MOSCOW, Idaho — It's been almost six months since a group of Latah County residents indicted the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho college students at an off-campus home. Now, his defense wants that group's decision thrown out.
Ultimately, that won't happen; at least not for the reasons presented during Thursday's public hearing.
Bryan Kohberger appeared in Latah County Court Thursday for a hearing on his motion to throw out his indictment on the grounds of "error in grand jury instructions." The defense, state and judge argued about a precedent previously set by the Idaho Supreme Court. Ultimately, the judge said he couldn't do anything to change existing law and denied the motion.
Defense attorney Jay Logsdon presented Kohberger's argument in court Thursday. He said grand juries are hard to control and will likely indict a suspect on their accused crimes. However, he added statutes were created to reign in grand juries and prevent prejudice against a suspect.
Logsdon said the defense takes issue with the burden of proof presented to the grand jury. He argued the standard of proof for a grand jury is "beyond a reasonable doubt" rather than probable cause.
Judge John Judge stepped in at this point in the hearing, stating it's not fair to claim the grand jury was given false instructions if those instructions are standard in Idaho. The state added the Idaho Supreme Court has held probable cause as its correct standard of proof for a grand jury.
It is essential to note an indictment does not mean a suspect is guilty; instead, it means the grand jury has determined there is enough evidence against the suspect to convict them of their accused crimes at trial.
Judge John Judge told Logsdon that while his argument is "creative," he can't change a law previously set by the Idaho Supreme Court. For that reason, he denied the defense's motion.
This is not the only motion to dismiss Kohberger's indictment, however. On Thursday morning, a private hearing was held to discuss the defense's claims the grand jury was biased and shown inadmissible evidence. The defense also claimed the grand jury was shown a lack of sufficient evidence and claimed the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence.
The outcome of that hearing is under a seal and will not be released to the public.
Kohberger is accused of murdering Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen in an off-campus home on Nov. 13, 2022. He was arrested at his parent's home in Pennsylvania on Dec. 30, 2022 and extradited back to Latah County in January. He's been in custody at the Latah County Jail ever since.
At his arraignment, Kohberger stood silent and had four not guilty pleas entered on his behalf. The state of Idaho also announced its intent to seek the death penalty against him.
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