Kohberger trial likely delayed until 2025
Feb. 28—A 2025 trial date for Bryan Kohberger is increasingly more likely following a Wednesday hearing in Latah County District Court to discuss upcoming deadlines for the prosecution and defense teams.
Judge John Judge has not set a trial date, but Prosecutor Bill Thompson and Kohberger's attorney Anne Taylor both asked to delay the start of the trial until next year.
Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November 2022 stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Thompson proposed March 3, 2025, as the start of the trial. He also suggested setting Sept. 6, 2024, as the deadline for his office to disclose evidence to Kohberger's attorneys.
Taylor agreed with the Sept. 6 deadline, but argued for having the trial begin even later in 2025. She asked to delay it until June of next year to give her more time to sort through the massive amount of evidence in the case.
Taylor spoke about the time it takes to speak to experts, witnesses, analyze DNA evidence, cellphone evidence and video evidence. She said that because of the publicity surrounding the case, her team has had trouble finding potential witnesses who want to talk to them.
"I have a long ways to go," she said.
Judge said he is not happy about setting the trial date so far in the future, but is willing to compromise.
"I'm trying to be fair and realistic about when we could really be ready for trial and I only want to do it once," he said.
Thompson and Taylor also echoed this desire to have only one trial.
Thompson said the prosecution is more than 95% finished with processing evidence in the case and has given Kohberger's team every piece of evidence it possesses, except for evidence that has a protective order issue. He said his office just received X-rays from an autopsy.
Judge will also have to determine if changing the trial location is necessary. Taylor asked for, and was granted, a May 14 hearing to present arguments about the trial venue.
She expressed concerns about how the media attention surrounding the case will affect the partiality of the jurors. Taylor said a decision needs to be made sooner than later so that a new courtroom can be secured if needed.
The prosecution argued the trial is too far away to have this discussion, especially since a juror pool is not available yet. Thompson pointed out that simply being aware of the publicity surrounding the case doesn't disqualify a juror.
Judge said he wants to make an informed decision about changing the venue, and wants to know what the defense has to say about it.
Judge also set an April 17 deadline to submit information about Kohberger's alibi defense. The state asked for a deadline on an alibi so that there are no surprises during the trial.
Kohberger's alibi is that he was driving around the night of the murders and Taylor said she expects this will be supported by expert testimony. Taylor said she is also waiting on cell tower information to support his alibi. However, Ingrid Batey, the Idaho deputy attorney general who is assisting the prosecution, said she is confused about how cell tower data can support this alibi defense.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
