BOISE, ID — Nearly three years after the brutal killings of four University of Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison as grieving families confronted him with emotional, often blistering, victim impact statements.

Wednesday was the sentencing hearing for Kohberger, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to the 2022 killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. The plea deal spared him the death penalty, but it brought no relief to the grieving families, many of whom had long advocated for capital punishment in this case.

Instead, Kohberger was handed four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, along with additional prison time and financial penalties, according to CBS News.

Among the most striking moments of the hearing came when Alivea Goncalves, Kaylee’s sister, delivered a blistering victim impact statement, PEOPLE reported.

“Sit up straight when I talk to you,” she told Kohberger.

She described Kaylee and Mogen, who were killed together on the third floor of their off-campus home, as “everything that you could never be — loved, accepted, vibrant, accomplished, brave and powerful.”

“You want the truth?” she asked him. “Here’s the one you’ll hate the most. If you hadn’t attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your f—ing ass.”

The courtroom listened in stunned silence as Alivea went on to dismantle Kohberger’s character. “The truth is, the scariest part about you is how painfully average you turned out to be,” she said. “You aren’t profound, you’re pathetic.”

According to CBS News, Kohberger declined to speak when offered the chance by the court. He remained expressionless throughout the nearly three-hour hearing, during which more than a dozen victim impact statements were delivered, including one from surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen.

The families’ words made a clear impact on Judge Steven Hippler, who, before handing down the sentence, delivered his own impassioned statement. Calling Kohberger a “faceless coward,” the judge said he was in “great awe” of the families’ strength and criticized Kohberger for his lack of remorse.

“There is no reason for these crimes that could approach anything resembling rationality,” Hippler said. “The time has now come to end Mr. Kohberger’s 15 minutes of fame.”

People reported that Kaylee’s mother, Kristi Goncalves, had taken to social media after Kohberger’s plea hearing to express her devastation over the state’s decision to forgo the death penalty.

In a Facebook post, she asked readers to consider what justice would look like if the same violence had happened to their own child. She also revealed harrowing new details, writing that her daughter was not only stabbed but beaten in the face and head, and that she had clearly fought for her life.

“BK literally is too afraid to die, but he wasn’t afraid to kill,” Kristi wrote, using the initials of her daughter’s killer. “BK wanted a plea deal and he was given one. Kaylee wasn’t offered a plea deal. The state is showing BK mercy by removing the death penalty. BK did not show Kaylee ANY mercy.”

Details shared in court further confirmed how the murders unfolded. Prosecutor William Thompson described how Kohberger entered the home in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, through a second-floor sliding door. He bypassed three individuals sleeping on the second floor and instead climbed to the third, where he killed Goncalves and Mogen. As he exited, he encountered and murdered two more victims—Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin—who had likely been awakened by the attack.

One roommate, Dylan Mortensen, was spared. She later told police she stood just feet away from Kohberger as he fled the scene. His motive remains unknown, though prosecutors said that if the case had gone to trial, they planned to present extensive evidence linking Kohberger to the killings, including DNA at the scene, cellphone data, and surveillance footage of his vehicle.

Kohberger will now spend the rest of his life behind bars.

He also owes $50,000 per count and an additional $5,000 in civil penalties to each victim’s family. As part of the plea agreement, he has waived his right to an appeal, though a notice of appeal could still be filed—potentially violating the terms of that deal, as Judge Hippler noted.