The man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students is seeking a change of venue for the case after a "tenacious" media campaign to find out more information, an attorney has said.
Bryan Kohberger is expected back in court on Wednesday while his own lawyer makes the change of venue application.
The 29-year-old is charged with four counts of murder and one count of burglary in connection with the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. The students were found fatally stabbed in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
New York-based attorney, Colleen Kerwick, told Newsweek that the media have shown such interest in the case that they are willing to go to court to have more information revealed, and that relentless coverage may influence a local jury.
She said that both the trial court and an appeal court refused a media coalition's request to unseal evidence in the case.
"The media are tenacious [in this case]. This motion for a change of venue relates to whether pretrial publicity affected the impartiality of prospective jurors," Kerwick said.
She said the judge will have to consider several factors. "For example: was there inflammatory or inaccurate news; were prospective jurors exposed to selectively packaged stories; and have prospective jurors been subtly conditioned to accept a certain version of facts at trial. If so, the constitutional balance would swing in favor of assuring a fair trial in another venue," Kerwick said.
She noted Idaho Code 19-1801, which provides that "a criminal action, prosecuted by indictment, may be removed from the court in which it is pending, on the application of the defendant, on the ground that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had in the county where the indictment is pending."
A date has yet to be set, but Kohberger's attorney Anne Taylor has asked to move the trial out of Latah County, where the murders took place.
In the motion seeking to change the trial venue, Taylor argued that a fair and impartial jury cannot be found in Latah County due to the "extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity, allegations made about Mr. Kohberger to the public by media that will be inadmissible at his trial, the small size of the community, the salacious nature of the alleged crimes, and the severity of the charges."
She wrote in the motion that enlarging the jury pool "will not do anything to overcome that pervasive prejudicial publicity because Latah County does not have a large enough population center to avoid the bias in the community."
Newsweek sought email comment from Taylor on Wednesday.
Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson responded in his own motion that Taylor's request is "premature and without sufficient basis."
The defense "has not provided the court with adequate information to conclude that a Latah County jury could not fairly and impartially decide defendant's case," Thompson wrote in his motion.
In a written order, the trial judge, John Judge, explained that Wednesday's hearing will also consider fixing discovery deadlines and deadlines for filing any pre-trial motions. Trial dates will also be discussed, the order said.
At the time of the slayings, Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University in nearby Pullman. He was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania in December 2022 after investigators pieced together DNA evidence, cell phone data and surveillance video that they say linked him to the crime.
The judge entered not-guilty pleas on Kohberger's behalf last year. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more
