BOISE, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger, the masked man who sneaked into a rental home near the University of Idaho campus and stabbed four students to death in late 2022, faced their families in court Wednesday before he was sentenced to life in prison.

The families did not get any answers about why he did it or how he came to target the home on King Road in the rural college town of Moscow. But Kohberger, 30, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin.

He pleaded guilty earlier this month in a deal to avoid the death penalty. He declined to speak in court.

The victims’ loved ones shared emotional statements, with some expressing sadness, anger or even forgiveness.

Here’s what to know about Kohberger’s sentencing.

The trial had been set to begin next month

Mogen, Kernodle, Goncalves and Chapin were found stabbed to death on Nov. 13, 2022. The crime horrified the city, which hadn’t seen a homicide in about five years, and prompted a massive search for the perpetrator.

Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, roughly six weeks later.

A Q-tip from the garbage at his parents’ house and genetic genealogy were used to match Kohberger’s DNA to material recovered from a knife sheath found at the home, investigators said. They used surveillance camera footage to help locate a white sedan that was seen repeatedly driving past the home on the night of the killings.

Kohberger’s attorneys got the trial moved to Boise after expressing concerns that the court wouldn’t be able to find enough unbiased jurors in Moscow. But Judge Stephen Hippler rejected their efforts to get the death penalty taken off the table and to strike critical evidence — including the DNA — from being admitted in trial.

In exchange for Kohberger admitting guilt and waiving his right to appeal, prosecutors agreed not to seek his execution. Both sides recommended that he serve four consecutive life sentences without parole.

The victim’s families were split on how they felt about the plea deal.

Many details are unknown

It’s unclear why Kohberger killed the four students and spared two roommates who were home at the time.

Cellphone location data showed Kohberger had been in the neighborhood multiple times before the attack.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson has said that Kohberger used his knowledge about forensic investigations to attempt to cover his tracks by deep cleaning his vehicle after the crime.

Police say Kohberger’s Amazon purchase history shows he bought a military-style knife and sheath. But the knife was never found.

Judges feared the publicity of the case could harm Kohberger’s right to a fair trial.

A sweeping gag order was imposed and hundreds of court documents were sealed, which a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press fought.

The motive remains a mystery, officials said. “We have never, to this day, found a single connection between him and the four victims or the two surviving roommates,” Idaho State Police Lieutenant Darren Gilbertson told reporters after the hearing.

Hours after the sentencing, the Moscow Police Department published hundreds of pages of documents in the largest release of information in the case.