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MOSCOW, Idaho — The defense team of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home in 2022, requested to move the case out of town in July, saying in a memorandum he can't receive a fair trial in Latah County because of "inflammatory" publicity.
But prosecutors rejected that argument in a filing Tuesday, saying the court could put in place other measures to ensure a fair trial.
Prosecutors argued the defense failed to prove that Kohberger would not receive a fair trial in the county. "The court should deny defendant's motion and instead, focus on crafting remedial measures to ensure that a fair and impartial jury can be seated in Latah County," the prosecution argued.
The filings are the latest pretrial developments in Kohberger's quadruple murder trial, which is set to begin in June 2025.
It's been a long and winding road since the four students — Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen — were fatally stabbed in the overnight hours of Nov. 13, 2022, at a home just off the school's main campus in Moscow, Idaho.
Kohberger, a Washington State University graduate student in criminology, was arrested in the killings on Dec. 30, 2022, in his home state of Pennsylvania. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in May 2023, and his attorneys have indicated the 29-year-old intends to present an alibi as part of his defense. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.
The progression of the case has been slowed by a series of pretrial motions and hearings that have frustrated the family of one of the victims as well as the judge overseeing the case.
The hearings largely fall into a few different buckets. One relates to the defense attorneys' access to evidence, particularly how the prosecution used investigative genetic genealogy in building the case. A second set of hearings concerns Kohberger's proposed alibi for his innocence. Third, there have been a number of hearings related to a gag order that restricts what the parties can publicly say about the case.
In April, the judge criticized Kohberger's defense attorney, saying she commissioned phone surveys to potential jurors that could hinder Kohberger's ability to get a fair trial. However, defense attorney Anne C. Taylor said the judge violated her client's right to due process by ordering a stop to the anonymous survey without hearing the defense's side first.
