BOISE, Idaho (KeynoteUSA) — A judge could soon decide a trial date for a man charged in the deaths of four University of Idaho students who were killed more than a year and a half ago.
Bryan Kohberger was arrested approximately six weeks after the bodies of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were found in a rental house near the Moscow campus on November 13, 2022. The students were stabbed and investigators They said they were able to link Kohberger, then a graduate student at nearby Washington State University, to the crime using DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, surveillance video and cell phone data.
A judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf at a hearing in May 2023, and for the past several months Kohberger’s defense attorneys and Latah County prosecutors have been arguing over evidence and other data collected throughout the investigation. .
So far, 2nd District Judge John Judge has not set a trial date, noting that the case is particularly complicated in part because prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if there is a conviction.
But that could change later this month. On Thursday, the judge scheduled a hearing for June 27 to discuss the timeline for the rest of the case, including trial dates and a possible sentencing.
A broad gag order has prevented Kohberger, attorneys for both sides, law enforcement officials and others involved in the case from commenting.
Earlier this month, Judge said investigators working for Kohberger’s defense team would be added to a list of defense attorneys and experts who are allowed to review sealed DNA records that authorities used to narrow down the group of suspects. possible suspects. The DNA was used for investigative genetic genealogy, in which material found at a crime scene is analyzed in public genealogical databases to find a suspect or his or her relatives.
In his June 7 order, the judge also said the defense team cannot contact any family member who appears in the records and is not known to them without prior permission from the court.
Prosecutor Bill Thompson had previously argued that the DNA records were not relevant because they were not used to obtain any warrants and would not be presented at trial. But Judge disagreed, saying last year that the defense team had shown they needed to review at least some of the records as they prepared their case.
Kohberger’s lawyers are also asking for a change of venue. The judge has not yet ruled on that request.
Keynote USA
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