Bryan Kohberger – updates: Idaho murders suspect may face firing squad as judge compares case to Lori Vallow
Bryan Kohberger appeared in court in Moscow, Idaho, on Tuesday as the Idaho murders case heads to trial
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Bryan Kohberger is in a fight for his life as he may now face the firing squad if convicted of the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.
On Monday, prosecutors announced they plan to seek the death penalty against him. In Idaho, the use of firing squad as an alternative death sentence method to lethal injection will go into force on 1 July – ahead of his October trial.
Now, the 28-year-old’s attorneys are seeking a trove of evidence from prosecutors which they say is key to him being able to defend himself.
Arguments about some of this evidence were heard in a court hearing on Tuesday, where the judge compared the case to that of Lori Vallow.
Judge John Judge pointed to the equally high-profile Idaho murder case as he warned the media about the use of cameras in the courtroom, saying that if they continue to focus only on Mr Kohberger, cameras could be banned altogether.
It also emerged this week that Mr Kohberger was convicted of theft nine years before he allegedly brutally stabbed the four University of Idaho students to death in Moscow.
Bryan Kohberger judge makes reference to Lori Vallow case as suit-clad Idaho murders suspect appears in court
Four students stabbed to death, a weeks-long manhunt but no motive: What we know about the Idaho murders
Brutal stabbings, a white Hyundai Elantra and a criminology student: Timeline of the Idaho college murders
Who is Bryan Kohberger? The criminology graduate charged with the Idaho college murders
What happened in court yesterday?
- Judge revised gag order to clarify that it does include members of law enforcement, investigators and expert witnesses for both sides
- Judge tells media not to focus cameras solely on Bryan Kohberger – or they run the risk of cameras being banned
- Judge revealed some issues on motion to compel and discovery had been resolved while some will be argued on a different day
- Defence asked judge to order prosecution to hand over evidence in case – including police training records and Bryan Kohberger’s cellphone records – insisting it is not a “fishing expedition” but that attorneys need the evidence for his defence
Who is Bryan Kohberger, the sole suspect in the Idaho stabbings?
At the time of the murders, Mr Kohberger was studying for his PhD and working as a teaching assistant in criminal justice at WSU.
Prior to this, Mr Kohberger studied criminology at DeSales University first as an undergraduate and then finishing his graduate studies in June 2022.
According to online school records, Mr Kohberger received an associate arts degree in 2018 from Northampton Community College in Albrightsville and received a masters degree in criminal justice this year from DeSales University.
While studying at DeSales, he studied under renowned forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland who interviewed the BTK serial killer and co-wrote the book Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer with him.
He was working part-time as a security guard until August 2021 at Pleasant Valley School District, where his mother was listed as a paraprofessional.
The alleged murderer carried out a research project “to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime”.
Mr Kohberger reached out to potential participants on Reddit, with the chilling survey resurfacing after his arrest.
“In particular, this study seeks to understand the story behind your most recent criminal offense, with an emphasis on your thoughts and feelings throughout your experience,” the post said.
His fascination appears to have continued around the time of the murders when he applied for an internship with the local police department.
The affidavit revealed that he applied for an internship in the fall of 2022 with the Pullman Police Department and wrote in an essay how he had an interest “in assisting rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations”.
ICYMI: A timeline of the Idaho college murders
Prosecutors have now announced their intentions to seek the death penalty in the case.
On Tuesday, the accused killer is appearing back in Latah County Court where Judge John Judge will hear arguments on several motions filed by the defence including asking the court to order prosecutors to turn over more evidence about the DNA tying Mr Kohberger to the murders and details about the grand jury which returned an indictment against him.
So how did we get here?
Here’s a timeline of the case so far:
Idaho murders case timeline
It’s now seven months since four University of Idaho students were found stabbed to death in Moscow. Here’s everything that’s happened so far. Io Dodds reports
Bryan Kohberger judge makes reference to Lori Vallow case
The judge overseeing Bryan Kohberger’s death penalty case made a reference to another chilling Idaho murder case during the accused killer’s latest court hearing.
The 28-year-old criminology PhD student appeared in court in Moscow, Idaho, on Tuesday as his lawyers launched their fight for his life in the death penalty case.
Dressed in a dark suit and tie, he appeared solemn as he entered Latah County Courtroom and sat with his defence.
In the hearing, Judge John Judge pointed to the equally high-profile Lori Vallow murder case as he warned the media about the use of cameras in the courtroom.
Read the full story here:
Bryan Kohberger’s defense requests records of three officers Idaho murders probe
Accused killer appeared in court in Moscow one day after prosecutors announced intentions to seek the death penalty
ICYMI: These are the four University of Idaho students killed on 13 November
Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21, were seniors at the University of Idaho and were expected to graduate this year.
At a vigil weeks after the murders, Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves told how the two “absolutely beautiful” young women first met in sixth grade and became inseparable.
“They just found each other and every day they did homework together, they came to our house together, they shared everything,” he said at the time. “Then they started looking at colleges, they came here together. They eventually get into the same apartment together.
“And in the end, they died together, in the same room, in the same bed.”
Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were juniors at the college and had begun dating months before their deaths. They were both 20.
Six months after the stabbings, the families of the slain students accepted posthumous awards for their achievements.
Mogen and Goncalves’ relatives walked across the stage for their degrees in an emotional ceremony on 13 May. Kernodle’s family also accepted her certificate in marketing at a separate ceremony while Chapin’s award in sports, recreation and management was mailed to his parents.
Bryan Kohberger claims DNA from three other unidentified men found at crime scene
Bryan Kohberger has claimed that DNA from three other unidentified men was also found at the crime scene.
Court documents, filed by attorneys for the 28-year-old PhD student last week, argue that DNA from two other men was also found inside the off-campus student home in Moscow, Idaho.
DNA from a third unknown man was also found on a glove found outside the property on 20 November – one week on from the murders, the documents state.
“By December 17, 2022, lab analysts were aware of two additional males’ DNA within the house where the deceased were located and another unknown male DNA on a glove found outside the residence on November 20, 2022,” Mr Kohberger’s attorney Jay Logsdon writes in the filing.
“To this date, the Defense is unaware of what sort of testing, if any, was conducted on these samples other than the STR DNA profiles.
“Further, these three separate and distinct male DNA profiles were not identified through CODIS leading to the conclusion that the profiles do not belong to Mr. Kohberger.”
Mr Kohberger’s defence is fighting against the state’s use of genetic genealogy to tie him to the brutal murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle.
According to prosecutors, the killer left a military knife sheath behind at the scene of the 13 November stabbings. The sheath was found next to Mogen’s body in her bed on the third floor of the student home.
DNA found on the sheath was later matched to Mr Kohberger after the FBI checked the sample against genetic genealogy databases and “tipped off” local authorities.
After collecting trash from the suspect’s parents’ home in the Poconos Mountains, a familial match – from Mr Kohberger’s father – was made to the knife sheath, according to the criminal affidavit.
Following Mr Kohberger’s arrest on 30 December, DNA samples were taken directly from the suspect and came back as “a statistical match”, say prosecutors.
Bryan Kohberger arrested over alleged robbery nine years before murders
When confronted by his father over the theft, Bryan Kohberger chillingly warned him ‘not to do anything stupid’, according to court records.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp reports:
Kaylee Goncalves’ father reacts to state seeking death penalty in murder case
Kaylee Goncalves’ father Steve Goncalves said he felt ‘relief’ as his family comes one step closer to getting justice
WATCH: Suit-clad Bryan Kohberger appears in court for hearing
IN PICTURES: Bryan Kohberger’s court hearing
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