Suspected quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger will appear in court on Monday after a grand jury indicted him.
The 28-year-old criminology student will enter a plea to the felony charges of murder he’s accused of in Latah County Court, Idaho.
Latah County Clerk confirmed to DailyMail.com that a grand jury had indicted Kohberger and he would appear on Monday at 9am.
He is accused of murdering University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on November 13 last year.
The alleged killer was extradited from Pennsylvania to Idaho in January, but was not formally indicted on the four felony murder charges and burglary.
Kohberger, 28, will have to enter a plea to the felony charges of murder he’s accused of in Latah County Court, Idaho
Maddie Mogen (top) Kaylee Goncalves (second from left) Xana Kernodle (second from right) and Ethan Chapin (center) – all students at the University of Idaho – were knifed to death on November 13 in the quiet college town of Moscow
He waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing at the time, pushing it back six months until June. But the decision by the grand jury means there is no need for a preliminary hearing.
This means that the surviving roommates will not have to face Kohberger unless he pleads not guilty, which would mean the case would go to trial.
A grand jury hearing is not conducted in open court, with 16 members of the general public hearing evidence from the prosecution.
The defendant and their legal team are not allowed to attend the hearing, but Kohberger’s legal team will receive a transcript of the proceedings.
The news comes after it was revealed that Kohberger has received dozens of handwritten love letters from supporters who believe he is innocent.
An employee at Latah County Jail told The Messenger the letters are ‘disturbing’, and it is unclear if the accused killer is responding to the messages.
They added: ‘He gets these letters a couple of times a week… they’re usually handwritten with hearts and stars… colored envelopes. Everyone in the jail talks about how weird it is.’
It is unclear what these letters say, but it appears that many are confessing their love to Kohberger and believe he is innocent of the brutal slayings
Pictured: (L-R) Dylan Mortenson, Xana Kernodle, Bethany Funke, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen
Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington, was combed by police for evidence into the ongoing investigation
The university where he worked was only a little over eight miles from the murder scene
Court documents also revealed that Kohberger’s defense team were set to interview surviving roommate Bethany Funke – after her lawyers argued that she should not have to testify at the preliminary hearing.
Both sides came to the agreement that the defense would go to Funke for an interview in Nevada – dismissing a subpoena they issued on April 11.
Investigator Richard Bitonti, who is working for Kohberger’s defense team, subpoenaed Funke on the basis that she may have ‘exculpatory’ information.
They claimed that the information she has is ‘material and necessary’ to the alleged killer’s defense – though it is unclear exactly what that is.
Bitonti wrote in an affidavit: ‘During the course of my investigation, it became known to me that [she] has information material to the charges against Mr. Kohberger.’
He added that she ‘disclosed things she heard and things she saw’ when interviewed by police and was present when police were called.
However Funke’s lawyers hit back by saying that the preliminary hearing is not meant to ‘become a mini-trial’, and is only meant to decide probable cause.
They also said the subpoena was improperly filed, and there is no authority for an Idaho criminal defendant to summon a Nevada witness to Idaho for a preliminary hearing.
The alleged killer was extradited from Pennsylvania to Idaho in January, but was not formally indicted on the four murder charges and burglary.
He waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing at the time, pushing it back six months until June. But the decision by the grand jury means there is no need for a preliminary hearing
As a potential witness Funke can willingly testify in the hearings, but if she refuses a subpoena can force her to attend court even if she does not want to.
If a witness refuses to testify after being ordered to do so,by a subpoena they can be held in contempt of court and given a fine of $500 or 25 days in jail.
However they can invoke their Fifth Amendment rights while testifying at the hearing if it could implicate them in a crime.
According to the statement of Office Brett Payne, both Funke and the other surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen, were home at the time of the homicides.
Funke’s bedroom is described as being located on the east side of the first floor of the property, and she heard Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle return to the property at 1.45am on the night of the murders.
Mortensen’s account of seeing a ‘tall man’ who was ‘clad in black clothing and a mask’ is detailed in the document.
However Funke’s version of events has not been publicly released, though both roommate’s phones were forensically downloaded by officers – leading them to believe the crimes occurred between 4am and 4.25am.
According to the statement of Office Brett Payne, both Funke (left) and the other surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen, were both home at the time of the homicides
Court documents earlier this week revealed that Funke’s lawyers were arguing that she should not have to testify at a preliminary hearing in June, or for the duration of Kohberger’s trial
Investigators believe that it was likely that the killer would have had blood evidence on their body or clothing, and hoped to find trace evidence in Kohberger’s apartment
It is unclear what defense investigators feel could clear Kohberger, but if Funke’s version of events contradicts that of Mortensen it could play a key role in the trial.
A gag also remains in place, preventing anyone connected to the case from speaking publicly – though an appeal to overturn this will be heard on May 25 on behalf of the Associated Press and the Goncalves family.
Kohberger is yet to enter a plea in the quadruple homicide and is charged with four counts of murder and one of burglary.
It comes after it was revealed that his lawyer will be paid $200 an hour in his case – with any additional overtime.
Chief Public defender Anne Taylor will be paid by Kootenai County for her 40-hour work week, with Latah County agreeing to give the funds to Kootenai for her work.
But any overtime that she accrues outside of those hours will be paid by Latah County directly to the attorney, with a second lawyer supporting Taylor in the case being paid $180 an hour.
Forensic teams swooped on his property, less than 15 minutes from the house where the gristly murders took place
A gag also remains in place, preventing anyone connected to the case from speaking publicly – though an appeal to overturn this will be heard on May 25 on behalf of the Associated Press and the Goncalves family
Taylor is representing the 28-year-old criminal justice major after stepping down as the lawyer for Cara Northington – the mother of murdered Xana Kernodle, 20.
She was in charge of her case until January 5, the same day that Kohberger was extradited from his home in Pennsylvania to Idaho.
The lawyer is also accused of a second conflict of interest in the case after it was revealed that she represented Maddie Mogen’s stepmother, Korie Hatrock, in June 2022 and oversaw a case involving her father, Benjamin in 2020.
Kohberger’s legal team filed a motion to compel discovery in the Latah County Court on May 4. It reiterates previous requests made on February 3 and March 24.
It seeks all body and dash cam footage from officers involved in his arrest in Pennsylvania; all audio or video evidence from his time in jail, including police interrogations; lab reports from the forensic evidence seized at his parents’ home and his Hyundai Elantra; and the training records for officers involved in the case.
His latest legal filing comes after it was revealed that police found traces of blood and a secret storage locker at his apartment in Pullman, Washington – a 15-minute drive from where the alleged murders took place.
