Idaho Murders Suspect Bryan Kohberger's Case Takes New Turn As Prosecutors Mull Calling His Family To Testify

Yahoo

26-03-2025

Bryan Kohberger could potentially face testimony from his own family members in his upcoming murder trial.
The 30-year-old is currently accused of a quadruple homicide involving University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin at their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho.
Bryan Kohberger's lawyers had asked for his family to be granted priority seating at the trial, but the prosecutors argued against it in a recent filing.
Earlier this month, Kohberger's legal team requested that the judge in his murder case grant his family priority seating at his upcoming trial.
However, prosecutors have now partially denied that request and have also asked the judge to bar any potential witnesses in Kohberger's family from attending the trial before providing their testimony.
"The State may call member(s) of the Kohberger family to testify at trial," Deputy Latah County Prosecutor Ashley Jennings wrote in a court filing to Judge Steven Hippler, per the New York Post.
She added, "Prior to start of the trial, the State anticipates it will motion the Court, or the Court will on its own accord, generally exclude testifying witnesses from the courtroom so that they cannot hear other witnesses' testimony."
Elsewhere in the filing, Jennings argued that the accused family doesn't have the same legal rights as the victims.
"Defendant requests that members of his family be granted the same rights as the victim's families," Jennings continued. "However, the 'immediate families of homicide victims' have constitutional and statutory rights to attend pursuant to [the] Idaho Constitution…There is no comparable constitutional or statutory provisions affording a defendant's family these same rights."
Jennings also shut down Kohberger's lawyers' claims that not giving his family priority seating would violate his Sixth Amendment rights.
"The Defendant has a constitutional and statutory right to a 'public trial,' but that does not extend to Defendant's choosing whom sits in the courtroom," the prosecutor included in her filing.
A key piece of evidence in the upcoming trial is the knife sheath, with Kohberger's DNA found at the murder scene.
His attorneys had tried to get the knife sheath thrown out by arguing for a Franks hearing, which Hippler shut down.
More recently, they requested to bring in defense experts to testify against the prosecution's theories about Kohberger's Amazon shopping history, where it is presumed he bought the knife used to commit the murders.
The testimony was aimed at persuading the judge to exclude Kohberger's Amazon shopping records and "click activity" from jurors.
However, just like the Franks hearing, Hippler ruled against the request from Kohberger's lawyers.
"The information Defense seeks to convey can be presented by declarations," Hippler wrote in an order, per Fox News. "Counsel may have the witnesses available by video streaming during the hearing and, should the Court determine it is necessary to hear from the witness, the Court may allow such testimony by video live-stream."
Despite the ruling, it is likely that Kohberger's legal team would once again introduce the discovery of the unidentified genetic materials during his trial.
Sources had earlier claimed it might help the team "muddy the waters" and create reasonable doubt in the jury's minds.
"That evidence could be any variety of things: It could be something, or it could be a lot of things that are nothing," criminal defense attorney Edwina Elcox said of the newly discovered DNAs. "There's at least something to be made of it, and it's better than having nothing as a defense."
However, Elcox admitted that it wasn't strong enough to win Kohberger's innocence as his DNA on the knife sheath is too "critical" to the case.
"That's the thing that squarely puts [Kohberger] there," the female attorney said about the knife sheath. "The magnitude of that evidence to the state's case is critical and cannot be understated."
Kohberger's trial is scheduled for August this year and will take place in Boise, Idaho. Initially, it was set to be held in Moscow, Idaho, where the murders occurred, but his defense successfully argued for a change of venue by citing concerns over the possibility of an unfair trial.
The proceedings will first focus on determining whether the 30-year-old is guilty of the four charges of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
If convicted, a separate phase will be held to decide whether he should receive the death penalty, as murder charges carry the death penalty in the state.
With the possibility of a two-phase trial, the case is expected to extend until November. Jury selection is set to begin in late July once all pretrial motions have been addressed.
For now, Kohberger has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody without bail as he awaits trial.