Man admits murders of four Idaho students in deal to avoid death penalty
A man has admitted to murdering four students in a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. Michael Peters, 24, was accused of killing Logan Palamar, Miguel Valenzuela-Cabrera, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in the early hours of 13 November 2022. He had been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of grand theft auto. Until the plea deal was accepted, Peters had maintained his innocence.
The victims
In delivering the plea deal, which is expected to be accepted by the court, Peters admitted to killing all four students. The victims - three women and one man - were all aged between 19 and 23.
They were all stabbed or shot, with some of the weapons believed to have been taken from the residence of two of the victims.
Police investigation
The bodies were found after police responded to reports of multiple stabbings at the shared rental home in November 2022. In a statement at the time, the police said that the victims were either stabbed or shot.
Peters was arrested after a brief foot pursuit and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of grand theft auto.
Plea deal
Accepting the plea deal means Peters will not face the death penalty. The deal was announced at a hearing on 3 July 2023, with the prosecution and defence agreeing to dismiss the grand theft auto charge and four counts of first-degree murder.
The agreement still needs to be accepted by the court but is likely to be given following its recommendation from the prosecution.
