Category: National

(LOS ANGELES) — As calls grow for the Menendez brothers to be released from prison, the incoming Los Angeles County district attorney says he has a lot of evidence to review before showing his support.

Nathan Hochman won last week’s election for DA, beating incumbent George Gascón in a landslide, will take office in December. The election came weeks after Gascón announced his recommendation that the Menendez brothers be resentenced and eligible for parole immediately.

Hochman questioned the motivation behind Gascón’s decision to support resentencing so close to the election.

“Part of the problem with the Gascón timing of his decision is there’s a cloud over that credibility. Is it a just decision, or was it just a political ploy?” Hochman said.

“There will be no cloud over whatever decision I do,” he added.

Gascón denied his decision was politically motivated, telling ABC News, “I believe that they should be released and they should be released cleanly within the law.”

“I base my decision in the review of 30 years of … information about their behavior, as well as a very thorough understanding of what they were convicted of and the elements of the crime,” Gascón said. “So my decision was appropriately based.”

The infamous case dates back to 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home. The defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father, but prosecutors alleged they killed for money.

The first trial, which had separate juries for each brother, ended in mistrials. In 1996, after the second trial — during which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence — the brothers were convicted and both sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole.

As Gascón’s appeal for the brothers’ resentencing makes its way through the courts, Hochman — who is set to take office on Dec. 2 — said he plans to read through the new alleged evidence, trial transcripts, confidential prison files and interviews with family, lawyers and law enforcement.

“What these files say is too important an issue to delegate to somebody else. I need to actually do the work myself,” he told ABC News.

The next hearing in the resentencing case is Dec. 11. Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, said he’ll “work as expeditiously as possible,” adding, “If we need some additional time to formulate our position, I’ll ask the court for it.”

“I’m not going to ask for delay, just for delay’s sake,” he added. “We’ll ask for the minimal amount of time necessary to do this work, because we owe it to the Menendez brothers, we owe it to the victim family members, we owe it to the public to get this decision right.”

The brothers’ case was propelled back into the spotlight this fall with Netflix’s release of a scripted series and a documentary — and now a new generation is calling for their release.

“If you decide this case based on just reviewing a Netflix documentary, you’re doing a disservice to the Menendez brothers, to the victims’ family members, to the public,” Hochman said.

The Menendez brothers have three possible paths to freedom.

One path is through resentencing. Gascón announced last month that he was recommending the brothers’ sentence of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, with the new sentence, they would be eligible for parole immediately, Gascón said.

The DA’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account factors including the defendants’ ages, psychological trauma or physical abuse that contributed to carrying out the crime and their rehabilitation in prison. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

The second path is the brothers’ request for clemency, which they’ve submitted to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The third path is their habeas corpus petition, which was filed last year for a review of new evidence not presented at trial.

One piece of evidence is allegations from a former boy band member who revealed last year that he was raped by Jose Menendez.

The second piece of evidence is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse. The cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but the letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t found until several years ago, according to the brothers’ attorney.

The next hearing on the habeas corpus petition is set for Nov. 25.

ABC News’ Alex Stone, Jenna Harrison and Ashley Riegle contributed to this report.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Four individuals were arrested Wednesday for allegedly attempting to defraud their insurance companies by claiming a bear had damaged their vehicles — when in fact it was a person in a bear costume attacking the cars.

The suspects were all Los Angeles-area residents, according to a statement released Wednesday afternoon by the California Department of Insurance.

The suspects varying in age, were Ararat Chirkinian, 39, of Glendale; Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, of Glendale; Ruben Tamrazian, 26, of Glendale; and Alfiya Zuckerman, 39, of Valley Village.

The statement said that all four were charged with conspiracy and insurance fraud.

Suspects claimed on Jan. 28, 2024, that a bear entered their 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost and caused interior damage, according to the Department of Insurance. They provided video footage of the incident, stating that it had occurred during their visit to Lake Arrowhead.

Upon reviewing the footage, the Department of Insurance said that it suspected fraud. Officials said that they believed right away that the bear in question was actually a person in a bear costume.

Initiating an investigation — named Operation Bear Claw — the department learned that two other claims had been filed to different insurance companies with similar details: the same location and the same date.

