No decision was made to set a trial date for University of Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger on Wednesday, but a hearing will be held in May to determine whether to move the proceedings elsewhere.
Kohberger returned to court as Judge John Judge heard arguments for trial scheduling and the defense’s request for a change of venue.
“I’m listening carefully to both sides, and it’s a complicated case,” Judge said. “It’s a death penalty case.”
Prosecutors had previously requested a trial date for this June, after the end of the spring semester, but the defense wants more time to prepare.
BRYAN KOHBERGER ASKS COURT FOR CHANGE OF VENUE AFTER DELAYS IN IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS TRIAL
“A fair and impartial jury cannot be found in Latah County owing to the extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity, allegations made about Mr. Kohberger to the public by media that will be inadmissible at his trial, the small size of the community, the salacious nature of the alleged crimes, and the severity of the charges Mr. Kohberger faces,” Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s lead defense attorney, wrote in a January court filing.
Taylor previously asked the court to delay Kohberger’s trial until at least 2025.
Kohberger, a 29-year-old Pennsylvania criminology Ph.D. student, was attending Washington State University in Pullman, across the state line from Moscow, Idaho, where prosecutors allege he entered an off-campus home around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, and massacred four students with a large knife.
The victims were Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, who were childhood best friends, as well as their housemate Xana Kernodle and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, both 20.
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A surviving housemate witnessed a masked man walk out the back door after overhearing sounds of a struggle minutes into the attack, but police were not called until around noon the next day.
It was more than six weeks before police captured a suspect. They arrested Kohberger at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains after a lengthy investigation that included help from the FBI and police across multiple states.
Judge entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger’s behalf at his arraignment in May. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
The trial was initially expected to last six weeks, but lawyers now expect it to go on for 12 to 15 weeks.
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