the victim. The Coburger case represents everything we
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f about modern criminal behavior. Calculated violence without apparent motive,
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committed by someone who should have known better. This wasn't
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a crime of passion. This wasn't domestic violence that escalated.
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This wasn't robbery gone wrong. This was systematic stalking followed
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by brutal execution of four innocent people who were simply
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living their lives. What makes it even more disturbing is
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Coburger's background. He was a criminology PhD student studying criminal
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behavior and decision making. He understood how investigations work, he
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knew about forensic evidence, yet he still made amateur mistakes
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that led to his capture. The victim's families deserve credit
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for their grace and dignity throughout this ordeal. They could
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have become consumed by hatred and revenge. Instead, they focused
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on celebrating their children's lives and ensuring Coburger faced justice.
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Steve Gonkov's was right when he said all anyone talked
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about when and they talked about this case was Kaylee, Jade, Mattie,
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may Zana, and Ethan. Despite Coburger's attempt to make this
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about him, the victims remain the center of the story.
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The judge's decision to warn against giving Coburger more power
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by endlessly seeking explanations was wise. Some people commit evil
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acts for reasons will never understand. Our job isn't to
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comprehend their motives. It's to ensure they can never hurt
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anyone again. The Idaho's student murder's case is finally closed,
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but its impact will last forever. Four young people with
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unlimited potential were stolen from their families and friends. Two
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survivors must live with trauma they never deserved. A community
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lost its sense of safety, but justice was served. Brian
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Coburger will spend the rest of his life in prison,
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which is exactly where he belongs. The families can begin
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to heal knowing their children's killer will never walk free.
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Sometimes the most important thing about justice isn't the answers
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it provides, but the fi finality it brings. These families
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waited nine hundred and sixty two days for this moment.
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Now they can focus on grieving, healing, and celebrating the
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lives of four remarkable young people who deserved so much
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more time. That's celebrity trials for today, I'm read Carter.
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Remember some criminals never explain their evil, and that's okay.
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What matters is that they're held accountable. Justice isn't always satisfying,
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but it's absolutely riveting.