Similar to the claim that originally drew the unit’s attention, the two other reports stated that a bear had attacked their cars: a 2015 Mercedes G63 AMG and a 2022 Mercedes E350, according to the statement.

Each of the two other claims had submitted video footage as part of their evidence. And in both of those videos, the department said it believed that they were looking at the same bear costume.

However, the department said that it sought an outside opinion on the case before making a final determination. Investigators reached out to a biologist from the California Department of Wildlife, who then independently reviewed the evidence for Operation Bear Claw.

The biologist stated that “it was clearly a human in a bear suit,” according to the statement.

Authorities were able to execute a search warrant for the people involved in the alleged insurance fraud scheme.

Officials confirm that a bear costume was found in one of the suspects’ homes.

At the time of the arrests, officials reported that the insurance companies had already paid out some of the claims, totaling $141,839.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

 

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(CRESCENT, Okla.) — The 28-year-old lab worker investigated alleged wrongdoing at an Oklahoma nuclear fuel facility, and was on her way to meet with a New York Times reporter when she died in a fatal car crash.

Fifty years ago, the death of a 28-year-old plutonium plant worker and whistleblower in Oklahoma — a death many found mysterious and sparked decades of speculation — shocked the nation.

The official story was that Karen Silkwood died in a one-car crash on Nov. 13, 1974. She was on her way to meet a New York Times journalist, reportedly to hand over documents she’d secretly been collecting at her job at a nuclear facility. The Oklahoma State Highway Patrol concluded that Silkwood fell asleep at the wheel — possibly under the influence of prescribed drugs — drove off the highway, crashed into a ditch, and died.

“We’ve never believed it,” Mike Boettcher said of the official narrative. Boettcher and his reporting partner Bob Sands, both veteran Oklahoma journalists, say many in Oklahoma speculate that Karen Silkwood may have died for what she knew.

Silkwood’s story has become widely known, inspiring several books, articles, and a major motion picture.

ABC Audio’s new podcast, “Radioactive: The Karen Silkwood Mystery,” hosted by Boettcher and Sands, explores the secrets Silkwood was uncovering and what some say is the mystery surrounding her death.

Silkwood worked at a nuclear fuel production plant that manufactured plutonium fuel rods to power a new type of nuclear reactor, which was part of a multi-million dollar experiment to enhance nuclear energy. When she noticed what she felt were unsafe working conditions — such as leaks, spills and co-workers frequently getting contaminated with radioactive material — she spoke up and tried to make improvements.

“Karen became nuclear energy’s first whistleblower, though the term whistleblower was just starting to be used,” Boettcher said. “This was at a time when the idea of someone inside of a big corporation exposing alleged misdeeds was shocking.”

Silkwood’s allegations, contamination, and untimely death sparked an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, an FBI inquiry, a civil lawsuit, several appeals, a congressional hearing and two appearances before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Several news outlets investigated the matter, and Silkwood’s story gained significant attention in 1983 with the release of “Silkwood,” a movie based on her life. In a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination, Meryl Streep portrayed Silkwood in the film.

For fifty years, this story has been one Boettcher and Sands say they can’t get out of their minds. Suspicion of foul play has swirled around it for decades: What had Silkwood uncovered? Who had she upset? Why did her car crash into a concrete wall? Was a second vehicle involved?

“There are fewer and fewer people alive to share what they know from the night Karen died,” Sands said. “Many of the people who worked with Karen in the plant are dead.”

However, Sands and Boettcher have new leads — never-before-heard investigative tapes, a fresh look at a critical piece of physical evidence. Plus, they tracked down people who can illuminate who Karen was and what she was uncovering about her workplace.

The duo first spoke with Michael Meadows, Silkwood’s son. He was only 5 years old when his mother died. “There’s never been a definitive answer,” Meadows said. “Both sides … told a very different story that night of what happened, and as her son, I would like to have a definitive answer of what really took place.”

Instead of cherished memories of his mother, Meadows was left with black-and-white photos, newspaper clippings and police reports. When he tries to picture what his mom was like, the image that comes to mind is Streep’s portrayal.

“The fact that … there’s still so many people afraid to tell what they know or what they’ve heard,” Meadows said. “It’s amazing to me that 50 years later, a company that barely even exists, if it does exist at all …still has that kind of control or that kind of intimidation.”

