An Idaho judge has rejected a second motion seeking the dismissal of charges against Bryan Kohberger, who stands accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022.
According to court records obtained by The Docket, Latha County Judge John Judge turned down Kohberger’s defense team’s request to dismiss the grand jury indictment in the case. The latest dismissal request focused on the defense’s argument of a biased jury, along with concerns about case evidence.
During an October hearing, the defense argued that prosecutors did not fully comply with Title 2 of the Idaho code, in connection with issues related to jury selection and the jury questionnaire.
The defense argued that the grand jury indictment should be “beyond a reasonable doubt” with the standard of proof in the case.
“The grand jury ought to find an indictment when all evidence before them, taken together, if unexplained or uncontradicted, would, in their judgment, warrant a conviction by a trial jury,” Kohberger’s team stated.
The prosecution argued that the grand jury’s decision was correct, since, in Idaho, the law states that they only need “probable cause” for the standard of proof.
“A grand jury is not a trial jury,” the State said.
Read the latest court documents below.
Bryan Kohberger: Order Deny… by Leigh Egan
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Kohberger is accused of murdering Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20. The University of Idaho students were discovered deceased in a residence off-campus in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022.
Police arrested Kohberger, who was a Ph.D. criminal justice student at Washington State University when the murders occurred, at his family’s Pennsylvania home in December.
Kohberger is believed to have turned off his phone during the murders. However, police claim he visited the area 12 times before the slayings and left a knife sheath at the scene.
He pleaded not guilty to the murders and remains jailed without bail. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom during a hearing Tuesday, June 27, 2023, at the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow, Idaho. Defense attorneys for Kohberger who is charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students asked a judge Tuesday to order prosecutors to turn over more records, laying the groundwork for challenges to the case. Kohberger, 28, was indicted in May on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in connection with the Nov. 13, 2022, slayings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at a rental home near the University of Idaho campus. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune via AP, Pool)]
