Bryan Kohberger bought black balaclava like one witnesses saw on night 4 Idaho students were murdered, prosecutors say
Suspect’s high profile trial is expected to begin in August
Bryan Kohberger bought a black balaclava 11 months before he allegedly slaughtered four University of Idaho students in their home, prosecutors claim in the latest release of bombshell court documents.
Prosecutors say records show that Kohberger bought the face covering on January 10, 2022 at a Dick’s Sporting Goods in Pittsburgh – and that it’s “remarkably similar” to the mask one of the surviving roommates told police that she saw a man wearing inside the off-campus Moscow house on the night of the murders, according to the documents viewed by The Independent.
The witness’s drawing of the mask is included in one of the documents previously filed by Kohberger’s attorney, Elisa Massoth.
Details of the purchase are just the latest to be released as the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office and Kohberger’s attorneys filed more documents in Ada County District Court this week related to evidence in the quadruple murder case.
Kohberger, a former PhD student, faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November 13, 2022, stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Prosecutors previously released documents indicating that Kohberger bought a Ka-Bar knife and sheath from Amazon in March 2022, eight months before the killings.
Key evidence in the case is the DNA recovered on the button of the knife sheath that was found near one of the victims, which ultimately led authorities to Kohberger weeks after the murders.
Last week, documents were released including a chilling selfie of Kohberger that was taken about six hours after the murders.
Kohberger, wearing a white dress shirt buttoned up to the collar and what appear to be earbuds, is in a bathroom and is giving the camera a closed-mouth smile and a thumbs up, according to the photo, which was included in the documents
Prosecutors hope his bushy eyebrows, which are prominent in the photo, will help lead to a conviction.
In the court filing, they asked to show that one of the two surviving roommates in the house during the murders saw a man with what she described as “bushy eyebrows” wearing a ski mask.
Thousands of pages of court documents have been filed in the complicated case as attorneys on both sides attempt to set the ground rules for what will and won’t be presented to jurors.
The killings shook the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn’t had a homicide in about five years. The trial was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defense expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn’t get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred.
Kohberger’s trial is scheduled to begin on July 30 with jury selection and opening statements are slated for August 11. The trial is expected to last more than three months.