That company was Kerr-McGee, named after its influential leaders Robert Kerr and Dean McGee. It doesn’t exist anymore. But, in the early ’70s, Kerr-McGee was a giant in Oklahoma and in America’s oil and gas industry.

So, for Silkwood, going against her employer would be a steep hill to climb. The company maintained that allegations of malfeasance were overblown and some claims even made up by overzealous union workers.

Steve Wodka met Karen Silkwood in the early ’70s as a young staff member for the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW), which represented Silkwood and other plant workers.

Wodka recently retired from his career as an attorney advocating for people with work-related cancer. Living in a small New Jersey beach town, he spends his time trying to figure out what happened to Silkwood 50 years ago.

Silkwood had alerted him to possible problems at the plant and the union was concerned about worker safety.

“The belief is that intense radiation that goes on essentially for the rest of the person’s life causes lung cancer,” Wodka said. “So the handling of plutonium is supposed to be very strict… There’s always supposed to be a barrier between the worker and plutonium. And what was going on in this plant was that barrier was being breached on a daily basis.”

Silkwood raised some even bigger concerns about possible wrongdoing at the plant — that important quality control reports were reportedly being falsified. Concerns that, if true, meant the health and safety of a lot more people was at risk, well beyond people who worked at the plant.

The company denied contamination allegations and maintained that Silkwood was involved in a scheme to embarrass the company and improve the bargaining position of the union.

Silkwood never made it to that meeting, but after her death, interest in her story put a spotlight on the claims she was trying to make.

Boettcher, Sands, and others connected with Silkwood’s story, continue to probe for answers in a case that feels unfinished.

“Radioactive: The Karen Silkwood Mystery” is a production by ABC Audio in collaboration with Standing Bear Entertainment. Listen to the four-part podcast series for complete coverage.

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(OWASSO, Okla.) — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Wednesday that Owasso Public Schools in Oklahoma has “entered into an agreement to remedy violations of Title IX” concerning sexual harassment in its schools following the February death of LGBTQ+ student Nex Benedict.

The OCR states that its investigation of the Owasso Public Schools district, which was announced in March, found “repeated instances over a three-year period in which district staff received notice of possible sexual harassment, yet district staff did not explain the process for filing a Title IX complaint or promptly contact a complainant.”

According to the OCR, those instances included reports that multiple students were subject to repeated sex-based slurs, harassment and physical assault; that a male student hit and made unwelcome sexual comments to a female sixth-grade student; an elementary school student was subjected to repeated harassment described as sexual; and a teacher was accused of grooming female students on social media by sending more than 130 messages about their appearance and requesting photographs.

The OCR also found several violations related to LGBTQ+ youth in district schools, including reports that some students were called slurs and subject to other bullying behavior.

The district had only conducted two formal Title IX investigations in the last three school years and produced “limited records” regarding those two matters, the OCR said.

After Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student, died by suicide following a physical altercation in an Owasso High School bathroom, the district still failed to take steps to implement Title IX regulations, according to the OCR.

“As a result, OCR found that the district’s pattern of inconsistent responses to reports it received of sexual harassment – infrequently responding under Title IX or not responding at all – rose to the level that the district’s response to some families’ sexual harassment reports was deliberately indifferent to students’ civil rights,” read the OCR’s statement.

The resolution agreement between the Department of Education and Owasso Public Schools details a long list of remedies the school must implement to address the stated violations. They include requiring schools to inform parents of affected students about the process for filing a Title IX complaint and the supportive measures available to students.

The agreement also requires schools to not only issue anti-harassment and nondiscrimination statements, but also to provide Title IX training to students and staff, conduct sexual harassment climate surveys in the district, implement adequate record-keeping processes for Title IX complaints and revise its Title IX processes to ensure compliance.

“Owasso students and their families did not receive the fair and equitable review process from their school district guaranteed to them under Title IX; at worst, some students experienced discrimination Congress has long guaranteed they shall not endure at school,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon in a statement.

“The district has signed a robust agreement to assure that students who attend school in the district will be afforded their rights under Title IX, including the right to file a complaint, learn about and receive supportive services individualized to their needs, and benefit from federal nondiscrimination protection when they experience harassment,” the statement continued.

