Some of the families of the Idaho college murder victims are divided over a plea deal offered to accused killer Bryan Kohberger ahead of his trial, which was set to begin in August. 

Under the plea agreement, 30-year-old Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to all counts against him in the November 2022 fatal stabbings of University of Idaho students, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves, and waive all rights to appeal, according to a letter sent to the victims' families by prosecutors. In return, he would be spared the death penalty and be sentenced to "four consecutive (back-to-back) life sentences on the four murder counts," the letter states.

Mogen's father, Ben Mogen, told CBS News he was relieved to receive the letter regarding the plea deal that would keep Kohberger in prison for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole. He showed CBS News portions of the letter. In it, the Latah County Prosecutor's Office says Kohberger's attorneys requested a deal and he accepted it. 

"If you get that quick death sentence, you don't have to spend decades thinking about how terrible you made the world," Ben Mogen said.

For Ben Mogen, the plea deal is justice.

"We can actually put this behind us and not have these future dates and future things that we don't want to have to be at, that we shouldn't have to be at, that have to do with this terrible person," he said. "We get to just think about the rest of lives and have to try and figure out how to do it without Maddie and the rest of the kids." 

But the Goncalves family said they did not approve of a plea deal, writing Monday on social media, "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support."

In a statement through their attorney, they added that the victims' families had not been consulted.

In  released Tuesday, the Goncalves family said they "will not stop fighting for the life that was stolen unjustly."

"We stand strong that it is not over until a plea is accepted," they wrote. "At a bare minimum, please - require a full confession, full accountability, location of the murder weapon, confirmation the defendant acted alone, & the true facts of what happened that night."

Kohberger was a Ph.D. criminology student at the time and arrested in Pennsylvania six weeks after the murders and extradited to Ohio. DNA evidence also linked him to a knife sheath found at the crime scene, according to a police affidavit.

A change of plea hearing is expected Wednesday, according to a lawyer for the Goncalves family. If Kohberger does enter a guilty plea, the sentencing will be in late July. In Idaho, a judge has the authority to reject plea deals, but it's considered rare.

Prosecutors added in the letter that if Kohberger does not accept the plea agreement as expected, "We are prepared to proceed to trial as planned."

• Idaho
• Bryan Kohberger
• Murder