The man suspected of brutally stabbing four college students last November will appear in court in Idaho today to seek the dismissal of his charges due to “insufficient evidence” and alleged jury bias.
Criminology student Bryan Kohberger, 28, was indicted by an Idaho grand jury that heard evidence during a closed session in May and decided to send the case to a full trial.
Kohberger, who had refused to enter a plea and instead remained “silent” at a hearing that same month, now wants to overturn the decision and set a preliminary hearing to examine the evidence against him.
If events unfold, prosecutors in Moscow, Idaho, would be forced to present their case in a mini-trial that could lead to Kohberger’s release if a judge agrees that police do not have enough evidence to convict.
The Washington State University graduate student was arrested last December and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary over the horror attack that left such a horrifying sight that police called it “the worst we’ve ever seen.”
Bryan Kohberger (pictured last month) will appear in Latah District Court on Thursday for a two-part hearing where his lawyers will argue that his charges should be dismissed
Kohberger is the sole suspect in the quadruple murders of Maddie Mogen (top), Kaylee Goncalves (second from left), Xana Kernodle (second from right) and Ethan Chapin (center) – all University of Idaho students – who were stabbed to death on December 13 November 2022 in the quiet university town of Moscow
visited the former student residence in Moscow, Idaho, which is slated for demolition by university officials. However, it remained intact but was boarded up on Wednesday
Best friends Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, and young couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20, were all killed in their beds in the three women’s rented home.
The attack was so brutal that blood could still be seen dripping from the walls of the gray-painted house days after the murder.
After the murders, the house was given to the University of Idaho, which plans to demolish it to make way for a memorial to the murdered students.
When visited on Wednesday, it remained intact but was boarded up and guarded by college security guards.
A hearing on Kohberger’s motion to vacate his indictment will be held in Latah District Court in two parts: a closed morning session and an afternoon session open to the public and media.
In the morning session, Kohberger’s defense attorney, Anne Taylor, will argue that the charges should be dismissed due to a “biased grand jury, inadmissible evidence, lack of sufficient evidence and prosecutorial misconduct in withholding exculpatory evidence.”
Like the hearing, the motion to argue the case is sealed and could not be reviewed by .
In the second part of the day, Taylor will argue for a dismissal based on an error in the instructions given to the jury, saying the jury was “misled” about the standard of proof required to indict.
In a closed-door morning session, Kohberger’s defense attorney argued that the charges should be dismissed due to a “biased grand jury, inadmissible evidence, lack of sufficient evidence and prosecutorial misconduct in withholding exculpatory evidence.”
In an afternoon session open to the public and media, the defense’s motion to dismiss because of “error in grand jury instructions” will be heard.
A small monument honoring the four college students can be seen in front of the house where the horrific murders took place
Kohberger’s quest for freedom comes 10 months after he was arrested on December 30 in a raid on his parents’ home in Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania, before being flown back to Idaho on January 4 in a small Pilatus PC-12 turboprop plane .
Since his return to the Gem State, the suspected murderer has been incarcerated in the Latah County Jail. Prison sources told that he spends his time obsessively watching television coverage of the case and has turned to God, meeting with a local priest every Sunday.
Kohberger has been incarcerated in the Latah County Jail since he was flown back to Idaho on Jan. 4
The November 2022 murders shocked the small university town of Moscow, which had not seen a single murder in seven years, when Madison, Kaylee, Ethan and Xana were found dead in their beds.
Police initially appeared baffled by the killings, issuing a series of contradictory statements about whether the students were targeted and whether the public was at risk.
Just before Thanksgiving, they posted a photo of a white Hyundai Elantra and asked for more information about the vehicle’s movements and owner.
The car turned out to belong to Kohberger, who was pulled over twice while driving back to Pennsylvania in early December.
Since his arrest, it has emerged that loner Kohberger battled heroin addiction in his teens and early twenties and was banned from a bar near his parents’ home because of his creepy behavior towards women.
Police sources have since said that after moving to Pullman, Washington, to pursue a doctorate in criminology, he applied for a job with the Washington State University Police Department – but was rejected.
The way the killer navigated the three-story home to kill the four students sleeping in separate rooms and floors in the early hours of November 13, 2022, has raised questions about his motives
In January, investigators were seen removing a bloody mattress from the home where four University of Idaho people were murdered in November
Fellow students said he was unusually interested in the Moscow murder case and described his “sexist” attitude toward women in his courses.
Because of his “rude behavior” toward women and his penchant for categorizing them differently, he was fired by his professor in WSU’s criminology department, John Snyder, on Dec. 19 – just days before his arrest on murder charges.
Over the weekend, a Dateline report provided further evidence of his bizarre behavior toward a friend at WSU, claiming he broke into her home a month before the murders and moved her possessions to make her “uncomfortable.”
She also said she asked him to set up surveillance cameras to help her catch the person who had moved her belongings – only to realize too late that he was the perpetrator and, shockingly, had access to the footage.
Kohberger is believed to be responsible for the murders of Madison, Kaylee, Ethan and
The document also states that his DNA was found on a KA-BAR knife sheath found next to the bodies of Kaylee and Madison, and that he was seen in the house by his roommate, Dylan Mortensen, 19.
Kaylee and Madison were found dead in bed next to each other, while Ethan and Xana were found on the floor below, and Xana was found slumped on her bedroom floor.
Kohberger, meanwhile, has maintained his innocence in the case and due to an extensive gag order, few details have come to light. He chose to “remain silent” during his arraignment in May rather than enter a plea
According to the document, survivors Mortensen and Bethany Funke heard some of what happened, with Mortensen telling officers she heard Goncalves say, “There’s someone here,” around 4 a.m.
Ten minutes later she heard a muffled noise and crying coming from Xana’s room and a male voice saying, “It’s okay, I’ll help you.”
At 4:17 a.m., a loudly barking dog was caught on a neighbor’s surveillance camera. Around the same time, Mortensen said she opened her bedroom door again and saw a tall man with bushy eyebrows walking out through the sliding glass doors at the back of the house.
She described how she was “frozen in shock” when the man dressed in black approached her and said she locked herself in her room after he left.
A shoe print was later found outside her door.
The affidavit also states that Kohberger’s white Hyundai Elantra was caught on camera near the crime scene before quickly driving away from the home toward Pullman around 4:20 a.m.
Police quickly linked the vehicle to Kohberger, noting the similarity between his appearance and Mortensen’s description of the rental home intruder.