MOSCOW, Idaho — Latah County Prosecutors have filed their intent to seek the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger, and his defense is doing everything they can to provide him with a fair trial -- as his life is now on the line for the brutal stabbings of four University of Idaho students.
Kohberger, 28, is charged with the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were found dead in an off-campus home on King Road in Moscow on Nov. 13, 2022.
Kohberger appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon for arguments on an array of motions his defense has filed, requesting state prosecutors to turn over evidence they have that the defense has not received, Kohberger's attorney Anne Taylor claims.
Taylor has filed three motions asking Latah County Prosecutors to turn over multiple pieces of discovery -- but, prosecutors say in various court filings they have given the defense everything they have at the moment.
In the first motion, Taylor asks for FBI lab reports from forensic testing and other FBI reports regarding Kohberger's white Hyundai Elantra, which is the type of car police said was in the area at the time of the murders. Investigators originally were looking for a 2011-2013 Elantra, but came to the conclusion it was a newer model -- Taylor is seeking to understand the process of how law enforcement reached that conclusion.
She also asks for training records of three police officers, which she says are imperative to Kohberger's defense now that the notice of death penalty has been filed.
"We seek training records to understand their processes," Taylor said.
Taylor told the court that out of these three officers, one of them was tasked with searching for the white Hyundai Elantras to turn over to the FBI, that he interviewed witnesses from the King Road home on the day the students were found, conducted follow up interviews and collected evidence. The second officer did multiple interviews of a key witness expected to testify at trial and mentioned a specialty of working with trauma victims, Taylor said.
The third officer that Taylor wants training records from was present for the four students' autopsies, followed up on tips and conducted a dozen interviews after Kohberger's arrest, she told the court.
But, prosecutors say the training records are not necessary.
"I would remind the court that several hundred investigators have been involved… Our concern with allowing training records for these few… Would open the door to obtain training records for hundreds of other officers which can be outside our control," Latah County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings said in response.
Taylor also wants records from the FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey team, who were consulted to help track data from Kohberger's phone. In the probable cause affidavit police filed before his first appearance in court, police wrote that his cell phone records show he was in the area of the King Road home in the months before the murders.
"This was done in December, we are at the end of June… It’s information the state agreed we should have," Taylor said.
She clarified she doesn't believe the state is withholding any of this information, but that she wants a deadline from the court to receive it.
"There is a heightened standard now that the state has filed their intent to seek death," Taylor said.
Prosecutors said in response they have no issue with turning over those records from the FBI, but that they are still waiting on them. The state may receive those records in the next few weeks, Jennings said.
Latah County District Judge John C. Judge will take all the issues under advisement, but requested the deadline for the FBI to turn over the rest of their evidence to be set for July 14.
The court was supposed to take up other motions on Tuesday, including a request by the defense for the state to turn over more information related to the grand jury proceedings when they indicted Kohberger in mid-May, and a motion by the defense to pause the proceedings while they review those proceedings in order for Kohberger to contest the grand jury indictment. Those were not addressed.
Idaho Supreme Court spokesperson Nate Poppino told KTVB by phone that those issues are currently being handled by the attorneys and is not always unusual for them to adjourn without taking up the other issues scheduled for that day.
"Hearings on the stay and grand jury issues depend on if a dispute remains," Poppino said. "If they can reach an agreement outside of a hearing, they don't need one."
Taylor filed a third motion to compel the state to turn over their discovery regarding the process the FBI used to build a family tree on a genealogy website that led them to Kohberger. Investigators later matched his DNA to touch DNA found on a knife sheath found next to the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves, prosecutors said in a court filing. This motion argues the genealogy databases do not always lead to a single individual as a potential suspect. The state has asked for more time to respond to this motion, and it will likely be heard before a court at a later date.
Kohberger is set to face trial on Oct. 2 of this year, but that could be pushed back if the proceedings are paused while the grand jury indictment is contested. If convicted, Kohberger faces up to life in prison or death.
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