Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger gets no-nonsense warning from judge over potential death penalty

Accused quadruple killer Bryan Kohberger received a stern warning from the judge newly assigned to his case as he tried to eliminate the lingering threat that he could face the death penalty if convicted.

Kohberger, 29, is accused of brutally murdering Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves in their off-campus house in November 2022.

In court on Thursday, his legal team had a laundry list of reasons they did not think the death penalty should be on the table for the case. 

At the conclusion of the final last-ditch argument, which stated the death penalty does not reflect international law and modern day standards of decency, Judge Steven Hippler had a no-nonsense response.

‘I understand the argument,’ he said. ‘It’s falling about as flat as you would expect it to fall.’

He’d spent four hours listening to a host of reasons the defense opposed the death penalty in this case. While he has officially taken all of the motions ‘under advisement’, he strenuously questioned and pushed back on many of the claims made in Kohberger’s defense. 

Kohberger appeared in plain clothes – a dark suit, bright blue dress shirt and striped tie – for the hearing on Thursday after making a request to the court that he forego prison attire. 

He had successfully argued his trial – scheduled to begin with jury selection on July 30, 2025 – should be held outside of the small town of Moscow, Idaho, where the crimes were committed.

Now, the matter is being heard in Ada County in the state capital of Boise, where the defense hopes to get a more favorable jury. 

Kohberger’s attorney Anne Taylor said it would be ‘dehumanizing’ to leave him on death row when ‘Idaho does not have a current, real means of executing anybody.’

Idaho last executed a death row inmate in 2012. 

‘It is important for the court … to understand pain and suffering. I don’t believe our constitution allows to make him sit on death row,’ Taylor said.

‘The way Idaho is doing things now, it’s not really working. It’s not a realistic option to have him sit on death row and say Idaho’s going to figure out how to kill you at some point in the future in a way that isn’t cruel and unusual and a violation of rights.’ 

The defense is relying on a belief that Idaho’s preferred method of execution – lethal injection – is not readily available due to nationwide shortages, and after authorities were unable to find a vein to administer the injection to death row inmate Thomas Creech.

As it stands, Idaho can execute inmates via firing squad as a secondary means. 

But Taylor said the ‘anxiety and fear’ of not knowing how he will die should be a factor in ruling out the death penalty in the Kohberger case.

‘When we’re talking about the recent history of what has happened in Idaho, there are problems. Real problems,’ Kohberger’s defense said. ‘It doesn’t work.

‘How is it right, fair… for somebody to have to sit there and just wait for Idaho to figure it out?’ 

But Judge Hippler appeared confused by the argument, noting that if Kohberger is convicted and sentenced to death, it will likely be years before he would be executed.

‘You’re saying take the death penalty off the table because the current methods in your view are either unavailable or unconstitutional, but the reality is if he’s convicted we know it’s going to be a decade plus before it’s carried out,’ Hippler said.

‘Who knows what methods are going to be then. Who knows what technologically is going to be available at that time?’

Beyond the method itself, the defense argued that Kohberger had to sacrifice his constitutional right to a speedy trial in order to guarantee effective legal counsel. They say this should also warrant the death penalty being struck.

The state hit back, saying Kohberger never needed to waive his right to a speedy trial, and that, regardless, there were exceptions within the law that protected the current estimated timeframe. 

As Taylor made her case about the length of time it takes to mount a defense in a capital trial, she argued that there was no way for Kohberger to maintain both constitutional rights, and that as a result, the death penalty should be off the table.

‘But that would result in the death penalty being struck in every case,’ he said.

‘If that’s the case, then that’s the case,’ she answered.

Kohberger’s defense also railed against the statutory aggravating factors the state listed in this case to justify their decision to pursue the death penalty: namely that he allegedly committed multiple murders, and that he would have a ‘propensity to reoffend’ and remain a danger to society. 

Without these aggravating factors, the state would not be pursuing the death penalty. Kohberger’s team have urged a judge to remove them. 

In relation to the ‘multi victim’ aggravator’, the defense stated: ‘It seems to lessen the value of a single human life but it still doesn’t tell us anything about the culpability of the person.’

The judge interrupted, asking: ‘Isn’t it more culpable to kill two people than one? isn’t it morally more problematic, the number of lives you take? The floor is pretty high but doesn’t that bring you above the floor?’

Similarly, the defense argued ‘future dangerousness doesn’t go to the conduct that has happened. This aggravator absolutely has to be struck.’

Finally, as the hearing wrapped up, the defense made a case against the international law expectations – and how the death penalty is increasingly isolated as a means of acceptable punishment.

Kohberger’s defense attorneys had earlier argued that extensive media coverage and strong emotions in the university town of Moscow would make it difficult to find an impartial jury, as prosecutors seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors argued they could find impartial jurors in Moscow by bringing in a large pool to choose from. They also said the move inconveniences the family members of victims, attorneys, and witnesses.

They have claimed that Kohberger’s DNA was found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath found at the victim’s off-campus home, though no murder weapon has ever been found.

Officials also said that cell phone data and surveillance put Kohberger’s car at the crime scene – though the defense has disputed those claims.

The case attracted widespread national and international attention at the time. 

Recent court filings show his defense team have brought on renowned forensics expert Dr. Barbara C. Wolf to testify remotely at today’s hearing.

Wolf is currently the medical examiner of Florida’s 5th and 24th districts, which include Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Seminole and Sumter counties. She has worked on several high-profile cases.

Notably, she worked on OJ Simpson’s defense team while he was on trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in 1995.

Kohberger has maintained his innocence since his arrest in December 2022.