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(WASHINGTON) — Federal authorities are offering a $25,000 reward in connection with a series of arson incidents involving ballot boxes in Washington state and Oregon during early voting last month.

The FBI said Wednesday it is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect sought in three incendiary fires.

The agency is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the suspect responsible.

The first incident occurred on Oct. 8 in Vancouver, Washington, when a ballot box was set on fire between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time, the FBI said.

Then, on Oct. 28, ballot boxes in Vancouver and Portland were set on fire between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time, the FBI said. Hundreds of ballots were damaged in the Vancouver incident after a fire suppression device failed to work properly, officials said.

In all three incidents, an “improvised incendiary device” was placed on the ballot drop boxes, the FBI said.

The Portland incident was captured by a surveillance camera, including a vehicle driven by the suspect believed to be responsible for these crimes, the FBI said.

In a roughly 3-minute video released by the FBI, a vehicle can be seen stopping next to the ballot box, located on a sidewalk. The driver appears to light an item and pass it through the driver’s window, then drives away. Almost immediately after the vehicle departs, the ballot box begins smoking, then briefly sparking. Fire suppressants prevented further damage and protected nearly all the ballots, according to elections officials.

The vehicle was described by the FBI as an early 2003 to 2004 Volvo S-60 sedan, dark in color, with dark wheels and a light-colored interior. It does not have a Volvo logo on the front grill, the FBI said.

“At the time of the October 28, 2024, incidents, the vehicle also displayed a fraudulent temporary Washington license plate on the rear and no front license plate. The plate, which is not associated with a Volvo, may no longer be on the vehicle,” the FBI said.

The driver of the vehicle was described by the FBI as a white male, approximately 30 to 40 years old, with thinning hair.

“It is believed that he may have some experience with metal work and welding,” the FBI said.

The incendiary device used in the initial incident had “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” on it, two sources familiar with the ongoing investigation previously told ABC News. The two subsequent devices carried the slogan “Free Gaza,” according to the sources.

One of the sources told ABC News it was unclear whether these markings reflect the views of a pro-Palestine activist — or if it was an individual trying to manipulate existing divisions in the U.S.

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A Bronx man who helped Daniel Penny restrain Jordan Neely on a New York City subway car last year ”jumped in and tried to help” so Penny could release his chokehold, according to the man’s testimony Wednesday at Penny’s manslaughter and negligent homicide trial.

Eric Gonzalez, who is seen on video holding Neely by the wrist, boarded the subway at Broadway-Lafayette and noticed Penny holding down Neely “with his legs around his waist and his arm around his neck.”

Gonzalez testified he did not know why Penny, a former Marine, was restraining Neely but he heard people yelling for police to be called. He also said he noticed “Jordan Neely’s clothing was that of a vagrant, as if he was homeless, dirty, ripped off.”

Gonzalez said he waved his hands in front of Penny’s face to get his attention.

“I said, ‘I will grab his hands so you can let go,’” Gonzalez told the jury. “Just giving him a different option to hold his arm — well, to restrain him until the police came.”

Asked by prosecutor Dafna Yoran to clarify, Gonzalez said: “If I held his arm down, he could let go of his neck.”

“And why is it you wanted him to let go of his neck?” Yoran asked. “Didn’t think anything at the moment. I was just giving him an alternative to let him go,” Gonzalez responded.

The testimony came as the trial entered a fourth week. Penny has said he put Neely in the chokehold to protect subway riders.

Prosecutors said it would have been “laudable” except Penny held on too long, well past the point when Neely posed any kind of threat.

Gonzalez said he saw Neely’s body go limp and let go of him before Penny did the same.

“I tried to shake Jordan Neely to get a response out of him, feel for a pulse, and then I walked away,” Gonzalez said.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Rainbow Youth Project, a national LGBTQ advocacy group, typically fields about 800 calls a month on its crisis outreach hotline. In just 10 days, as the 2024 presidential election came to a head, the organization told ABC News it received roughly 5,400.

Organizers say they were prepared for calls to spike given that the LGBTQ community — and specifically the transgender population — has been a subject of debate in this election cycle. But they weren’t prepared for the overwhelming call volume.

