BOISE, Idaho — When a family friend started a GoFundMe Sunday to help the family of Kaylee Goncalves travel to Boise for the trial of their daughter's accused killer, Kristi Goncalves said she did not expect the outpouring of support.
"It blows my mind," Kristi said. "I literally cannot even believe it. I want people to know that … there's been such a weight lifted off of my shoulders."
Bryan Kohberger's quadruple murder trial was recently moved to Ada County from Latah County and is expected to last several months. The defense said the move was necessary to find a fair and impartial jury.
As of right now, it is set to start in June and last three months.
"We fought the hardest to keep it [in Latah County]," Steve Goncalves said. "But if it's what's best for both parties, and it's the fairest, then we were fine. So now we're just moving on, and a part of that is a massive inconvenience for the family, but we'll get through it."
Although the family is from north Idaho, Steve said they refuse to be "pushed out of the legal process." The two have hardly missed a court proceeding since Kohberger became the suspect.
As of Tuesday night, more than $30,000 has been raised. Kristi said the money will go toward an Airbnb, food, transportation and any other costs that come up.
Roughly 10 family members plan on attending the entire trial. That includes a couple of Kaylee's siblings and her grandparents.
"Some of us will be going without income for those couple of months when we're on our leaves of absence," Kristi said. "It's a huge burden on our family, but there's nothing that's going to keep us away from that trial and being there."
Having all 10 of the family members in Boise will enable them to lean on one another. Kristi said the trial will be "tremendously hard," and that they will fill each other in on what happened in court if someone needs to take a day or two away.
Kristi and Steve said until the trial is over, the family cannot heal.
"We're going to 100% be there and make sure that we're actively involved," they said. "[And] this person feels every moment of what this family's gone through. To me, you can't demonstrate that through an email or through some remote contact, you have to be there and those people in that jury … they need to know what the loss was."
A former prosecutor told KTVB the state would only pay for the family to come to Boise if they were subpoenaed as a witness in the case. Kristi said she has not heard whether they will be called.
Kohberger's first appearance in an Ada County courtroom is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, where next steps will be determined.