(NewsNation) — The father of University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves said a coroner told him his daughter had “damage” around her mouth, as if killer Bryan Kohberger sought to muffle or gag her as he fatally stabbed her.
Steve Goncalves shared that information Thursday with Ashleigh Banfield on her podcast “Drop Dead Serious” as he talked about next week’s sentencing of Kohberger, who has pleaded guilty to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves and three other students in November 2022 at a rental home in Moscow, Idaho.
Kaylee Goncalves had marks around her mouth: Father
Steve Goncalves said Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt shared the details about his daughter’s final moments.
“There was some damage around her mouth,” Goncalves said, wedging his hand in his mouth to demonstrate. “Like somebody had pressed in and tried to keep her quiet.”
Kohberger, a former graduate student in criminal justice at Washington State University, faces murder charges for the deaths of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin, who were killed at an off-campus house near the University of Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022. He had pleaded not guilty. 
Bryan Kohberger, accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court on Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Goncalves expressed frustration at the lack of publicly available information about the case since Kohberger, a criminology graduate student at Washington State University, was taken into custody in late 2022.
The judge overseeing the case lifted a sweeping gag order Thursday, but Goncalves said family members still lack a complete picture about what happened to Kaylee as they try to prepare victim-impact statements.
Bryan Kohberger to be sentenced to life in prison
Kohberger, 30, is scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison Wednesday under the terms of a plea agreement that spares him the death penalty.
“You only got one time to be able to be a victim’s advocate and say what you need to say and to address the courtroom and everyone in Idaho, and they’re not going to let us know exactly what happened,” Goncalves said. “It’s just terrible. … We want to make sure everything we say is exactly truthful.”
Goncalves has said he opposes the plea deal and would have preferred Kohberger go to trial and face a potential death sentence if convicted.