Childhood friends of Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty Wednesday to stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in November 2022, have tracked his murder case from afar and said they felt shocked the former Pennsylvania resident suddenly agreed to a plea deal to spare his life.

Bryan Kohberger, the murder suspect in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students, is expected to plead guilty Wednesday after he accepted a plea deal, which would end the high-profile criminal case months earlier than anticipated.