Kohberger admitted to the slayings before entering a formal guilty plea in a deal with prosecutors that will allow him to avoid the death penalty.

Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder Wednesday as part of an agreement with prosecutors that allows him to avoid the death penalty.

Bryan Kohberger agreed to the plea deal just weeks before his trial was to begin, after his attorneys tried but failed to have execution stricken as a possible punishment.