Bryan Kohberger update: Idaho murders judge makes key camera ruling as dismissal bid tossed

Bryan Kohberger appeared at Latah County Court for two hearings on Thursday

Bryan Kohberger’s capital murder trial delayed

Bryan Kohberger returned to court today for a crucial hearing to argue why the grand jury indictment against him should be dismissed.

Judge John Judge denied the motion, but first made an unexpected decision to allow cameras in the courtroom.

The 28-year-old criminology PhD student is currently awaiting trial for the murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

Both the defence and the prosecution have been against cameras in the courtroom, but the media and the victims’ families have fought for cameras to be allowed.

Earlier this year, Mr Kohberger’s attorneys filed the motion to dismiss the murder charges against him, citing a biased grand jury, inadmissible evidence and prosecutorial misconduct.

They tried to argue “errors in grand jury instructions,” but the judge said it is the same instruction given to grand juries for 100 years.

Mr Kohberger was linked to the murders that rocked the town of Moscow through DNA evidence, cellphone data, an eyewitness account and his white Hyundai Elantra.

His attorneys have previously tried to argue that the DNA may have been planted and that the state has not handed all the evidence for the defence to review.

Key points

• Bryan Kohberger suffers two big losses in Idaho murders hearing
• Bryan Kohberger files motion to dismiss Idaho murders charges
• Mother of Idaho murders victim begs people not to forget slain students
• Judge denies Kohberger defence motion to throw out grand jury indictment

[27 October 2023 17:00 · Rachel Sharp]

WATCH: Idaho murders victim’s mother reveals why she won’t attend Bryan Kohberger’s trial

[27 October 2023 18:00 · Rachel Sharp]

Bryan Kohberger faces death penalty for the murders

Bryan Kohberger is facing death penalty if convicted of the murders of four University of Idaho students.

Back in the early hours of 13 November, he is accused of breaking into an off-campus student home on King Road, Moscow, and stabbing the four students to death with a large, military-style knife.

Two other female roommates lived with the three women at the property and were home at the time of the massacre but survived.

One of the survivors – Dylan Mortensen – came face to face with the masked killer, dressed in head-to-toe black and with bushy eyebrows, as he left the home in the aftermath of the murders, according to the criminal affidavit.

For more than six weeks, the college town of Moscow was plunged into fear as the accused killer remained at large with no arrests made and no suspects named.

Then, on 30 December, law enforcement suddenly swooped on Mr Kohberger’s family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania and arrested him for the quadruple murders.

He was tied to the murders through his DNA found on a knife sheath left on the bed next to Mogen’s butchered body.

The motive remains unknown and it is still unclear what connection the WSU PhD student had to the University of Idaho students – if any – prior to the murders. The murder weapon – a fixed-blade knife – has never been found.

[27 October 2023 19:00 · Rachel Sharp]

ICYMI: Bryan Kohberger’s father called police on accused Idaho killer nine years before murders

Bryan Kohberger’s father called the police on his son nine years before his son allegedly murdered four University of Idaho students in a shocking knife attack that has horrified America.

Court records, newly obtained by ABC News, reveal that Mr Kohberger was arrested and charged with stealing one of his sister Melissa’s cellphones back in 2014.

The then-19-year-old had recently left rehab for drug addiction issues and had returned to the family home in Pennsylvania.

Then, on 8 February 2014, he stole the $400 iPhone and paid a friend $20 to pick him up and take him to a local mall where he then sold it for $200.

When confronted by his father Michael over the theft, Mr Kohberger chillingly warned him “not to do anything stupid”, according to the court records. His father reported the incident to the police.

Catch up on the story here:

[27 October 2023 20:00 · Rachel Sharp]

What is Bryan Kohberger’s alibi for the night of the murders?

Bryan Kohberger finally offered up a vague alibi for the night that he is accused of brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in their beds.

The 28-year-old criminal justice PhD student claims that he was out on a solo drive throughout the night of 12 November and into the early hours of 13 November – but admits that there are no witnesses to back up his version of events.

“Mr. Kohberger has long had a habit of going for drives alone. Often he would go for drives at night,” his attorney Anne Taylor wrote in a court filing in August.

“He did so late on November 12 and into November 13, 2022. Mr. Kohberger is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time; at this time there is not a specific witness to say precisely where Mr. Kohberger was at each moment of the hours between late night November 12, 2022 and early morning November 13, 2022.

“He was out, driving during the late night and early morning hours of November 12-13, 2022.”

While Mr Kohberger’s attorney said that there is no specific witness to say where he was throughout the time of the murders, she wrote in the new filing that she anticipates “corroborating witnesses” will back up his explanation at trial.

The claims about Mr Kohberger’s unusual nighttime habits – and his whereabouts on the night of the murders – came after prosecutors demanded that his legal team reveal his alibi ahead of the original October trial start date.

[27 October 2023 21:00 · Rachel Sharp]

What happened in court yesterday? Motion to dismiss indictment denied

In court on Thursday, the judge denied a motion filed by Bryan Kohberger’s defence team to drop all charges against him.

Earlier this year, Mr Kohberger’s attorneys filed the motion to dismiss the murder charges against him, citing a biased grand jury, inadmissible evidence and prosecutorial misconduct.

Judge John Judge said that while he appreciated the defence’s argument which he called “creative,” he quickly ruled that the grand jury’s indictment would stand.

“I appreciate the argument. I think it’s really creative and I appreciate the journey back through history,” the judge said.

“I mean, what it comes down to for me is that I am constrained by what I believe is settled law in Idaho. I may be wrong, but this is certainly an issue that you would have to bring up with a higher court, like the Idaho Supreme Court, and I look forward to getting that.”

[27 October 2023 22:00 · Rachel Sharp]

What happened in court yesterday? Ruling allowing cameras in court

In court on Thursday, the judge made a ruling on the issue around cameras in the courtroom.

The judge said that he would allow cameras in the courtroom for now, but added that he will “take more control” of them. He also asked people to have restraint and dignity when covering the case.

The families of two Idaho murders victims Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20, previously called for cameras to document Mr Kohberger’s trial, but both the defence and the prosecution have been against cameras in the courtroom.

On Thursday morning, the Goncalves family posted on their Facebook page: “Court today! Please pray that things are decided in our favor. I can barely breathe. We have been waiting for this day since Sept 20th.”

A group of media outlets has also pushed back on the defence’s request motion, asking the judge to allow cameras to remain in the courtroom for his future hearings and the trial.