MOSCOW, Idaho — The man accused of murdering four Idaho college students last November appeared in the Latah County Courthouse for just 30 minutes on Tuesday, despite anticipating a hearing for three other motions.
Judge John Judge heard only one argument from Anne Taylor, the public defender for 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, the defendant. This despite the fact the judge was supposed to hear a total of four motions Tuesday, including a request from the defense to release the grand jury materials.
Taylor began her arguments with the defendant's first Motion to Compel, which was filed on May 4, 2023. She said the defense has requested a great deal of material from the prosecution, but none of it has been given.
"We've come to an impasse in several areas," Taylor said.
According to Request No. 160, the defense asked for training records of three police officers. Of the 120 officers involved in the investigation, Taylor said the three in question conducted critical interviews with critical witnesses and made decisions about evidence.
"[We're] not requesting training records for all officers involved in this case," she explained.
Taylor said one of the officers interviewed a witness at the scene of the murders, another interviewed a witness that is expected to testify at Kohberger's trial and the third officer conducted a dozen interviews with key witnesses and attended the victims' autopsies.
If and when these officers take the stand, Taylor said the officers will speak about their training and experience, which is why the defense needs copies of those training records.
Taylor also requested a copy of the report from an FBI examiner who told Moscow police officers to be on the lookout for a white Hyundai Elantra. She told the judge all of these "critical records" are necessary to prepare Kohberger's defense.
"These are things we need to have," Taylor told the court. "[There's a] heightened standard now that the state has filed intention to seek the death penalty."
Ashley Jennings, the senior deputy prosecuting attorney for Latah County, argued that everything Taylor said is "pure speculation" and Kohberger's defense team has all the evidence the state has, which includes:
- 13,000 pages of reports
- 13,000 photos
- 10,000 tips
- 51 terabytes of information
Jennings added that the officers in question would not be witnesses and would not be called to trial. Additionally, she claimed the defense has not said why the three officers' training records are critical to the case.
However, Jennings did say the defense would receive a copy of the FBI report by July 14 unless there is a reason the department can't provide it.
Ultimately, Judge said he will look at the case law before making a decision about sharing the court records.
Kohberger, 28, is accused of murdering Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen in their off-campus home on Nov. 13, 2022. He was arrested at his family's home in Pennsylvania on Dec. 30, 2022 and extradited back to Latah County shortly after.
Following his arrest, a grand jury indicted Kohberger on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. During his arraignment, when asked to enter a plea, Kohberger chose to remain silent, prompting the judge to enter a plea of not guilty on his behalf. He is currently in custody at the Latah County Jail awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 2, 2023.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.