Who is Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger’s new defence attorney?

Namita Singh
·2 min read
Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a graduate student jailed on charges of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students more than six weeks ago, departs court after an extradition hearing in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. January 3, 2023 (REUTERS)

The suspect in the murders of four Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger, has been assigned a Kootenai County public defender as his new defence attorney.

Ms Taylor has been working for Kootenai County for the last 19 years and was given the top job in the public defender’s office in 2017, reported the Daily Mail.

The 57-year-old attorney previously worked on the high-profile case of Jonathan Ellington, who was accused of running his car over a woman.

While he was initially sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment, she helped in overturning the case, after she established “false testimony” had been given by an Idaho police officer.

Her appointment comes as Mr Kohberger leaves Monroe County Correctional Facility to return to Idaho where he faces four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of University of Idaho students.

His public defender, Jason LaBar, had earlier said that the accused could not afford a private attorney and would therefore receive a public defender in Idaho.

According to the New York Post, a person resembling Ms Taylor was spotted among a group of people visiting the site of the murders on Tuesday and reportedly spent about five hours around the house before leaving. The group declined to identify themselves to the media, reported the outlet.

The 28-year-old criminology student was arrested last Friday, seven weeks after the killings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

He was pulled over by police late at night in his Hyundai Elantra just minutes from the home where he allegedly knifed four students to death three months later.

It is not clear what Mr Kohberger was doing in the area at the time – just 1.7 miles and a five-minute drive from the home on King Road where the four students were stabbed to death on 13 November after returning from a night out.

At the time of the August incident, Mr Kohberger was driving his white Hyundai Elantra – the same vehicle that would later be at the centre of the investigation into the murders and ultimately lead to his arrest.