Latest news with #quadruplehomicide
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Kohberger attorney calls to delay trial in murder of Idaho college students in bombshell last-minute request
Defense attorneys representing quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Kohberger have filed a bombshell last-minute request to delay his upcoming trial. Kohberger, 30, was set to face a capital murder trial in August for the November 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20. But in a new filing, his attorneys argue that an episode of NBC's Dateline that aired earlier this month violates a gag order that has been in place since 2023. The episode had revealed new details about the killings, including the suspected killer's phone records, porn choices and online searches for Ted Bundy. It also aired never-before-seen surveillance footage of a suspect vehicle fleeing the horrific crime scene on November 13, 2022.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Kohberger trial thrown into jeopardy as judge cites major violation that could prevent an impartial jury
's trial has been thrown into disarray as the judge reveals someone with intimate knowledge of the case has leaked sensitive details to the press. The breach could make it harder to find impartial jurors for Kohberger's August trial over the alleged quadruple homicide of four University of Idaho students back in November 2022. The case has been plagued by setbacks as defense team scrambled to have evidence thrown out, the death penalty ruled out and, most recently, point the finger at another potential suspect. But now, Judge Steven Hippler has issued an extraordinary rebuke, revealing 'sensitive information not previously publicly circulated' had been leaked to Dateline. 'It appears likely that someone currently or formally associated with law enforcement, or the prosecution team, violated this Court's non-dissemination order,' he wrote in a new filing released Thursday. Certain facts of the case have been withheld from the public to preserve the integrity of the investigation. Kohberger is facing the death penalty if convicted of the brutal murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Two other housemates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, survived. 'Such violations not only undermine the rule of law, potentially by persons charged with upholding it, but also significantly impede the ability to seat an impartial jury.' Judge Hippler warned the offenders' actions have likely 'substantially increased the cost to be borne by the taxpayers' because it will now likely take longer to find jurors. Jury selection will take place behind closed doors on July 30. But the process of selecting an impartial jury is made substantially more difficult on high profile cases which deeply impacted the community, like this one. An investigation will take place to track down the leaker, and Judge Hippler put every single official with a connection to the case on high alert in his memo. 'All persons who at any time, past or present, worked directly or indirectly [on this case]... are hereby prohibited from deleting, discarding, overwriting, destroying, altering or otherwise making unavailable any... records, files, documents, metadata, messages, emails, text messages, direct or private messages, phone logs or logs of communications,' he ruled. He went on to specify that this order must be adhered to regardless of whether the information was stored on a work owned or personal device. Any contact that officials have had with media companies, friends or relatives outside of their colleagues which related to Kohberger or the facts of the case against him must be stored. 'All such Documents or materials or records that could potentially constitute a Document - even if it is uncertain whether such meet that criteria shall be preserved and must be protected from deletion, alteration or loss until further order of the Court. 'Any feature on any device or account that is set to automatically delete or overwrite information that could be covered by this Order must immediately be disabled.' Judge Hippler went on to order authorities to hand over to the court a list of 'all individuals within law enforcement and prosecuting agencies, past or present, who are known to have had access to any facts related to the investigation.' He is particularly interested in learning who had access to surveillance videos of Kohberger, AT&T records of his phone, the content of his phone and social media accounts. Beyond that, Judge Hippler is seeking the names of any person who was aware of Kohberger's internet search history, photographs or details of his Amazon account. These specifications are in direct response to the exclusive details aired on a recent Dateline episode studying the case. The program revealed the criminology PhD student called his dad Michael Kohberge r three times on the morning of November 13, 2022, just two hours after the slayings. According to Dateline, Kohberger made several searches around serial killer Ted Bundy - who was put to death for a string of murders including the killings of female students in a sorority house in Florida. In the days after the murders, Kohberger - on multiple occasions - then also allegedly watched shows about the serial killer. He also searched and listened to the Britney Spears' song Criminal. Other online searches after the murders show the suspect was researching the killings - as well as his own name, the show reported. Dateline also reported that the intended target of the attack was believed to be Mogan, and that it took the killer by surprise to find her best friend, Kernodle, sharing her bed. Judge Hippler warned that if he does not receive the information he has requested, he could find the person responsible to be in contempt of court, and they could face criminal consequences. 'Within seven days the State must also provide to the Court a written plan designed to address and prevent the future unauthorized disclosure of information related to this case,' he wrote. He also wants to know 'what it has done, or proposes to do, to identify any violations ofthe Court's non-dissemination orders previously entered in this case, and those responsible for such violations.'