Some callers had to wait on hold over the weekend for operators — something they’ve never had to do before, Executive Director Lance Preston said in an interview. Callers weren’t just from the LGBTQ residents in need themselves; Preston’s staff were fielding calls from parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors and others asking how they can help their community members.

“I think it’s been a wake-up call for a lot of people,” Preston said in an interview.

The Rainbow Youth Project is not alone; LGBTQ hotlines nationwide are seeing massive surges amid the fallout of the election, as LGBTQ Americans and their loved ones search for answers, reassurance and guidance about future LGBTQ rights in America.

The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization, said it saw an overall crisis outreach volume increase of nearly 700% on Nov. 6, compared to the weeks prior.

“It’s just a general sense of fear, a sense of panic from young people who are reaching out; youth reporting feeling hopeless or helpless about what’s to come,” said Mandy Paul, a senior manager of crisis services at the Trevor Project. She listened to concerns about anti-LGBTQ discrimination, the fate of transgender health care access, and whether LGBTQ policies in Project 2025 — a conservative presidential wish list — would be implemented.

The LGBT National Hotline, another crisis outreach center, told ABC News it has received five times the typical call volume: “It’s been all hands on deck. Here, it is coming from all over the country. However, we are definitely seeing more calls coming from red states, though it’s not a huge amount more than blue states. The fear is from all over the country. It is all ages,” said Aaron Almanza, the program’s executive director.

The Rainbow Youth Project found that typically about 19% of its callers will screen positive for suicidal ideation. Now, for the month of November, that’s up to 31.6% of callers screening for acute mental health crisis with a specific notation of suicidal ideation.

As communities process what the recent elections mean for themselves and their loved ones, counselors and operators urge those who are feeling lonely, confused, helpless or scared to reach out to community members who can be supportive during this time — even if that support is from an LGBTQ hotline. Organizations say they often field calls from rural areas with less local in-person resources like LGBTQ advocacy groups.

“Right now we need to find each other, because that local support is going to be hugely important for us to move forward,” said Almanza.

Paul, who has been at the Trevor Project for six years, found that youth just “want to be heard and supported,” and has called upon allies to be a source for LGBTQ residents during this time.

“We hear that time and time again — it’s just wanting a place where they can share their fears, share, maybe the first time they’re sharing what their identities are in a place that they feel safe to do so.”

Preston encourages those who are experiencing despair to focus on the progress the LGBTQ community has made in recent years. A 2020 Pew Research Center study found that 72% of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted, compared with just 49% in 2007. Additionally, Pew found that 64% of Americans favor laws that protect transgender individuals from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces.

As a gay man who came out in the ’80s amid the fight for anti-employment discrimination policies and marriage equality, Preston notes the amount of progress that LGBTQ advocates have lobbied for in recent years: “We’ve been there. We know how to do this. We’re going to be your voice if you can’t be your own voice.”

States nationwide have seen an increase in legislation and political rhetoric related to the LGBTQ community in recent years. In the 2024 legislative session, the American Civil Liberties Union tracked a record-breaking 532 anti-LGBTQ bills in state legislatures — only about 46 of those have passed into law, with roughly 351 bills defeated.

Some of the most prominent legislative proposals included restrictions on transgender youth health care, trans participation in sports, pronoun changes in schools and classroom content on gender and sex. President-elect Donald Trump has said he will embrace these restrictions during his presidency, calling it “transgender insanity” and declaring that gender is “determined at birth” in his Agenda47 policy proposals focused on schools.

Trans high schoolers make up 3% of the high school population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Critics of this legislation said the rhetoric and legislative attacks will increase discrimination facing a small, marginalized community.

“I also want our LGBT+ youth to know that there are millions and millions of people fighting for their right to survive and thrive, and there is an expansive community of LGBTQ+ folks and allies who are shoulder to shoulder with them, and we simply will not give up,” said Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Two people were killed and four remain in the hospital from an explosion at a manufacturing facility in Louisville, Kentucky, officials said.

The “hazardous materials incident” was reported Tuesday afternoon at a Givaudan Sense Colour facility, a natural food coloring plant, according to the Louisville Metro Emergency Services.

