Courtesy of Xana Kernodle/Instagram
Xana Kernodle’s Mom Reveals How She Forgave Her Daughter’s Killer Bryan Kohberger
Cara Northington has had a lot to process and grieve through after Bryan Kohberger was found guilty of killing her daughter, Xana Kernodle, and three other University of Idaho students in November 2022.
While attending the “Journey of Forgiveness” event at the Altar Church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Saturday, September 6, Northington spoke about how she doesn’t hold resentment against Kohberger, 30, while giving a speech.
“I don’t hate Bryan Kohberger,” she said, according to The Spokesman-Review.
She went on to explain that she was able to forgive Kohberger after she spent 10 months in jail following Kernodle’s death. At the time of the murder, Northington was dealing with a 30-year-long battle with drug addiction.
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She eventually managed to get sober after she was sent to jail for a probation violation shortly after Kohberger killed Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin.
During the speech, Northington explained she successfully got sober and she rediscovered her faith. “The Lord just had me surrender it all. And I did, and I haven’t gone back,” she said.
She added that becoming sober helped her discover an “overwhelming joy that I couldn’t explain,” which ultimately helped her forgive Kohberger.
After noting that Kohberger is “still made in God’s image” just like she is, Northington said she refused to allow him to control her emotional state. “I do not fear you or let you have space in my head anymore,” she said, according to The Spokesman-Review.
Also during the speech, Northington recalled some of her favorite memories with her daughter.
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“She was funny. She just had a way of making you feel special,” Northington said of Kernodle, whom she called a “beautiful soul.”
Northington told the audience that he was “washing her hands” of Kohberger after he was found guilty of murdering the four friends, The Spokesman-Review reports. On July 2, Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders while accepting a plea deal. Later that month, he was sentenced to serve four life sentences at a maximum security prison.
It’s not currently known how Kohberger knew the victims or why he targeted them. However, People previously reported that prosecutors have theorized that Kernodle was not one of his intended victims. It is believed that after Kohberger broke into their off campus home, Kernodle discovered that he was upstairs. He eventually followed her to her room and stabbed her to death.
It’s also been speculated that Kernodle put up a fight despite not being armed, as the medical examiner reported that she sustained over 50 stab wounds prior to her death.
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