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger's porn searches after fatal pool party that tied him to victims
Quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Kohberger reportedly made disturbing searches on his cellphone in the months after he attended a pool party - which may provide the link missing between him and his alleged victims. Kohberger, now 30, is due to face a capital murder trial in August for the brutal slayings of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, who was staying the night. The four students were all slaughtered in a horror knife attack in the early hours of November 13, 2022, inside the off-campus student home in Moscow, Idaho, that the three women shared with two other roommates. It has remained unclear how Kohberger, a PhD student at the nearby Washington State University, may have chosen his victims. But a damning report by NBC News' Dateline reveals that he had saved dozens of photos of female students at both Washington State and the University of Idaho, many of whom were in bathing suits. The photos ostensibly came from a pool party Kohberger had been invited to in Moscow on July 9 - and a review of the accounts that had posted the photos found that a number of them were close friends with Kernodle, Goncalves and Mogen. Kohberger had even returned to Moscow after dark following the pool party, and data from his cellphone showed it connected to a cellphone tower near the victims' off-campus house a total of 23 times over the course of four months. Meanwhile, Dateline reports, Kohberger searched for pornography containing the keywords 'drugged' and 'sleeping.' The criminology student also reportedly searched the phrase 'Sociopathic Traits in College Students' as he was struggling to work as a teaching assistant at Washington State. Then, after he was pulled over by police in October 2022 and was seen politely conversing with an officer about traffic laws, Kohberger allegedly searched 'Can psychopaths behave pro-socially.' Prosecutors now allege that Kohberger broke into the University of Idaho students' home on King Road shortly after they had gone to bed from a night partying on November 13 and stabbed them all to death. His white Hyundai Elantra was allegedly caught on a neighbor's home security footage at around 3.30am, and was seen circling around the block multiple times over the next half hour, according to Dateline. By 4.07am, the vehicle came back drove by once again - then didn't come back into view until 4.20am, when it was seen speeding off. During that 13-minute window, sources close to the investigation said Kohberger went directly upstairs to Mogen's bedroom - where he allegedly killed her and Goncalves. He is accused of then turned his attention to Kernodle on his way back out the house, killing her as she was up ordering food, and then targeted her boyfriend, Chapin, whom Kohberger allegedly 'carved.' Kernodle and Chapin were dead in Kernodle's room on the second floor, while Goncalves and Mogen were dead in Mogen's bed on the third floor. In the aftermath, one of their roommates - Dylan Mortensen - told police how she had come face-to-face with the masked killer inside the home that haunting night. She claimed she heard strange noises in the home at around 4am that morning - followed by a man's voice that she said was not Chapin's. The unknown man reportedly told her something to the effect of 'It's OK, I'm going to help you.' When Mortensen then peered around her bedroom door, she said she saw a man walk past her room on the second floor and head in the direction of the back sliding door. She described the intruder as tall, dressed in all black and wearing a face mask - that only allowed her to see his 'bushy eyebrows.' Meanwhile, data from Kohberger's phone indicate he turned it off before 3am that morning, and when he apparently turned it back on at around 4.48am, it connected with a cellphone tower south of Moscow. But the phone also appeared to be briefly back in the city shortly after 9am, when Kohberger reportedly returned to his apartment in Pullman, Washington, where he took a chilling selfie - giving the thumbs up pose in a bathroom mirror. In the days that followed, Dateline reports, Kohberger searched for a program about serial killer Ted Bundy and a YouTube video about the King Road victims. Then, as police continued their multi-state search for the suspect, Kohberger reportedly searched for even more videos of Ted Bundy, the song Criminal by Britney Spears as he took additional selfies - including one in which he was seen wearing a black hoodie, just like how Bundy was dressed in one of the videos. Kohberger was ultimately arrested six weeks after the grisly murders, while at his parents' home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, where he had returned for the holidays. It came after DNA found on a Ka-Bar leather sheath that was left next to Mogen's lifeless body came back a match to the criminology student. Prosecutors have also claimed his shopping history reveals that he bought a Ka-Bar knife, sheath and sharpener from Amazon back in March 2022. But Kohberger has maintained his innocence, and his defense team has tried to write off his repeated visits to Moscow - saying he simply likes to take long drives alone at night. They have claimed his cellphone data would prove he was nowhere near the crime scene on the night of the murders. The defense had even tried to get the death penalty off the table due to Kohberger's recent autism diagnosis - but a judge denied the request. He may now face the firing squad if convicted and sentenced to death, due to recent changes in Idaho state law. Yet the defense has scored at least one victory in the lead up to the trial - as Judge Steven Hippler ruled last week that Kohberger's immediate family members can support him inside the courtroom for every day of his high-profile trial - even before they are called to the stand to testify against their relative. The defense had argued that, under the Sixth Amendment right to a public trial, Kohberger has a right to have his family present in the courtroom. But, typically, witnesses cannot attend a criminal trial until after they have taken the stand to prevent their testimony being shaped by what they hear. Prosecutors previously revealed that they plan to call some of Kohberger's family members - father Michael, mother MaryAnn and two older sisters Amanda and Melissa - as witnesses for the state. Kohberger's lawyers, though, have told the judge that the family continues to support him and has 'no interest in helping' the prosecution in its case. 