First responders were initially told by the business that all employees were accounted for, officials said Wednesday. But then a second victim was found buried in rubble late Tuesday evening after crews went back to the scene upon guidance from the business that someone was likely still there. It took three-and-a-half hours to remove that victim from the rubble, officials said.

“We are deeply saddened to share the news that two of our team members lost their lives in this accident,” Givaudan Sense Colour said in a statement.

The University of Louisville Hospital said it received seven patients with injuries including burn and blast wounds. All those injured are employees of the plant, officials said.

Four people remain hospitalized on Wednesday, all in stable condition, officials said.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, officials said.

Drone footage taken by Louisville ABC affiliate WHAS showed extensive damage to the facility.

Residents within two blocks of the facility were evacuated, officials said. A shelter-in-place order was also issued for those within a 1-mile radius of the facility but it has since been lifted, officials said.

Air monitoring is clear at this time, officials said.

ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway and Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.

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(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Parents of the University of Idaho victims are speaking out on the two-year mark of the gruesome quadruple homicide as they await the trial for their children’s suspected killer.

For victim Kaylee Goncalves’ parents, one of the devastating milestones this year is Kaylee’s younger sister, Autumn, turning 21 — the age Kaylee was when she was killed.

“Early on, [Autumn] just said, ‘What am I going to do when I’m older than Kaylee?'” Kristi Goncalves recalled. “You should never be older than Kaylee, but yeah, you will be and, and that’s coming.”

“It should be an exciting, fun time for her to go out with all of her sisters and go do something fun. But somebody does this to your family, it robs you of all kinds of different things. And birthdays are a huge part of that,” Steve Goncalves told ABC News on Tuesday.

For the mom of 20-year-old victim Ethan Chapin, two years “seems like a long time ago,” but “also feels like yesterday.”

Ethan Chapin was a triplet and his sister, Mazie, and brother, Hunter, also attend the University of Idaho.

“The two will graduate college in May, and we could not be prouder of everything they’ve accomplished,” Stacy Chapin said in a statement.

“We continue to heal and miss Ethan as we work diligently to find the silver linings in the worst circumstances,” she said.

Bryan Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle at the girls’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Chapin, Kernodle’s boyfriend, was sleeping over at the time.

Kohberger, who was a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in December 2022. His trial date has been pushed back to Aug. 7, 2025.

For the Goncalves, the last two years felt like a “standstill” in the courts.

Two months ago, Kohberger’s trial was moved from Latah County, where the crime took place and the defense argued jurors wouldn’t be as impartial, to Idaho’s capital city, Boise.

Kristi Goncalves said, “I feel like now that we’ve moved it down to Boise, as much as we didn’t want that, that was the right choice. And I’m glad that it, you know, in hindsight that it happened, and I feel like things are going to start moving, although it still seems very slow.”

Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

If convicted, Kohberger could face the death penalty, though his defense is arguing for the death sentence to be taken off the table.

The Goncalves family said they support the death penalty in this case, highlighting the limitations that sentence would pose on Kohberger’s life in prison.

“It’s more about, honestly, the 23 hours of confinement, and not being able to be enrolled in college education and being able to further his career and his influence on society,” Steve Goncalves said.

On Wednesday night, the University of Idaho community will gather for a vigil to honor the four slain students.

“Together, we’ll honor their legacy by sharing memories, writing notes, and gathering in a place dedicated to all Vandals we’ve lost,” the student government said.

ABC News’ Kayna Whitworth contributed to this report.

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(Belton, Mo.) – The homes of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce were burglarized last month, according to police reports.

Four officers were dispatched to a home in Belton, Missouri, just after midnight on Oct. 6 after a man called, “indicating a residence had been broken into,” according to a report from the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

The police report does not mention Mahomes by name, but the address matches Mahomes’ home from public records.

The report did not indicate whether anything was stolen.

Police in Leawood, Kansas, are investigating a burglary the following day, on Oct. 7, at an address that matches where Kelce lives.

The burglar arrived just after 7:30 p.m., caused $1,000 in damage to a back door and fled with $20,000 cash, according to the police report. The crime was reported the next day, according to a 911 call log and a police report.

The timing means Kelce’s home was broken into while the Chiefs were hosting the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football — a game Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift, was attending.

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