Kohberger defense must file evidence for other suspects in Idaho murder trial

BOISE – The defense team for the man accused in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students plan to argue the possibility of alternative perpetrators at his upcoming murder trial, the judge confirmed during the last scheduled pretrial conference Thursday.

Judge Steven Hippler, of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District, said during the hearing that the defense for Bryan Kohberger in a motion asked to seal its allegations regarding another culprit or culprits, which he granted.

But Hippler warned the defense that it needed to provide two things by the end of next week: evidence, rather than just allegations, and an argument to support the admissibility of its case. The judge said the defense’s information was “potentially fairly objectionable in terms of admissibility.”

With Kohberger in attendance in a white shirt and striped tie, Hippler directed the defense to file additional briefs by May 23, and prosecutors to respond by June 6. Hippler scheduled a hearing on the matter for June 18.

Kohberger, 30, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the November 2022 stabbing deaths of the four UI students at a home near the Moscow campus. At the time, he was a Ph.D. student in the criminal justice and criminology department at Washington State University in nearby Pullman.

The four victims were Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene; Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington. The three women lived in the home on King Road with two female roommates who went physically unharmed in the attack. Chapin was Kernodle’s boyfriend and stayed over for the night.

It’s not the first time Kohberger’s defense has raised the possibility of an alternative perpetrator or perpetrators. Lead defense attorney Anne Taylor told the court last month that her team is investigating a tip about a different suspect. A defense expert who may testify at trial believes the crime would have required two perpetrators and two weapons, she said.

Police arrested Kohberger in late December 2022 after a nearly seven-week manhunt and a Latah County grand jury unanimously indicted him. There, a judge entered a not guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf in May 2023, and his case was later moved to Boise for trial.

If a jury finds Kohberger guilty, prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.

Jury, trial, witness details discussed in Kohberger hearing

Kohberger’s capital murder trial in Boise is set to begin with jury selection in late July. It is scheduled to last into November if sentencing is necessary with a conviction.

The bulk of Thursday’s public hearing was spent setting expectations for jury selection, court schedules, witness requirements and other procedural details. Another closed-door session to discuss jury questionnaires took place into Thursday afternoon. Absent from the hearing were the parents of victim Kaylee Goncalves, who have been at almost all court dates to this point.

Hippler said the court is summoning a large number of potential jurors in the hopes of quickly weeding out anyone potentially biased or knowledgeable about the highly publicized case. The final jury count will be 20 – to include 12 primary jurors and eight alternates, with the addition of two more Hippler said he bring on “after Friday.”

Hippler didn’t say what prompted him to increase the number of alternates. But on Friday, NBC aired a “Dateline” special that included new details attributed to unnamed sources close to the investigation. The judge in a written order directed prosecutors to submit records of anyone who had access to the information disclosed in the TV special and in court told the defense he was open to a special prosecutor leading an investigation into violations of a longstanding gag order in the case.

The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 11. Hippler said court will run from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Attorneys and the defendant are to be prepared each day at 8:15 a.m., and afternoons could extend until 4:30 p.m. to address issues raised by either side outside the purview of the jury, Hippler said.

The judge said he plans to allow a livestream of the proceedings on the court’s existing streaming website. He said footage will include the attorneys’ tables, the podium, the witness stand and the bench.

“There will be no production of the video, meaning there’ll be no close-ups and zoom-ins and zoom-outs and things of that nature,” Hippler said.

The judge said he will cut the video stream, broadcasting only audio during witness testimony from the two surviving roommates who lived in the home where the four students were killed, should the women request it. But Hippler was skeptical of requests from the prosecution and defense to extend the same level of privacy to other witnesses, including law enforcement officers who sometimes operate undercover and some witnesses who “expressed reluctance to talk,” according to Taylor.

“For anyone else, you’re going to have to really convince me,” Hippler said. “Their hesitancy can be overborne with a subpoena, and that’s what subpoenas are for.”