The attorney representing the sole suspect in the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students in the city of Moscow in November has multiple connections to the victims’ parents.
Earlier this week, news broke that Cara Northington, the mother of victim Xana Kenodle, 20, was being represented by Bryan Kohberger’s attorney, Anne Taylor, on drug charges until Jan. 5, the day the suspect was extradited to Idaho.
Court filings obtained by Inside Edition now show that Taylor, the head of the Kootenai Public Defender’s Office, represented Madison Mogen’s stepmother, Korie Hatrock, on drug charges as late as June 2022. Taylor also oversaw a case involving Mogen’s father Benjamin in 2020.
On December 30, police arrested Kohberger, a criminology graduate student at Washington State University in Pullman, eight miles from the Moscow residence.
He is accused of brutally stabbing Kenoodle and Mogen, as well as Kaylee Goncalves and Ethan Chapin. The suspect was arrested on December 30 at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania and extradited to Idaho on January 5.
Court filings obtained by Inside Edition now show that Anne Taylor, the head of the Kootenai Public Defender’s Office pictured here, previously represented Madison Mogen’s stepmother
Madison Mogen’s father Ben and stepmother Korie Hatrock were pictured together in August 2020
Ben Mogen was sentenced to 90 days in prison after pleading guilty in 2020. While Hatrock pleaded guilty to possession of an illegal substance, it’s unclear if she’s serving a jail sentence.
Some speculate that Taylor’s appointment as Kohberger’s representative was a necessity because the small county didn’t have many qualified public defenders.
Taylor is one of only 13 public defenders in Idaho licensed by the state’s Public Defense Commission to lead a death penalty case. It’s also the only one in all of northern Idaho.
The lead defender role is responsible for planning, implementing, coordinating, directing, and evaluating activities and programs of the public defender’s office, according to a previous job posting for the Idaho role.
Bryan Kohberger is the sole suspect in the November 13 murders of Madison Mogen and her three friends in Moscow, Idaho
Taylor has been in the role since June 2017. At the time of her appointment, she told the Couer d’Alene Post Falls Press, “It’s such necessary work. It is important to ensure that constitutional rights apply to everyone. You help people who are facing terrible times. I love the work.”
The play mentions that Taylor was a graduate of Idaho State University and the University of Idaho. After graduating, Taylor served in the Kootenai County Attorney’s Office for five years.
California appellate and trial attorney Matthew Barhoma told that Taylor appeared to want to work with Kohberger on the case – describing it as a “strange and unique” situation.
He said: “Taylor has had a lot of dealings with the mother on several occasions before and that adds to the conflict. You have to assume that she did not receive any confidential information from the mother that could be used in this case.
“And then you have to ask yourself if you can do the job impartially and it could affect Bryan, who may not have a backup attorney.
“It’s an inherently difficult subject with no clear answer and a gray area. But if it were me, I would withdraw from the case.’
Taylor is seen with her 28-year-old client on January 5. He was a graduate student in criminology at Washington State University eight miles from the crime scene
Victims: Pictured are the four Idaho students who were stabbed to death in the early hours of November 13. Ethan Chapin (center right), Xana Kerndole (right), Kaylee Goncalves (bottom left) and Madison Mogen (top left)
Taylor is seen with Kohberger on January 5 – the day Taylor stopped representing Northington
Xana Kenodle’s mother has claimed that she gave Taylor power of attorney during her legal struggles over her drug addiction and is unsure what happens next in her case.
Northington says she “trusted” the attorney to help her and isn’t sure she even has new representation.
She added that she felt “betrayed” by Taylor and felt “let down by prosecutors who knew about Kohberger’s studies at WSU — where Xana’s sister Jazzmin attends.”
Northington, who has long battled addiction, said she only found out Taylor was representing her daughter’s accused killer when a friend saw it on social media and told her.
It was unclear why no liaison officer from the Victims and Witnesses Coordination Team had come forward.
Barhoma stated that it was “plausible” that Taylor only became aware of the conflict after taking the case – but believes it “would have come to light sooner”.
He added, “There is a significant conflict of interest, although she has retired from the mother’s case, should she also be retiring from Bryan’s case.”
Kohberger was arrested by a SWAT team at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania on December 30 when they were raiding his Washington State University apartment.
He has previously indicated that he believes he will be “exonerated” as his family is unable to pay for private representation for him.