Accused University of Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger’s murder trial moved after he raised concerns about its fairness
The murder trial for Bryan Kohberger will now take place in Boise, Idaho, after the accused killer of four college students successfully argued he couldn’t get a fair trial in the small community where the tragedy occurred.
Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Bevan Thursday issued a decision moving the case from the small town of Moscow to the state’s capitol and assigning District Judge Steven Hippler to oversee the trial — which is currently set for June 2025.
Kohberger — a former criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University — will also be transferred from a Latah County jail into the hands of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, the ruling specifies.
The move comes after Latah County Judge John Judge on Monday granted Kohberger’s motion to move the case on the grounds that potential jurors in Moscow had been exposed to too much media coverage and were too emotionally tied to the Nov. 13, 2022, massacre to be able to fairly decide the case.
Lawyers for Kohberger, 29, argued that a poll of 400 locals found 60% believed Kohberger is guilty, 52% believe he should receive the death penalty and some said they’d kill him themselves if he was found innocent, with one even adding they would burn the courthouse down if he was acquitted.
Judge Judge said a jury pool in Latah County would have a “presumed prejudice” and ordered the case be transferred out of the county, leaving it up to the Gem State’s high court to determine the new location.
Kohberger is charged with butchering University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen in their off-campus house.
He pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and once count of burglary.
