Bryan Kohberger in court for hearing on evidence he wants thrown out
Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger will be returning to court today for a motions hearing as his defense team aims to have crucial evidence in the case excluded from his upcoming trial.
The 30-year-old aspiring criminologist is accused of entering a six-bedroom home and brutally murdering four University of Idaho students in a stabbing spree that took place on November 13, 2022. Shockingly, at least two of the victims were asleep when the attack began, according to authorities.
Prior to the incident, Kohberger allegedly turned off his cellphone and changed his license plates in an attempt to evade detection. However, investigators claim to have found a significant piece of evidence linking him to the crime: his DNA was discovered on a Ka-Bar knife sheath found under the body of Madison Mogen, one of the victims. The other three victims were identified as Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.
Among the evidence that Kohberger’s defense is seeking to have excluded from the trial are his Amazon shopping records which reportedly show purchases of a Ka-Bar knife and sheath months before the murders, testimony from a surviving roommate who witnessed an intruder with bushy eyebrows following the attack, 911 audio recordings, a college essay on crime scene handling written by Kohberger in 2020, a selfie photo depicting the suspect posing with a thumbs-up in front of a shower, and National Weather Service data that could potentially challenge his alibi.
In an unexpected turn, Kohberger is also pushing to have the death penalty removed as a possible punishment, citing his autism as a reason for leniency if he is convicted.
On the prosecution side, they are seeking to prevent Kohberger from arguing that he was framed and are requesting that the defense refrain from characterizing the state’s intent to seek the death penalty as an attempt to harm him.
The tragic events unfolded as Kohberger, who was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, lived just 10 miles away from the crime scene in Moscow, Idaho, where the victims attended the University of Idaho as undergrad students.
Following a lengthy investigation with no solid leads, authorities utilized investigative genetic genealogy techniques on DNA from the knife sheath, leading them to Kohberger’s identity. He was subsequently arrested by Pennsylvania State Police at his parents’ residence in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania on December 30, 2022. Since then, he has been held without bail and entered not-guilty pleas to charges of first-degree murder and burglary at his arraignment in May 2023.
After a successful request for a change in venue, Kohberger’s trial is set to take place in Boise with proceedings scheduled to begin on August 11.
