A trial date could be set later this month for the man charged with killing four University of Idaho students in 2022.
KBOI reported that a court hearing is scheduled for February 28, and Judge John Judge has asked both sides to be ready to discuss a trial date in addition to a possible change of venue. Prosecutors said they want the monthslong trial to start this summer, while Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys want it to begin in summer 2025.
Kohberger’s lawyers have sought twice to have the grand jury indictment dismissed, but both requests were rejected in October. Also denied was Kohberger’s request to appeal the matter to a higher court.
READ: Continuing Coverage on the University of Idaho Case
On multiple instances, defense attorneys have sought to have his grand jury indictment dismissed — claiming the grand jury used the wrong standard of proof because they were given incorrect instructions, and the grand jury was biased because prosecutors withheld evidence that would have supported Kohberger’s case.
In January, Kohberger’s attorneys also requested that court proceedings be moved out of Latah County — claiming the case has garnered “extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity” which would make it impossible for their client to have a fair trial there. They also asserted that selecting an impartial jury in Latah County would be impossible for the same reasons.
In turn, Kohberger’s lawyers have requested to schedule an evidentiary presentation and argument before the end of April.
Kohberger’s attorneys have claimed Kohberger was not at the crime scene and was driving around alone the night Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, and Kaylee Goncalves were fatally stabbed at the women’s off-campus home on November 13, 2022.
However, police claim he visited the area 12 times before the slayings and that he turned off his phone on the night in question.
Investigators tested DNA from a trash can outside Kohberger’s family home in Pennsylvania against DNA found on the sheath at the crime scene. Testing determined that “at least 99.9998% of the male population would be expected to be excluded from the possibility of being the suspect’s biological father.”
At the time of the slayings, Kohberger was obtaining his Ph.D. in criminology from Washington State University, which is located 10 miles from the crime scene.
Prosecutors filed court documents detailing their intent to pursue the death penalty as they deemed the slayings were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.”
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[Featured image: Bryan Kohberger/August Frank/The Lewiston Tribune via AP, Pool]
