Trial Set For Suspect In Killings Of Four Idaho College Students

A judge refused tp throw out key evidence against the man charged in the killings of four University of Idaho students near the campus two years ago. The decision cleared the way for Bryan Kohberger's murder trial to begin this summer, the Associated Press reports. Kohberger, 30, is charged with four counts of murder in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, on Nov.13, 2022, at a rental home in Moscow, Idaho. Autopsies showed the four were likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. The criminal justice graduate student was arrested in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings. Investigators matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from the sheath of a knife found at the rental home. When asked to enter a plea, Kohberger stood silent, prompting the judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. The killings shook the farming community of 25,000 people, which hadn’t had a homicide in five years. The trial was moved from rural northern Idaho to Boise after the defense said Kohberger couldn’t get a fair trial in the county where the killings occurred.

Judge Steven Hippler rejected arguments by Kohberger's defense team that law enforcement violated his constitutional rights when they used a process called Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG), to identify possible suspects. Defense attorneys argued that police never sought warrants to analyze the DNA found at the crime scene, nor did they get warrants to analyze the DNA of potential relatives that had been submitted to genealogy databases. They argued that the court should suppress the IGG identification and everything that came from it. Hippler declined the defense’s request to toss the evidence. The decision removed what could have been a major barrier to the prosecution’s case before trial starts. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted at the trial set to start in August. The judge has issued a gag order for everyone involved and won’t allow cameras in the courtroom.