Bryan Kohberger, facing first-degree murder charges in the deaths of four University of Idaho students last fall, is taken by sheriff’s deputies from the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Bryan Kohberger, the former criminology doctoral student accused of murdering four University of Idaho students, will appear in court Monday morning in Latah County. The suspected quadruple killer is expected to enter not guilty pleas to the charges against him, including four counts of first-degree murder.
Investigators believe Kohberger murdered Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in an apartment home near the University of Idaho campus in Moscow last November. Police have said the four were stabbed to death — some multiple times — as they slept.
Dylan Mortensen (left) and Bethany Funke (right), and victims Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee’s shoulders), Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle (hugging)
The Grand Jury Indictment
Bryan Kohberger (Monroe County Correctional Facility)
Last week, a grand jury indicted Kohberger on one count of burglary and four counts of first-degree murder — These charges mirror the ones from the criminal complaint filed in December when he was arrested.
A grand jury is convened behind closed doors. Prosecutors present evidence to grand jurors to prove there is probable cause that a crime was committed — and in this case — that Kohberger committed the crimes. Probable cause is a low legal standard.
Since Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson opted to present the case to a grand jury, the preliminary hearing that was scheduled for June is no longer necessary. In a preliminary hearing, prosecutors would president their evidence through witnesses to a judge and the judge would determine probably cause. A preliminary hearing also allows cross-examination of witnesses by the defense — which some defense attorneys find helpful as they prepare for trial.
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The Key Evidence
The apartment home where four University of Idaho students were murdered has been cleaned up and boarded up. A ‘no trespassing’ sign remains outside on Sunday, May 21, 2023 (Law&Crime Network, Angenette Levy).
The lead detective on the case, Brett Payne, stated in an affidavit last December that Kohberger’s DNA was on a KaBar knife sheath found next to Mogen’s body at the crime scene — 1122 King Rd in Moscow. Payne’s affidavit also stated that Kohberger’s cell phone phone pinged off of cell phone towers in the area of the students’ home a dozen or so times in the months before the murders.
The case has captured the attention of people around the world and ignited chatter and speculation among social media sleuths. Some family and friends close to the victims say they have been harassed by outsiders throughout the investigation, prompting prosecutors to seal the names of the witnesses who testified at the grand jury.
The Arraignment
Bryan Kohberger looks toward his attorney, public defender Anne Taylor during a hearing in Latah County District Court on Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool, File)
Following Monday’s arraignment, a scheduling conference will be held on a challenge to a gag order implemented by magistrate court Judge Megan Marshall. A coalition of media outlets, including Law&Crime Network, is challenging the gag order because of the chilling effect it has had on the ability to report on the case. The attorney for the family of Kaylee Goncalves, Shanon Gray, is also challenging the scope of the gag order which prohibits him from speaking on behalf of his clients.
Following the scheduling conference, Judge John Judge, who will now preside over the murder case, will hear a defense motion to compel evidence.
Kohberger’s attorneys have requested the court to order prosecutors to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence that they believe the state has in its possession. Prosecutors have responded that they have turned over a mountain of evidence to the defense, including 51 terabytes of video, 9,200 tips, 10,000 pages of reports and written materials and 10,200 photographs. Prosecutors have also asked the defense to provide more information about the “exculpatory evidence” they believe the state has and can provide.
Kohberger has been held at the Latah County Jail since his transfer to Idaho from Pennsylvania in January. The accused quadruple killer was arrested at his family’s home in Pennsylvania right after the Christmas holiday. The 28-year-old was a first-year PhD student in criminology at nearby Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.
Stay tuned to Law&Crime Network all day Monday for continuing coverage of Kohberger’s arraignment and what comes next as the case moves toward trial.
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