An Idaho grand jury indicted Bryan Kohberger, the man suspected in the fatal stabbings of four college students in November, paving the way for an arraignment on murder charges, reports NBC News. The indictment returned in Latah County says Kohberger, 28, he "did unlawfully enter" a home in Moscow, Id., and then did "wilfully, unlawfully, deliberately, with premeditation and with malice aforethought, kill and murder" victims Maddie Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.
A preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for next month. The prosecutors' decision to impanel a grand jury allows the state to avoid the weeklong preliminary hearing that would have required it to present evidence before a judge and to allow the defense to cross-examine witnesses. The grand jury indictment released Wednesday does not include new details in the case. Kohberger was arrested in December on four counts of first-degree murder and burglary. A district judge granted the state's request to seal the names of the witnesses who testified before the grand jury. The four victims were stabbed to death early Nov. 13 at their off-campus residence near the University of Idaho. Authorities have not said whether Kohberger knew the victims or why he targeted them or the house. Kohberger remains in the Latah County Jail without bail.