In a court filing made public Tuesday afternoon, attorneys for the 29-year-old criminology student are arguing that the three-month trial be moved from Moscow, Idaho to the capital city of Boise.
They say their client’s constitutional right to a fair trial would be “totally tainted” if it were held in Latah County, where he allegedly killed University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at his off-campus home.
The attorneys cited “widespread, ongoing, inflammatory publicity,” including the spread of inaccurate information in the news and on social media that would be inadmissible at trial. The Idaho Statesman reports.
Attorneys representing quadruple homicide suspect Bryan Kohberger, 29, are demanding that his trial be moved to Boise, Idaho, from Moscow, Idaho.
The nearly 320-page filing notes that media coverage began as soon as police found the four students dead in their home on King Road, and became “extensive” during the six-week police investigation.
In addition to traditional media, the story was covered in magazines, books, crime television shows, podcasts and on social media, Kohberger’s attorneys wrote.
“The publicity has been extremely pervasive in the small community of Latah County,” wrote Anne Taylor, the chief public defender.
‘Solutions such as expanding the jury pool will not solve the problem.’
He went on to argue that Ada County, the state’s largest and home to the capital city, has “more than 10 times as many potential jurors as Latah County” and gives Kohberger the best chance of getting an impartial jury.
“Latah County is, by all accounts, a pleasant, quaint, close-knit community that holds together,” Taylor wrote, according to the Statesman.
‘While a small town is expected to have a small, close-knit community, constitutional rights must be carefully protected.
“Mr. Kohberger is entitled to the presumption of innocence; he is guaranteed the protection of a fair jury and due process of law,” he argued.
Kohberger is accused of murdering University of Idaho students (from left) Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle on November 13, 2022.
Defense attorneys also argued that logistics warranted moving the trial to the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, where the high-profile trials of Doomsday’s mother, Lori Vallow, and her husband Chad Daybell were held.
The attorneys argued that the size of the courtroom provides adequate space, with a large additional room for the crowds of people expected to want to watch Kohberger’s trial.
It also provides adequate security for all parties, including jurors, and access to the state’s largest airport will be important for all witnesses traveling in and out of the city.
But Latah County District Attorney Bill Thompson, who is leading the case against Kohberger, has said he opposes moving the trial out of Moscow.
He previously argued that defense claims about the high-profile publicity of the case do not justify moving it to another part of the state.
“I don’t think a change of venue is going to solve any of these problems,” Thompson said at a hearing earlier this year, according to the Statesman.
‘The state’s position on venue is that the case should be heard here. It’s a Latah County case.
“We believe we can select an appropriate panel of jurors from Latah County,” he said.
The students were found dead that day inside their off-campus home, which has since been demolished.
Through their attorney, the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves told the Statesman last month that they, too, want the trial to remain in Moscow, where Kohberger has been detained since January 2023.
“We are hopeful that the trial will remain in Latah County so as not to disrupt the scheduling order, and we are praying that there will be no delays,” the statement said.
They also added that they approved setting a trial date after more than a year of waiting since Kohberger was indicted in May 2023.
His initial trial date was set for October 2023, but Taylor has requested extensions and additional hearings numerous times since his arrest.
Kohberger’s team even delayed revealing his official alibi until May 2024.
When he finally presented his alibi, prosecutors ripped it apart, as Kohberger claimed he was “driving alone” on the night of the murders “to look at the moon and stars.”
In that filing, Taylor said he would call in a phone data analysis expert to back up his claims that he was miles from the scene, which is one of the pieces of evidence over which prosecutors and the defense have repeatedly clashed.
Prosecutors allege that surveillance footage showed a white Hyundai similar to the one belonging to Kohberger fleeing the scene of the crime.
According to cellphone data provided by prosecutors, the route Bryan Kohberger allegedly took on the night of the brutal Idaho murders may be a crucial piece of evidence in the state’s case against the 28-year-old. In their alibi filing, his attorneys say they plan to challenge this data.
Kohberger has maintained his innocence since his arrest in December 2022, more than a month after the murders that shocked the nation.
The month-long hunt for the suspected killer attracted widespread media attention, and the victims’ families used the attention to condemn the proceedings against Kohberger.
In December 2023, the victim’s mother, Kaylee Goncalves, said the current process has been “heartbreaking.”
“It’s heartbreaking to see how slow everything has to go. Why does it have to be so long?” Kaylee’s mother, Krisi, said in an interview with KH Headquarters.
“It’s important, I understand that, but there are facts, we have certain facts, we have certain knowledge. I can’t believe that this works like this.”
A memorial was erected at the university for the four students following their shocking deaths.
In December, Idaho officials came under fire again after the off-campus home where four students were stabbed to death was demolished, against the wishes of the victims’ families.
Although both the prosecution and defense agreed to take it down, the families objected, as Goncalves’ loved ones feared the move would “destroy one of the most important pieces of evidence in the case.”
Before it was demolished, the scenes inside the house were so gruesome that exclusive DailyMail.com images showed blood seeping through the outside of the home.
When he was arrested, prosecutors cited partial DNA matches found on a Ka-Bar knife sheath found in the home. The murder weapon was never found.
The scenes inside the house were so gruesome that blood was dripping down the outside of the property’s wall, in what investigators described as the worst crime scene they have ever seen.
In January 2023, investigators were seen removing a bloody mattress from the home where four University of Idaho students were murdered.
In a continuing exchange of evidence in court (which also includes cellphone data and surveillance footage allegedly from Kohberger’s car at the crime scene), the defense said prosecutors have not turned over what they could present in court.
Taylor filed a motion last month to compel the defense to do so, and the defense responded that they were restricted by some federal laws because of the FBI’s involvement in the case.
The defense also filed a motion to dismiss the entire case, arguing that it was indicted by a biased grand jury and that the case was marred by prosecutorial misconduct and the admission of invalid evidence. The motion was denied.
Now, Judge John Judge will ultimately decide whether to grant the defense’s request for a change of venue.
He had set a Monday deadline for the defense to present its arguments ahead of a hearing on Aug. 29, with prosecutors’ formal response due Aug. 12.
Kohberger’s defense team could seek a rebuttal a week later.
At the hearing, the team is expected to call four witnesses, including a trial consultant they had hired to survey potential jurors to justify the venue change, a survey researcher, a social psychologist who studies bias and a media analyst, the Statesman reports.