Judge hands DNA deadline to prosecutor

Latah County District Judge John Judge on Thursday set a Dec. 1 deadline to receive more DNA findings in the Bryan Kohberger case.

On Oct. 25, Judge ordered the prosecution to provide further DNA information requested by Kohberger’s defense team.

According to Judge’s order, investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) was used to construct a family tree of people whose DNA matched with the DNA found on the knife sheath left at the King Road house where Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were killed in Moscow.

The DNA on the knife sheath was key evidence that led to Kohberger’s arrest in December. According to Judge’s order, Kohberger’s attorneys want to know more about the IGG process, including the family tree built by the FBI.

The prosecution argued against this, saying the IGG information was not used to obtain any warrant and will not be used at trial. But Judge decided the defense is entitled to see at least some of the information from the IGG investigation even if it may ultimately be irrelevant.

The court plans to review the IGG information to figure out what needs to be disclosed and what does not.

On Thursday, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told Judge he is waiting to receive this information from both the FBI and a private laboratory. But Thompson claimed that some of the information the defense is asking for does not exist. Kohberger attorney Anne Taylor countered by saying her team’s requests are based on Department of Justice policy and testimony from genealogy experts.

Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November 2022 stabbing deaths of the four University of Idaho students.