'Bryan's family has no desire to be used as witnesses against him,' defense attorney Elisa Massoth said. 'His family loves him and supports him,' she said. She said that the Kohbergers would have attended every court hearing to date in support of him if it weren't for the financial burden of traveling from Pennsylvania to Idaho.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Bryan Kohberger Case: New Details of Victim's Grisly Murder Revealed
Originally appeared on E! Online Content warning: This story contains graphic details. More shocking details about the quadruple homicide of four University of Idaho students and the man suspected of murdering them, Bryan Kohberger, have been revealed. On Nov. 13, 2022, police found roommates Ethan Chapin, 20, his girlfriend Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, deceased inside their Moscow, Idaho home. The victims died after suffering multiple wounds made with a large knife, prosecutors said in a March court filing obtained by Dateline and cited in its May 9 special "The Terrible Night on King Road." Chapin appears to have been the last of the four to be targeted by the killer. Sources close to the investigation told the outlet he was believed to be asleep in bed before his death and that the perpetrator "carved" the victim's lower legs with a blade. Before targeting Chapin, the attacker stabbed Kernodle, who was still awake after ordering food from DoorDash, the sources said. Security footage obtained by Dateline shows a car investigators believed to be Kohberger's white Elantra circling past the house's block multiple times between 3:30 a.m. and 4:07, before disappearing from view until 4:20 a.m. Prosecutors said in their filing they believe the four victims were murdered during this 13-minute window. Kohberger, a Washington State University criminal justice doctoral student, was arrested at his parent's home in Pennsylvania in late December 2022 and charged with murder in connection with the killings. In 2023, a judge entered a not guilty plea to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary on his behalf after he remained silent during the arraignment. In a probable cause affidavit released at the time of Kohberger's arrest, police stated that the knife sheath that was found in the victims' house bore male DNA, which investigators linked to the 28-year-old after comparing it to DNA samples obtained from the trash at his family home. More from E! Online Tom Cruise Makes Rare Comment About Ex Nicole Kidman 24 Years After Divorce Bryan Kohberger's Chilling Google Searches Before Idaho Murders Revealed Miley Cyrus Breaks Silence on Rumors of Family Feud With Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus It was Mogen who may have been the killer's intended target because the intruder had gone directly to her bedroom first, the sources. A tan leather sheath for a large Ka-Bar knife was found on the bed, next to her body. Goncalves was with her at the time. Security footage obtained by Dateline shows a car that investigators believe resembles Kohberger's white Hyundai Elantra circling past the house's block multiple times the early morning of the murders. Kohberger, a Washington State University criminal justice doctoral student, was arrested at his parent's home in Pennsylvania in late December 2022 and charged with murder in connection with the killings. In 2023, a judge entered a not guilty plea to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary on his behalf. E! News has reached out to Kohberger's legal team for comment on the Dateline special and has not heard back. In a probable cause affidavit released at the time of Kohberger's arrest, police stated that the knife sheath that was found in the victims' house contained male DNA, which investigators linked to the 28-year-old after comparing it to DNA samples obtained from the trash at his family home. An FBI cellphone expert examined Kohberger's phone data, which Dateline obtained. The records allegedly indicated that later in the morning after the killings, a call was made to a number registered to his dad's account, under which several other family phones are registered. The data also showed the suspect's phone was in Moscow just after 9 a.m. before prosecutors say he returned to his apartment in Pullman, where he took a mirror selfie while giving a thumbs up. The device contained dozens of pictures of female students at Washington State and the University of Idaho, including some linked to the three murdered women, Dateline said. Kohberger's alleged browsing activity included Google searches for "University of Idaho Murders" and a program about serial killer Ted Bundy, Britney Spears' song "Criminal," according to Dateline. Kohberger's trial is set to begin in August. If found guilty of all counts, he could face the death penalty. Read on for more about the case. (E! and Dateline are part of the NBCUniversal family.) Who Were Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle?Were There Any Survivors?Who Is Bryan Kohberger and How Was He Found?What Is Kohberger's Defense Arguing?Where Does the Case Stand Today? For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
