Bryan Kohberger avoided a return to court this week as he sat in jail while his attorneys and prosecutors went back-and-forth over whether key evidence will be permitted in his pre-trial hearings.
The accused quadruple killer excused himself from court on Wednesday and was represented by his attorneys, who also clashed with prosecutors over whether the hearings will be hidden from the public.
This week’s hearings are centered on what evidence will be allowed in his trial, including what prosecutors say is DNA evidence found on a knife sheath found inside the Moscow, Idaho home where four students were stabbed to death over two years ago.
Kohberger’s attorneys have argued for the DNA evidence to be thrown out, claiming the genetic genealogy method law enforcement used to identify him as a suspect violated his constitutional rights.
Although the murder weapon has never been found, officials say the DNA on the sheath matched Kohberger’s genetic profile, which was compiled by taking genetic data from distant relatives on public databases.
District Judge Steven Hippler said he would make a decision on Thursday as to what would be open to the public, saying he was concerned by fervent media and public attention on Kohberger’s murder case as he tries to ensure a fair trial.
While noting he hoped to show ‘as much as possible’ of Kohberger’s case to the public, Hippler said he would close the DNA evidence portion of the hearing as he can’t ‘unring the bell’ once potentially shocking information is heard.
The judge indicated that other portions of the hearings would be streamed online but the courtroom would be closed, due to concerns that he may have to unexpectedly close brief aspects of the hearings.
It comes as the case against Kohberger – who has not appeared in court for three months – has been delayed several times since his arrest in December 2022, with the accused killer now set to stand trial in August 2025.
Suspected quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger
Kohberger is accused of murdering University of Idaho students (L-R) Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle on November 13, 2022
Latah County officials say they intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted over the grisly murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, in their off-campus home in November 2022.
Partial DNA evidence found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath found at the scene of the murders was a key piece of evidence used by law enforcement to indict and arrest Kohberger.
Kohberger’s attorneys argue that this method of how the DNA evidence was obtained violated his constitutional rights, with the DNA evidence’s admissibility set to be decided this week.
His initial trial date was set for October 2023. However, his lead defense attorney Anne Taylor has filed for multiple extensions and further hearings since his arrest, sparking anger from the victims’ families.
Kohberger’s team also delayed revealing his official alibi until May 2024, and when he finally did so, prosecutors and the public reacted with dismay as he claimed he was ‘driving alone’ on the night of the murders ‘to look at the moon and stars.’
In that filing, Taylor said she would be calling on a phone data analysis expert to back up his claims he was miles from the scene, which is one of the pieces of evidence prosecutors and the defense have repeatedly clashed over.
Kohberger has maintained his innocence since his arrest in December 2022, over a month after the murders that shocked the nation.
Social media flew into a frenzy after his arrest as internet sleuths pored over the lanky teaching assistant’s history, revealing everything from his middle-school bullying at the hands of popular classmates to his humiliating Tinder dates.
The families of the victims have shared their frustration at the unending delays, with the mother of Kaylee Goncalves (left, with Madison Mogen) saying: ‘It’s gut-wrenching how slow everything has to go. Why does this have to be so drawn out?’
Boyfriend and girlfriend Ethan Chapin (left) and Xana Kernodle (right) were slain in bed together in the gruesome murders in November 2022
The month-long search for the alleged killer led to widespread media attention, with the families of the victims since using the spotlight to condemn the proceedings against Kohberger.
In December 2023, the mother of victim Kaylee Goncalves said the ongoing process has been ‘gut wrenching.’
‘It’s gut-wrenching how slow everything has to go. Why does this have to be so drawn out?’ Kaylee’s mother Krisi said in an interview with KHQ.
‘It’s important, I get it, but there are facts, we have certain facts, we have certain knowledge. I can’t believe that this is how it works.’
In December 2023, Idaho officials again came under fire after the off-campus home where the four students were stabbed to death was torn down, against the victim’s families’ wishes.
Although both prosecution and defense agreed for it to be torn down, the families argued against it, with Goncalves’ loved ones fearing the move would ‘destroy one of the most critical pieces of evidence in the case.’
From cellphone data produced by prosecutors, the route allegedly driven by Bryan Kohberger on the night of the brutal Idaho murders may be a crucial piece of evidence in the state’s case against the 28-year-old. In his new alibi filing, his lawyers say they plan to dispute this data
The off-campus home where the four grisly murders took place was torn down in December amid the delays, despite calls from the victims’ families to keep it standing
Investigators were seen in January 2023 removing a bloodied mattress from the home where four University of Idaho were murdered
Before it was torn down, the scenes inside the home were so gruesome that exclusive DailyMail.com images showed blood seeping down the outsides of the property.
When he was arrested, prosecutors cited partial DNA matches found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath found at the home. No murder weapon has ever been found.
In an ongoing back-and-forth over such evidence in court – also including cell phone data and surveillance allegedly of Kohberger’s car at the crime scene – the defense claimed that prosecutors have not turned over what they may present in court.
Taylor filed a motion last summer to compel the defense to do so, with the defense countering that they are restricted by some federal laws due to the FBI’s involvement in the case.
The defense has also filed to dismiss the entire case, claiming he was indicted by a biased grand jury and the case was tainted by misconduct by the prosecution and the admission of invalid evidence. The motion was denied.
Last month, it emerged that Kohberger was previously investigated in connection to a home invasion in Pullman, Washington in October 2021, just 10 miles from the quadruple murders in Moscow, Idaho. He was never charged in that investigation.
