Kohberger trial could be a year away

MOSCOW –– The trial of Bryan Kohberger could be pushed back to summer 2025, pending a decision by the Latah County District Judge John Judge.

Kohberger, 29, has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary in connection with the Nov. 13, 2022, stabbing deaths of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, at a residency on the University of Idaho campus.

He will face the death penalty if convicted.

Two hearings took place on Friday, Jan. 26. A closed private hearing was at 11 a.m. and a second, open-to-public, hearing was at 1 p.m. According to reports, the first hearing addressed the defense's motion to dismiss the indictment on claims of a biased jury, insufficient evidence and other claims.

In the second hearing, Judge John Judge heard arguments from the prosecution and defense attorneys in the quadruple homicide case. They argued when to schedule the trial and at the end of the heading, Judge told both attorneys he needed more time to decide.

During the second hearing, which was live-streamed, Judge John Judge denied the defense's motion to dismiss the indictment and rejected the appeal to take the issue to the Idaho Supreme Court.

However, the Idaho Supreme Court could still take the case.

While apologizing to the victim's families, the judge stated that he would need time to decide based on reports from the defense, which reportedly said they had received over 51 terabytes of information to sift through.

The prosecution requested a summer of 2024 trial, stating they would be ready. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson argued to schedule the trial this summer as the summer months will help to avoid conflict with Moscow High School, Washington State University (WSU) and the University of Idaho, which neighbors the Latah County Courthouse. In addition, this would allow hotels in the area to have enough availability for people involved in the trial.

However, Kohberger's attorney, Anne Taylor, argued the trial needs to be pushed back until summer 2025. Taylor told the Judge she needed more time to sort through the potential evidence in the case while preparing for a trial.

Taylor told the court that her team had received 51 terabytes of information, including photos, documents, and videos. While not stating any specifics, Taylor said there is one particular "important" video that she needs to review. She added that there are more than 400 potential witnesses in the case, and her team has interviewed fewer than 10% of them. In addition, she stated that her team also needs to speak to experts to sort through law enforcement tips and learn everything about Kohberger's background and "life story."

Taylor told the court she believes the trial will take longer than the 6 weeks the court initially planned for and said the trial will likely take 12-15 weeks.

She also said the police report detailing the law enforcement's investigation does not clearly explain why police focused on Kohberger in the first place.

Thompson and the Judge agreed they would prefer a timely case to provide closure to the victims' families.

Author Bio

Olivia Harnack, Editorial Reporter

Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.

• Email: editor@wcgazette.com