Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger must reveal his alibi before October trial or waive the right to use one in his defense – as his lawyers seek to have the case thrown out

An Idaho district court has filed a motion to compel the legal team of suspected Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger, as his lawyers sought to have the case dismissed accusing the state of misleading the grand jury In error.

The 28-year-old is accused of fatally stabbing college students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, at their home in Moscow, Idaho, at the premieres. hours of November 13.

His trial is currently scheduled for October and in June prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty.

The state filed a motion to compel the court to force him to produce an apology explaining why he was not in Moscow on the day of the killings after he refused to submit an alibi in court by Monday’s deadline.

Prosecutors are demanding that Kohberger’s team submit the locations and times of his whereabouts, as well as the names and addresses of anyone who can corroborate.

Kohberger’s defense filed a motion to dismissdemanding that the case be dismissed or referred for a preliminary hearing.

They argue that the grand jury was “misled” in terms of the standard of proof needed for an indictment.

His legal team also filed a motion to stay proceedings without waiving his right to a speedy trial in an effort to challenge the jury selection process.

Both groups of lawyers filed motions demanding that the exhibits be sealed and not released to the public during the trial.

Idaho Law stipulates that defendants must present an alibi defense in court within ten days of a written request by the prosecutor.

When the Latah County prosecutor in that case made the request in May, Kohberger’s defense team appealed for an extension on the grounds that they hadn’t had enough time to review the evidence of the case. charge.

A new deadline was granted and set for July 24.

In a notice filed Monday evening, his attorney, Anne Taylor, wrote that her client would invoke his constitutional right to silence and not present an alibi defence.

Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing college students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, at their home in Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger’s defense filed a motion to dismiss, demanding that the case be dismissed or sent back for a preliminary hearing

The state filed a motion to compel the court to force him to produce an apology explaining why he was not in Moscow on the day of the killings after he refused to submit an alibi in court by Monday’s deadline.

‘M. Kohberger’s defense team continues to investigate and prepare (sic) his case,” she wrote.

“Evidence supporting Mr. Kohberger’s presence at a location other than the King Road address will be disclosed in accordance with discovery and evidentiary rules and legal requirements,” she added.

So there is a suggestion that Kohberger’s team may have additional evidence that has not yet been provided to the court.

“It is intended that such evidence may be presented through cross-examination of state-produced witnesses as well as through the calling of expert witnesses,” Taylor wrote.

Last week, Kohberger’s team filed a separate defense suggesting DNA linking him to the knife sheath may have been planted.

“What the State’s argument asks this Court and Mr. Kohberger to assume is that the DNA on the sheath was placed there by Mr. Kohberger, not someone else. during an investigation that covers hundreds of law enforcement personnel and apparently at least one lab the state declines to name,” they wrote.

The defense also wanted more information about how the FBI used DNA to create family trees that led them to Kohberger to begin with.

Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for a hearing at the Latah County Courthouse on June 27 in Moscow

When DNA not belonging to the victims is found at a crime scene, the first thing the police do is run it through their own database to see if it matches the DNA of former offenders.

This process is called short tandem repeat comparison (STR) and tests the sample against 20 DNA markers – enough to identify the person if their own DNA is already in the system or, in some cases, if the DNA of a close relative is in the system (for example, a parent or sibling).

A criminal affidavit filed in January, shortly after Kohberger’s arrest, says DNA matching the suspect’s was found on a knife sheath recovered from the crime scene near the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves.

Investigators then closely compared the DNA on the sheath to DNA found in trash from Kohberger’s parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested in December.

“A traditional STR DNA comparison was performed between the STR profile found on the sheath of the Ka-Bar knife and the defendant’s DNA. The comparison showed a statistical match,” one filing read.

Ka-Bar, the company that made the knife said to have been used in the murders, said there was no record of any such item being purchased by someone named Kohberger, but it is selling both to retailers and directly to consumers.

Sources say the sheath found at the scene belonged to a seven-inch utility knife, which is traditionally used as a hunting tool for chopping firewood or cutting wire and rope. This knife has not been found.

Kohberger is due to stand trial on October 2.