Prosecutors in accused killer Bryan Kohberger’s murder case said last week that they found a “game changer” audio recording related to possible jurors in the case.
Kohberger made a court appearance Thursday for a hearing connected to survey questions conducted among potential jurors. According to the Lewiston Tribune, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said they received details from the police, including an audio recording of the questions.
A “heated argument” ensued, with the defense and prosecution discussing due process in the case. Survey expert, Brian Edelman, hired by the defendant’s lawyer, Anne Taylor, reportedly created the survey questions that could possibly violate gag orders in the case.
The prosecution said Kohberger’s defense team posed nine “reckless” and “outrageous” questions to 400 potential jurors in the county where the murders took place. A Latah County resident recorded one of the phone conversations and then notified the district attorney’s office to register a complaint.
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.
Thompson expressed concern about specific questions about whether people had read, seen, or heard about certain aspects of the case.
The questions touched on topics such as the alleged discovery of a knife sheath at the crime scene, purported multiple visits by Kohberger to the crime scene, claims of fear among Moscow residents following the murders, and allegations of Kohberger stalking his victims.
Thompson argued that the questions breached gag orders that prohibit people from making extrajudicial statements about evidence to be presented at trial.
“That is reckless conduct and it’s outrageous,” Thompson said Thursday. “We are trying to salvage a mess.”
Taylor argued that Edelman was unaware of the gag order when he created the survey. She clarified that the questions merely necessitate a yes or no response and were derived directly from media reports.
She added that surveys are customary in high-profile cases.
Judge John Judge of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District in Latah County said he was concerned that the survey questions injected prejudicial information into the jury pool, undermining the gag order’s purpose.
The judge ordered the gag on March 22. Taylor said the order was unfair as it was issued immediately after Thompson’s office alerted the judge about the survey questions, without giving her team time to respond.
Taylor also contended that this disrupted her team’s preparation for a motion to change the trial venue.
The judge defended his decision, stating he halted contact with potential jurors until a hearing could be held.
“I had to stall it out so we can all talk about it and figure what is the right path because this is a big deal and I take it very seriously,” Judge said.
Judge set a follow-up meeting for Wednesday.
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. 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)]
