MOSCOW, Idaho — The man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022 is asking the court to move his trial outside of Latah County.
Bryan Kohberger filed a motion Tuesday for a change of venue. According to the motion, an impartial jury pool can't be found in Latah County because of the "extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity" the murders have received. Kohberger is now asking the court to schedule and evidentiary presentation and argument before the end of April to make his case.
According to the motion, several factors surrounding the case make finding an impartial jury difficult, including the severity of the crimes and the small size of Latah County.
The motion reads in part, "the size of the community and the interconnectedness of its citizenry is problematic and will prevent a fair and impartial pool of potential jurors." It goes on to state widening the jury pool won't do anything to overcome the "pervasive prejudicial publicity" because the community is too small to avoid bias.
"A fair and impartial jury cannot be found in Latah County owing 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 Mr. Kohberger faces," the motion reads.
Kohberger and his attorney, Anne Taylor, are now asking the court to schedule a hearing to discuss the motion further and to give Kohberger the opportunity to argue in favor of changing the venue.
Kohberger is charged with the first-degree murders of Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. The four were found stabbed in a home near the University of Idaho campus on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested one month later in Pennsylvania and has been at the Latah County Jail ever since.
Since his arrest, Kohberger has been indicted by a grand jury and chose to stand silent at his arraignment. Last year, the state of Idaho filed intent to seek the death penalty against Kohberger.
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