An Idaho judge delivered a blow to quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Kohberger’s defense on Wednesday as he finally made a ruling on the DNA technique prosecutors used to identify the then-grad student as the prime suspect.
Idaho 4th District Judge Steven Hippler has determined that police did not violate Kohberger’s constitutional rights during its search for the person who murdered University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Ethan Chapin, 20; and Xana Kernodle, 20 inside their off-campus house, according to the Idaho Statesman.
Authorities had found genetic material on a knife sheath at the murder scene, which police linked to Kohberger through genetic genealogy testing – which compared the sample with data from public databases that came from the suspect’s distant relatives.
Kohberger’s defense team has since argued that his constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure were violated, because his DNA was obtained without a warrant.
But Hippler ruled on Wednesday that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy for evidence collected at a crime scene, Fox 13 reports.
He also determined that the DNA technique prosecutors used did not jeopardize the investigation and its use by the FBI does not justify suppressing any evidence collected after that.
Separately, Hippler ruled that the defense’s assertion that detectives lied or withheld information from a prior judge to obtain search warrants was unfounded and does not support holding a separate hearing to challenge the evidence.
An Idaho judge delivered a blow to quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Kohberger’s defense on Wednesday
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
