MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Lawyers for the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students are urging a judge to move his murder trial away from the county, arguing that intense media coverage and public interest in the case make this is impossible for him. to get a fair trial.
“The prolific media coverage in Latah County is not a mere passing story,” said Anne Taylor, public defender for Bryan Kohberger, in a change of venue motion made public Tuesday. “The content is not benign, but rather inflammatory, emotion-evoking and often misleading, false and poorly sourced. There is no reasonable belief that media coverage will decrease regardless of how long the case takes to prepare for trial.”
In order to protect Kohberger’s constitutional right to a fair trial, he should be transferred to Boise, she said.
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said that opposes the transfer of the trial. He argued that the case has received national and international attention, so removing it from the county would not affect potential jurors’ familiarity with the case.
The two sides are expected to discuss their positions at a hearing on August 29.
Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University in nearby Pullman, Washington, is loaded with fatal stabbing on all fours students — Kaylee Gonçalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin — in a rented house near campus in Moscow, Idaho, sometime in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022.
Police arrested Kohberger six weeks later at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he was spending winter vacation. Investigators said they linked Kohberger to the crime using DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, surveillance videos and cellular data.
Kohberger has maintained his innocence. His defense attorneys said in court documents that he was driving alone the night of the murders, something he did frequently.
From him the test is provisionally sent for June 2025.
It will be up to Judge John C. Judge to decide whether to stay in Moscow, with a population of 41,000, or move 296 miles (476 kilometers) south to Boise, with a population of 236,634.
“Latah County, Idaho, is a small, tight-knit community; based on survey results, it is a biased community toward conviction and death sentencing,” Taylor wrote. “Some of the top employers in the community are people connected to law enforcement and the University of Idaho.”
