OAN Staff Abril Elfi
6:07 PM – Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, are urging a judge to move his murder trial away from the county, citing “inflammatory” media coverage.
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Kohberger’s lawyers have argued that the media’s coverage of the case, as well as growing public interest, have made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial.
“The prolific media coverage, in Latah County, is not a mere passing story,” Anne Taylor, a public defender for Bryan Kohberger, said in a change-of-venue motion. “The content is not benign, rather, it is inflammatory, emotion evoking and often misleading, false, and poorly sourced. There is no reasonable belief that media coverage will slow, regardless of how long the case takes to prepare for trial.”
She continued, stating that in order for Kohberger to have a fair trial, the case should be moved to Boise, Idaho, instead.
Meanwhile, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thomson argued that the case has received national and international attention, so taking it out of the county would not change anything or affect a potential juror’s familiarity with the case. Needless to say, he opposed the decision to move the trial.
Both sides are set to argue their positions during an August 29th hearing.
It will be up to Judge John C. Judge to decide whether the trial remains in Moscow, Idaho, with a population of 41,000, or it moves 296 miles south to Boise, with a population of 236,634.
“Latah County, Idaho is a small, tightly knit community; based on survey results it is a community with a prejudgment for conviction and death sentence,” Taylor wrote. “Some of the major employers in the community are people connected to law enforcement and the University of Idaho.”
Kohberger is currently awaiting trial on multiple counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary related to the deaths of the four students who were tragically murdered in the same home.
The victims have been identified as Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
According to the probable cause affidavit, investigators tied him to the murders by using DNA evidence found on a knife sheath that was left at the scene, which was located in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found dead.
The affidavit also states that during the course of investigating Kohberger’s prior phone location pings, authorities found that at least 12 times before November 13th, 2022, his cell phone’s location was in the same vicinity of the 1122 King Road residence, where the murders occurred.
Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his trial was originally set for October 2nd. However, it was later delayed due to the 29-year-old suspect waiving his right to a speedy trial. It is now tentatively set for June 2025.
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